Reading 1001 discussion

6. Is the ending satisfying? If so, why? If not, why not...and how would you change it?

It ended probably much better than I anticipated after reading the first couple of chapters.

I thought the end was a little too neat. Given the foreshadowing Cao engaged in the prior 40 chapters or so, I was expecting a much more severe denouement of the family. To flip it around and say, but all's well that ends well seemed a little trite. I wondered if perhaps this was the unfinished portion of the book and it's unsatisfying conclusion was evidence of a lesser talent finishing the work.

Remember that Gao E finished the framework left by Cao Xueqin for the last two tomes. The style and pace of the story were quite different from the first three tomes, and I am pretty this was not just due to a different translator (Minford).

I would have liked something more but not sure what that would have been.

I agree that it was probably a little too neat and tidy of an ending. I suspect that this is due to another writer finishing the book. I wonder how Cao would have ended the book.

Maybe if Cao had finished the book it would be as long as Proust.