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Happy Endings

I hope those of you in the northern hemisphere are having a happy ending to your summer. I'm in denial about the last days of my favorite season, defiantly planning a pool party for this weekend. Take that, September!

Speaking of happy endings, I definitely prefer them in novels. I don't need everything tidied up in neat perfection, but I do want to feel some sense of hope at the end, especially if the author has tortured the characters (as I like to do).

Recently I finished the popular novel Little Bee by Chris Cleave. The story covered some painful territory, including death and torture in Nigeria, and I was hoping for some kind of meaningful, hopeful ending. Unfortunately my hopes were dashed. It was a very well-written novel but the less than satisfying ending made me view the story less positively. See my review HERE.

How about you? What kind of endings do you prefer?

Today Omnific Publishing is hosting a new blog hop, celebrating several events, including the release of Patricia Leever's Cat O' Nine Tails, the Back-to-School $.99 sale, and the new cover of Nicki Elson's Three Daves. Hooray! Please join in.

Comments

Nicki Elson said…
I like 'em how you said---not necessarily neat and tidy, but with a genuine sense of hope. Like your ending in The Swim Recruit.

Hey---thanks for mentioning my new cover! I'm looking forward to coming by next week. I'll give the post one more look over and then send to you tonight. :)
Jennifer Lane said…
You must be so excited about your new cover, Nicki! I think Three Daves ended on a hopeful note as well--my favorite.
Robin DeJarnett said…
I'm a happy ending girl too. Not all stories can have them, but if I'm looking for an escape, I don't like to be left angry or in tears. The same goes for movies. I still feel betrayed by the ending of Pay It Forward.
CarolOates said…
I'm another for happy but doesn't require a neat little bow
Jennifer Lane said…
Robin, the movie Remember Me didn't have a happy ending but it was so shocking that I didn't mind. I don't have to have a happy ending every time but I do get angry when I've been through hell with the characters and then have to ask, what was the point?

Carol, amen, sister.
Anonymous said…
The best endings are neat, but I think the most powerful books have threads and strings that are still a bit frayed at the end. I just like for the frays to be with the secondary characters, not the main characters.
Jennifer Lane said…
Gillian, interesting idea about the secondary character threads! I love the band "The Fray" and frayed endings sound good too.
Cilou6 said…
I hear you Jen.
I've had one experience of an unsatisfying ending of a very hard/painful book which subject was WW2 in Germany. This book was a "Prix Goncourt" here in France it's called "Les Bienveillantes" and was written by Jonathan Little I think the English Title is "The Kindly Ones"

I finished the book saying "wow, that was sad and unsettling!" awkward feeling, hated that

I prefer your books! I know that whatever pain you put the characters through, you believe in resilience ...even if you maybe are capable of killing a hero!
Jennifer Lane said…
Cilou, yeah I hate that when you feel down or yucky finishing a book. Shh, don't tell anyone I killed a character! But I'd never kill the MAIN character like some writers we know. Grr. Thanks for commenting!