Does the lack of a happy ending ruin an otherwise good book?

[bookworm19]

It is interesting to consider the way a happy ending concludes a book, it is also in the same sense interesting to consider how a huge twist can change the way a reader feels at the end of a book. I have always thought that when a book ends with a happy ending it is successful and I was never a fan of a big twist to finish off a book. But then this past month I read Tim O'Brien's "The Things They Carried" and I completely changed my mind.

In the end of O'Brien's book he confesses that the stories he has confided in the reader are almost completely lies. He was a foot soldier during Vietnam but he did not experience nor meet anyone who experienced the things he wrote about. I found myself thinking, and even asking my class, does that make his book any less successful? Are the hauntings he experiences througout the book cheapened by the idea that he himself did not kill any men? Do we not still feel completely connected to the characters? Does it matter that the events are made up?

I think that his book is amazing and I still find myself thinking back on the characters and the things they experienced. I made connections with characters that I was under the impression were real, and when I realized they were fictional I was shocked initially. And then I realized that the ending of this particular book did not take anything away from the experience I had while reading it!

[AndiSGraham]

No, I don't think that an unhappy ending ruins a good book. Sometimes a tragedy makes a story that much better, and sometimes I find that a happy ending that doesn't feel right leaves a bad taste in my mouth. And sometimes, bittersweet is just enough.

[Jozanny]

Although I am not prepared to deal with the specific details at this moment, I actually think Dickens' original ending for Great Expectations makes it one of his greatest novels, and he was wrong to take the advice from his friends to change it.

[froglipz]

I think that the ending has to be a good place to stop. Happy sad or tragic works for me. Although like most, I like a happy ending. Sometimes you would have to ruin a perfectly good story to make the ending happy.

In one series of books I read book two was apparently supposed to be the end, but it was too much material for a single book so they split it into books two and three. Usually I am not so discerning a reader to notice, but in this case it was almost like they just picked the end of the sentence closest to the middle...THAT ruined that book for me and I almost didn't read the third book.

[Aqueda_Veronica]

For me a happy ending is what usually ruins a book. I think: "And that's it? Come on, it can't be THAT simple!?!"
I like open endings, as they leave more room for imagination.

[magicjarpublishing]

To me it's not really about whether the ending is happy or sad, but if it feels right. Sometimes a story feels like it should end on a positive note, but other times I can see where it makes more sense for the story to end in a sad way. It's all situational. As long as the ending feels like it fits with the rest of the book, happy or sad it's fine.

[EndlessLaymon]

Not for me. To be frank I often get bored of happy endings, I feel unhappy endings gives us that surprise that makes the book a more overwhelming reading experience.

[Chris OConnor]

I don't read enough fiction to have much of an answer to this question, but I suppose every story cannot and should not end on a positive note. All I expect in a great novel is some form of closure to the story. Unanswered questions are OK, but a great story should have a certain feeling that the end has been reached - at least for now - or until a sequel is out.

[Aqueda_Veronica]

Not for me. To be frank I often get bored of happy endings, I feel unhappy endings gives us that surprise that makes the book a more overwhelming reading experience.

THANK YOU! My point exactly

[berry]

I like happy ends. Or, at least, if the end is not happy, I need a hope.