UK Amazon Kindle Forum discussion

We seem to frequently complain about good books with bad endings.

How about the books you've read that you feel had an excellent ending?

I need to think on some titles...

Is this the happy endings thread Patti? ;)

Jane Eyre, probably a contender

Struggling to think of any really.

I'm pretty sure that some of the Halo books have had good endings, but other than that I'm drawing a blank.

Rosemary the bacon burner wrote: "Is this the happy endings thread Patti? ;)"

I restrained myself from calling it that. ;)

The question to be asked is 'Is a happy ending necessarily the best ending?'

For example I think the ending of One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich is a good one. He's almost happy, but then he's still in a prison camp and he's still got however many years to serve, so how happy is it?

Talking of prison, that reminds me of the ending to Shawshank Redemption.

I thought that was good.

LOTR (again), The Turn of the Screw, The Pickwick Papers, The Great Gatsby, Mr. Mercedes, and The FRUGALITY Trilogy by our own Stuart Ayris.

Oh yes, The Great Gatsby

On the Shawshank Redemption theme, the Green Mile is an interesting ending, if not entirely happy, or Misery. I like it when they get knocked about a bit but learn to be content. Or when the bad guy melts like Raiders of the Lost Ark... or is it the next one?

Cheers

MTM

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

Fitting ending, that one.

You'd think it'd be easier to think of these, eh?

There may be a lesson for authors in here somewhere.

Rosemary the bacon burner wrote: "Jane Eyre, probably a contender"

The detective novels of Dorothy L. Sayers, ending with Gaudy Night and Busman's Honeymoon.

You'll never get a dodgy ending in a P G Wodehouse story.

M T wrote: "You'll never get a dodgy ending in a P G Wodehouse story."

true he was a real craftsman

The ending of Jo Jo Moyes 'The Horse Dancer' made me cry. Very deeply satisfying.

Elizabeth wrote: "The ending of Jo Jo Moyes 'The Horse Dancer' made me cry. Very deeply satisfying."

Yes, I enjoyed this one very much too!

The Horse Dancer

Link for anyone interested.

I found the ending to The Lovely Bones quite satisfying.

Elle wrote: "I found the ending to The Lovely Bones quite satisfying."

That's why people discuss books!

Now I didn't read it, but saw the movie, so if I'm off base here, I'm apologizing in advance. That said, the end of the movie drove me completely crazy: the father was about to find out what happened to his daughter - and then doesn't? Because he gives up?

Not my definition of satisfying. It's my definition of the most unsatisfying possible ending.

But it worked for a lot of people precisely because he gave up, moved on with life. I don't get endings like that, however true they are to life. I want my fiction to have the closure I can't get in real life.

It's one of those great divides.

I read it. Didn't find it at all satisfying! No idea about the film.

Kath wrote: "I read it. Didn't find it at all satisfying! No idea about the film."

Same here. Very disappointed with the book, after I had some work colleagues raving about it.

I'm not sure it's necessarily a great ending but Life of Pi had an ending that completely flipped the reader's notion of what had gone on before in the book. Didn't quite work for me, but a good stab

Not a novel but a play (in book form so it counts!)

Sartre's Huis Clos

"Hell is other people" succinctly summarising all the action of the play in one pithy aphorism

Gingerlily - Mistress Lantern wrote: "Kath wrote: "I read it. Didn't find it at all satisfying! No idea about the film."

Same here. Very disappointed with the book, after I had some work colleagues raving about it."

I was disappointed too, but I rarely enjoy any books that everyone raves about. I'm an awkward little devil at heart !

Anita wrote: " I rarely enjoy any books that everyone raves about. I'm an awkward little devil at heart !"

This is one of the things that drives writers. Then they find out how hard it is to write a satisfying ending, and are thrilled when someone says, 'the last chapter was the best, and I can't wait for the next book.'

The old saying, that the first chapter sells the book, and the last chapter sells the next book, is TRUE.

Alicia wrote: "Elle wrote: "I found the ending to The Lovely Bones quite satisfying."

That's why people discuss books!

