Happy Endings
3 Apr
First, the good news: I get to take up residence in my favorite creepy little town, New Bedlam! Looks like my ridiculous little Horologist, George LaFleur, will be allowed to creep into town this July. Poor man and his American-Victorian sensibilities. It’s a hard road.
Have you checked out the new issue yet? Spring fever takes on a whole new meaning in that town, man.
Now, the– well, not news. I would like some opinions on endings, if you have a second and any thoughts on either or both of these:
- Say you’ve read a book with two major plotlines– one a speculative sort of thing, and the other a romance, and the two of course come together in the end to make a complete mess of everything. Having followed this romance from the beginning, would you be completely disappointed and unfulfilled if said romance did not end up working out in the end– particularly if the other plotline is a total catastrophe as well? You know they say it’s not a romance novel without the Happily Ever After, but this is not really a category romance. So can it be done without making you throw the book against the wall?
- How important is a satisfactory ending to you as a reader? Do you need all the strings tied up? Do you need only the important strings tied up, and the little frayed edges left alone, as they usually are in life? Does something need to be accomplished, or are you happy if the main character has come from point A to point B and taken you along for the ride? I don’t mean winning or losing, I just mean a real ending with an acceptable combination of hope and danger on the horizon for your MC? How does genre affect your expectations of satisfaction in terms of happiness or lack thereof in the end? How does length?
I tend to expect some satisfaction from a novel, but with a short I like being left a little harried. Like the time investment needs to be returned somehow. (The former question is obviously about a specific plot of mine, the latter is more general, but something I like to think about.) And that really only applies to certain genres– with darker or so-called literary fiction, we tend to expect the worst when we pick it up; we do it because we want to have to face that awfulness. And sometimes I get downright irritated with the general lack of a proper ending in a book, not so much that it’s unhappy, but just that it doesn’t go anywhere.
I wonder where other peoples’ preferences lie in a very general sense, as they seem to be all over the place, and that always fascinates me. What makes a good ending for you?
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Now playing: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – River Styx
via FoxyTunes
I’m okay with chaos – either the kind where there’s a little closure but everything ended up a mess or the kind where everything’s still a mess – just a different mess than when it started (especially if there’s going to be a sequel).
The only kinds of endings that really annoy me:
- Too tidy, especially if it seems forced for the sake of tying things up. Life isn’t like that
- Wankishness… Robert Jordan is a shining example of this – 500+ pages of over-detailed descriptions and it doesn’t go anywhere. It’s not so much that it ends unfinished that bothers me, but that he could’ve gotten where he was going in less than 1/4 of the time if he’d just had a damn editor. Most of that description was just him wanking because he enjoyed it and didn’t give a shit that he was eating hours of your life.
- Preachy. It’s great if you were trying to get some grand message across, but if at the end of the story you have to explain it to me, you have achieved Epic Fail. Ms. Zimmer Bradley was a champion at this.
- “Surprise”, where there was a +5 Hammer of Foreshadowing used through the entire book, then the author acts as if the ending should be a complete shock.
- Surprise, where you didn’t see it coming, looking back you couldn’t see it coming, and it makes no sense. I like twist endings, but if it makes me go “WTF” in a bad way, it’s a lose. For example, a mystery novel where on the last page you find out it was actually the gardener… when you didn’t even know there WAS a gardener.
If I understand your question correctly, then i would say I like a definite ending. If the writer feels the need to say “The journey is more important than the destination” I’ll probably be disappointed. With regards romances, I can’t really comment. It’s not a genre I’ve read much of.
First of all, congrats! Whoot for the New Bedlamites everywhere. Secondly, give me the ending, just like Michael. I don’t have to be happy about it; all the strings don’t have to be tied. I just need to know it’s done.
So yeah, big strings taken care of, little frays left behind.
Congrats, New Bedlam Rocks.
I’m fond of endings where there is no ‘happily ever after’ in romance terms. I like shorts that leave the reader guessing, but I like books to tie all their strings together and give me a definite ending.
I like the ending to be honest. If the characters aren’t meant to be, then their love will crash with the rest of the world. The only endings that really bother me, are the ones that clash with everything else I’ve read.
The last book I read that made me want to slam my head into a desk was Duma Key. I thought he had a wonderfully atmospheric story going, almost on a literary level, then he fucked it up at the end. It was like he said, “you know, I’ve been rambling on for 700 pages here. I better throw in what my monster to make my readers happy.”
I don’t know if that answers the question or not. congrats on New Bedlam. That is an awesome little place.
Meghan, the latter kind of SURPRISE is so irritating. Bala wants to watch Poirot all the time and sometimes they pull that– not because Christie would’ve because I’m sure she’s somewhere being very offended right now, but because the screenwriter clearly had no idea. Or the director. Either way, yes.
But you know I agree about wankishness and things that are way, way too tidy. I mean I’m okay with tidy in a romance novel, as long as there’s something of a mess along the way, that’s the point. But too tidy feels dishonest.
Mike, there were about 12 questions wrapped up in two right there, but that answers the point perfectly. You’re right, that “the journey is the thing…” saying is probably a bad sign. Good call. Thanks!
Aaron thanks for the opinion– I’m all for that sort of ending too. Sometimes I can handle something different, of course there are always exceptions, but I hate to leave a whole novel angry.
Cate, thank you. I tend to agree, and I think the difference between short and long is key to my expectations.
Nat, that’s a very good point too– nothing makes an ending quite so unsatisfying as a hearty, “WTF?” It’s cheating!
Jamie, ugh. Okay, I will not buy that one, because that will annoy me. Like “Hey, I’ve written enough now, Book Over!” Especially after 700 pages :/ Answers perfectly, and thank you.
Congrats! That’s excellent news.
I don’t like to feel let down when I get to the ending – sometimes its too rushed like the author suddenly ran out of room.