Monday, February 21, 2011

Cut the Bitter and Give Me the Sweet

So I just finished a completely awesome book, but the ending was bittersweet...with a heavy emphasis on the bitter. And I'm just not sure how I feel about that :)

One the one hand, the book was WONDERFUL. I read it in a day and a half, couldn't put it down, LOVED it. I'm still thinking about it, have been all day, which really tells you how good it was.

But...

It didn't have that Happily Ever After ending that I love so much. Now, the ending fit the book. It worked. And there is an opening for a sequel where all could be made right (though I don't think there is one). However...argh. I just want a happy ending!

For the same reason I pretty much stick to romantic comedies with the occasional action flick that ends nicely. When I take time out of my day to read or watch a movie, I want to come away HAPPY. I don't want to be sad about the characters I've grown to love. I'm all for torturing them throughout the book, but when I turn that last page, I want there to be smiles all around.

What can I say? I'm a total sap :D Now, I'm good with stories like The Hunger Game series. I mean, it really needed to end the way it did, and in the end *spoiler alert if you haven't read it* Katniss does end up with a good man who loves her and she does find some peace. So, I'm not saying that it has to be all sunshine and rainbows.

But man...give me a little bit LOL

What kind of endings do you prefer? Are you okay with less than happily ever after endings? How much less?

10 comments:

Laura Pauling said...

I prefer an emotional satisfying ending. If it's a sad ending and it makes sense, I'm okay. But for the most part I'm with you and prefer happy ending. I did not agree with the HUnger Games Ending. I didn't think it was happy or hopeful at all. I do feel there could have been a more satisfying ending for the reader. The entire 3rd book didn't make total sense to me based on the first two. I wasn't expecting it all - and not in a good surprise way!

B.E. Sanderson said...

I don't necessarily need a happily ever after, but I need some kind of hope at the end of a book. Happy for now, happy occasionally, eventually happy - some kind of hope that something good has come out of this story I devoted hours to.

Lindsay said...

I don't need the perfect happy ending, but I do like some kind of happiness/hope at the end.

Jenna Wallace said...

For the most part, I like a happy ending. But sometimes I like it when an author makes the tough choice. It can take real guts, especially since authors grow to care so much about their characters.

Christine Fonseca said...

I don't need happy....just authentic

Misha Gerrick said...

I agree with B.E. and Lindsay. Hope is very important.

I don't like endings that make me chew my wrists.

;-P

Katrina L. Lantz said...

I'm like you, Michelle. I need happily ever afters. Hunger Games ended okay, and the more time I put between myself and that story, the more I appreciate the way it ended. But I can't abide botched endings, like horror movie endings. The pod people ending has always really bugged me. In a book, it's even worse because you put a lot of effort into reading a book and spend more time with the characters than in a movie.

Writing a good ending can be elusive, though. So I understand when authors don't get it exactly right.

Colene Murphy said...

What was it?

Bittersweet endings are only good if they fit. But even when they do I can't help but dwell on the happy ending I wanted. *sigh* Oh well!

Sage Ravenwood said...

I read a lot of horror and suspense and in quite a few cases the ending is bittersweet. I don't have a problem with ending like this, I think at times it mimics life. So often we don't get the results we hoped for or resolve life's problems.

The only condition for me, is I don't like to be left hanging. I want the story to be resolved in one way or another. (Hugs)Indigo

Eric said...

First off, no bashing the ending of that particular book LOL. Just kidding.

I'm okay with however a book ends, as long as it's true to the story. I'm okay if it's a difficult to swallow ending. But it better be real, it better make sense. Like the ending of a certain celebrated author who wrote Under The Dome really irritated me, because after such a huge tome, it didn't make sense for the story. In fact, it just felt hurried, as if he just wanted to end it. That irritated me so much that I ended up hating the book.