Now I didn't read it, but saw the movie, so if I'm off base here, I'm apolo..."

I was actually talking in relation to (view spoiler)[ the murderer dying (hide spoiler)] (I wasn't a huge fan of the book either but I did like it)

I also had trouble with the ending of lovely bones but I did like that she tied up what happened with the spirit of the girl and the man who killed her, so it was kind of mixed, for me.

I read My Sister's Keeper by Josie Picoult. That drove me completely bananas, whereas, for example, Top Banana ties all loose ends up nicely.

Oh! How kind!

I often reach a deeply satisfying confusion!

as long it's not through deeply satisfying contusions

Kath wrote: "Oh! How kind!

I often reach a deeply satisfying confusion!"

;-)

Kath is a master when it comes to satisfying her readers, whenever I noticed this thread I immediately thought of Message in a Bottle

I just love when the final chapter of a book makes me sigh aloud.

I'm so pleased it had that effect, Sarah. It was satisfying to write but you never know till a book has a reader whether it really works.

Marc wrote: "I'm not sure it's necessarily a great ending but Life of Pi had an ending that completely flipped the reader's notion of what had gone on before in the book. Didn't quite work for me, b..."

Agree with you on this one, though it did work for me.

The Railway Man is a true story of a man who was forced to work on the Burma-Siam railway during the 2nd WW .He was tortured by the Japanese and suffered for years after but something happens fifty years later which to me made a happy ending.

One of my favourite endings comes, naturally enough, at the end of the Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy. A man is looking to invent something that will repel evil invaders. He gets distracted but invents something so good that the evil invaders forget to invade and set up a trading agreement instead. A happy ending by accident. This story has nothing to do with the rest of book. Typical Douglas Adams. I must read it again sometime.

I have read the first Hitchhikers guide about 3 times now and I have no memory of this lmao. This is why they are so good to re-read...

Are we talking the books, the radio show, the LP or the film :-)
All had different stuff in them :-)

Film no, I definitely remember that not being the end of the film. I've never heard the radio show tho ;o

It started as a radio show. Very innovative. You're too young to remember!

she's probably far too young to remember the LP

Marc wrote: "I'm not sure it's necessarily a great ending but Life of Pi had an ending that completely flipped the reader's notion of what had gone on before in the book. Didn't quite work for me, b..."

I enjoyed the book but the whole hallucination part in the book is appalling. In the film it makes sense, in the book you have no idea what's going on. I'm all for quirky, but I could happily skip that whole section in the book on a second read. The rest, fantastic, the whole floating island with meerkats in the book, however, utter trash.

Visually in the movie it was spectacular and they nailed exactly what it meant, something the book failed to do.

Great book though and brilliant film adaptation.

I haven't seen the film but I really didn't get on with the book.

The film is brilliant, visually breath taking and highly deserving of the praise it got.

Even the random floating island does its job and in one shot actually makes sense. Proving that you can write what you want in a book, but sometimes one shot makes the whole thing make sense. A moment I feel that the author singly fails to do with all the words open for him to use.

It could be argued you decide what it means yourself, I found that moment of the book contrived and pointless and utterly meaningless. Something it isn't in the film.

The film was brilliant, the book was utter drivel, I thought. (Heck, my third cover is loosely inspired by the bit in the film where the ship sinks! You know, the bit with the zebra...)

I've read, watched and listened to H2G2 many times over the years, but I don't remember that ending. Maybe there's yet another version that I haven't discovered?

Just remembered Evelyn Waugh's The Loved One. Very satisfying in conclusion :)

Readers, I married him.

In real life, Jan, that's not a conclusion!

but may be as a result of jumping to one

Kath wrote: "In real life, Jan, that's not a conclusion!"

Yes, but it's a satisfying end to a fictional story :)

well not having seen the movie version ( I refuse to see adaptations of serious books) I just wanted to stick up for the book of Life Of Pi, even if I was unconvinced by the switch towards the end. I still think the rest of the book was magnificent.

If you're interested on why I won't watch movie adaptations, I blogged about it http://sulcicollective.blogspot.co.uk...