Was it in Natter that someone suggested numbering the conversations? Passage = #28

eta: Though I hasten to add, I agree.

Also, the ending of the movie of A Clockwork Orange is so perfect that I was disappointed to find the book didn't end the same way!

I don't know about the rest of the world, but in the US the ending of the book is the same as the movie - the last chapter was cut. Kubrick, who'd read it in the US, didn't find out about the other ending until later (not sure if it was prior to, during, or after filming) and hated it.

As for HANNIBAL, I must admit I really liked the ending because it was SO twisted and wrong. I spent the whole book going "this isn't going where I THINK it's going, is it?" Yep, that's where it went. But I was in a hugely misanthropic state of mind that year, which I'm sure was a contributing factor.

in the US the ending of the book is the same as the movie - the last chapter was cut

Not anymore -- I don't know when it was restored, but recent editions have the complete, original ending.

Not anymore -- I don't know when it was restored, but recent editions have the complete, original ending.

Ack, I wasn't clear enough - I meant back when the movie was made. I actually have the chapter from when Rolling Stone published it, and just have it stuffed into my old paperback copy.

Also, I don't think the non-US editions had the unofficial glossary. Is that still in the US edition?

Not to completely commercialize the discussion, but one ending I hated was the ending of Stephen King's It. Great book, wonderful characterizations of the kids and their friendships, creepy-spooky clown in the sewer, blah, blah, and then...the "reveal" of the evil just sucked. After 1,100 pages or whatever it was, I expected something a little more sophisticated than a big fat spider . A definite against-the-wall moment for me.

Also, I don't think the non-US editions had the unofficial glossary. Is that still in the US edition?

I don't think so. (At least mine doesn't -- the 1988 edition, with the "Check it out, we're letting Americans read the WHOLE BOOK now!" blurb on the back.)

When I read Clockwork Orange in high school (around 1997), it had all the chapters in it. (It was for a choice-reading assignment: we got a list of about 50 books, and had to read one from the list. My teacher told me to make sure I got a copy that had the final chapter.) I don't remember whether it had the glossary or not; I know I had a copy of the glossary when I was reading it, but it might have been a photocopy that my teacher gave me.

Also, I loved the last chapter of that book. I remember thinking that the book would be completely pointless without it. (I was 16 at the time. I don't totally remember what I meant by "completely pointless." I really need to reread this book.)

Just finished reading Jennifer Crusie's Bet Me. Very charming. I remember reading the first chapter on Crusie's website, and not really liking it. I take it all back.

But Faking It is still my favorite, followed closely by Welcome to Temptation, and then Bet Me.

The endings of Watership Down and Doomsday Book are wonderful, and make me weepy in a very good way. I don't mind sad endings, or even bleak endings such as Heart of Darkness, but I feel that those endings need to be earned as much as any happy ending.

Most of Terry Pratchett's books are ended well, IMHO. Plot lines are wrapped up more or less tidily, but very often the characters themselves are left poised on a moment of change.

I loved the ending of Hill House, for reasons that have been quoted above. The repetition of that opening paragraphy leaves one with the feeling that Hill House is a malevolent entity that can never be completely destroyed or obliterated.