This leads to a literary subject I've been thinking about.
Endings are hard. What are your favorite endings in books?
Captain was looking for a pilot. I found a husband. Seemed to work out.
Zoe ,'Bushwhacked'
We're Literary 2: To Read Makes Our Speaking English Good
There's more to life than watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer! No. Really, there is! Honestly! Here's a place for Buffistas to come and discuss what it is they're reading, their favorite authors and poets. "Geez. Crack a book sometime."
DavidS - Mar 10, 2004 5:20:57 pm PST #1208 of 10002
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
Susan W. - Mar 10, 2004 5:22:52 pm PST #1209 of 10002
Good Trouble and Righteous Fights
Specific endings or types?
Steph L. - Mar 10, 2004 5:23:55 pm PST #1210 of 10002
I look more rad than Lutheranism
Off the top of my head, Gatsby. The Glass Menagerie, if we're counting plays.
The Prince of Tides.
Oh, oh, oh -- Kavalier and Clay might have the most perfect ending ever.
§ ita § - Mar 10, 2004 5:24:34 pm PST #1211 of 10002
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.
Prayer For Owen Meany.
DavidS - Mar 10, 2004 5:25:07 pm PST #1212 of 10002
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
Specific endings or types?
Specific endings. I just want to reverse engineer them a little bit and get a sense why they work.
DavidS - Mar 10, 2004 5:25:37 pm PST #1213 of 10002
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
Did I mention I'd like a little commentary on why the ending worked so well? I don't think I did.
§ ita § - Mar 10, 2004 5:26:46 pm PST #1214 of 10002
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.
God, some guys are so needy.
I liked the Owen Meany ending because it double-purposed so many things. It was a huge callback/tying up. So many things that functioned perfectly well on their own were revealed to also be foreshadowing the climax.
Dana - Mar 10, 2004 5:26:57 pm PST #1215 of 10002
I'm terrifically busy with my ennui.
Oh, yeah, Gatsby. The language makes me shake.
Betsy HP - Mar 10, 2004 5:27:27 pm PST #1216 of 10002
If I only had a brain...
Use of Weapons. Completely messes with your head.
Steph L. - Mar 10, 2004 5:28:35 pm PST #1217 of 10002
I look more rad than Lutheranism
I am way too tired tonight to even think about explicating why the endings work.
Hmm -- quick thought -- Kavalier and Clay brings everything full circle, without regressing; rather, the characters have matured, and yet come full circle.
t edit And what Dana said about the language in Gatsby -- it's astonishingly beautiful. And heartbreaking.