1. Second Person: This point of view directly addresses the reader using "you," and is rarely used for entire novels. It's often found in interactive fiction, choose-your-own-adventure books, and sometimes in experimental narratives.
2. Multiple, Shifting Perspectives: While multiple points of view are common, having the perspective shift from character to character within the same scene or paragraph is less common. This can be jarring and requires a skilled author to pull it off successfully.
3. Unreliable Narrator: While unreliable narrators are becoming more popular, they are still less common than traditional, reliable narrators. This requires the author to create a character whose perspective is biased, mistaken, or intentionally misleading, adding a layer of complexity to the story.
4. Animal Perspective: While we see animal characters in stories, having the story told entirely from an animal's perspective is less common. This requires the author to create a convincing animal voice and perspective on the world.
5. Inanimate Object Perspective: This is even rarer than the animal perspective. Having the story told from the perspective of an inanimate object, like a chair or a phone, can be a very challenging and unconventional approach.
Ultimately, the "least common" point of view is subjective and depends on the specific genre and context. Authors are constantly experimenting with new ways to tell stories, so the landscape of common and uncommon points of view is constantly evolving.