I recently listened to a bookish podcast discussion in which one of the hosts mentioned that she rarely remembers the endings of books. I could relate! Of course I do remember the endings of many books, but it’s not uncommon for me to have no recollection of the specifics surrounding a book’s conclusion. This is even true for books I’ve read recently, or books with plots that center on a grand finale, such as the reveal of the culprit at the end of a mystery. I will remember the feeling a book gave me, or the broader journey that I traveled with the author, over the final destination.
Given my tendency to forget a book’s ending, it’s not surprising that I don’t NEED a standout or stellar ending for my reading experience to be a positive one. I can honestly say that a poorly executed conclusion rarely ruins a book for me. My positive views of a book tend to reflect the book as a whole and not the sum of its parts, so a bad ending usually won’t ruin an entire reading experience. (Crossing to Safety and The Lincoln Highway are two books with endings I didn’t love, but that I still consider all-time favorites.) I have very rarely rethought a book rating based on a lackluster conclusion. I won’t say that it’s NEVER happened, but a book’s ending would have to be spectacularly terrible to leave me with a bad impression of a book I otherwise enjoyed. (Two books I liked but ultimately didn’t love based on the final chapters were All the Lonely People and Rental House, both of which might have been 5-star reads if they’d ended differently.)
Strangely, the opposite is not true: an especially good or surprising ending can absolutely improve my perception of a book, and I’ve often bumped my book rating up a star or two because the final chapter or epilogue redeemed my reading experience. This is particularly true with mysteries, when a twist is thrown in at the very end (every one of Lisa Jewell’s books fall into this group); with romances that have an especially sweet Happily Ever After (examples from recent reads are One Star Romance and Summer Romance); and with nonfiction that has a standout conclusion (Harrison Scott Key’s memoir on marriage comes to mind here). So apparently, for me, a bad ending won’t ruin a good book, and a great ending can save a bad one.
A discussion of books’ conclusions would not be complete without addressing the topic of ambiguous endings. This tends to be a very polarizing issue, and I generally land in the pro-ambiguity camp. I do need some resolution—for instance, I would hate to read a murder mystery in which we are left with zero answers about the culprit—but I am usually okay if a story line is not wrapped up with a bow. I especially like ambiguous endings that prompt some thoughtful contemplation or possibly a discussion, and I would prefer an unclear ending to one that felt forced or misaligned with the arc of the story. (Gone Girl and The Giver are two famous examples of books with ambiguous endings that I enjoyed.) That said, something I really DON’T like is a cliffhanger ending from a book in a series that offers zero resolution without continuing to the next book. Some loose ends related to the series’ ongoing story arcs are find, but I need SOME sense of finality, if only for the immediate story. (The Harry Potter books do this well; The Hunger Games books do not.)
One more thing about endings (and I know this is controversial): I actually don’t mind having the ending of a book spoiled. I rarely make any effort to avoid spoilers in book discussions and sometimes find that knowing an ending ahead of time enhances my overall reading experience. For years, I would intentionally spoil books for myself by pre-reading (or at least peaking at) the final chapters of a book. I do much less of that these days, but my reasons are largely logistical since I read mostly on Kindle and audio and it’s harder to skip to the ending in those mediums.
So, those are my thoughts on book endings. And now I’d love to hear from you! Do you remember the endings of the books that you read? How important is a strong ending for your overall reading experience? How do you feel about vague endings and cliffhangers? Are you a spoiler seeker, or do you avoid spoilers at all costs? Let’s discuss, either here on the blog or over on Substack. I’m especially interested to hear about specific books you loved or hated based on a good, bad, ambiguous endings.
I thought I was the only one who forgot endings! I would be talking about it and suddenly realize with embarrassment that I couldn’t remember whodunit, or how the story resolved! I can’t understand how, because often you are reading TO get to the conclusion, and then you up and forget it?? Maybe it didn’t stick for a reason?
I realize that several of my favorite authors are not great on endings, including Ann Patchett (the story and characters are the thing), Anne Tyler (ditto) and Amor Towles, yeah, like The Lincoln Highway, but also The Gentleman from Moscow! But they write so beautifully and show such insight, I still consider them gems. I think Liane Moriarty does a good job on endings, as well as Andy Weir, Wm Kent Krueger, Monica Wood and Anna Quindlen….I’m looking at my journal, looking for either great endings or bad ones, and I came across two bad ones—“My Murder” by Katie Williams and I wrote “did not like ending”, but I can’t remember what it was! Also, “Girl in Translation” (“not happy with ending”), but I can’t remember what happened in that one, either! I just finished “Lonesome Dove” and found that ending very disappointing, after a stellar book. None of these ruin the reading experience, but they make them less than perfect (even at 5 stars). I think a book should have a Beginning, a Body, and an Ending. I think each are important. It can be a LITTLE ambiguous, but not excessively. I was happy with the subtle ending of Migrations. But my favorite is when they wrap it all up in a spectacular way that I did not see coming, and I think, OH, that’s PERFECT!!!! (glow, glow, glow). For that matter, Defending Jacob was a POW! ending and it was shocking, but perfect. And A Man Called Ove had a good ending, too, although sad. Sorry, I do run on….
You are so right about lackluster endings from Anne Tyler and Amor Towles and great ones from William Kent Krueger and Lian Moriarty—and somehow they are all favorite authors of mine! I agree, as much as I can forget an ending, a spectacular one is such a gift.
An ending makes or breaks the book for me! I really dislike truly ambiguous endings. After my investment of time, an author needs to land the plane! The ending definitely affects my star rating. I hated the ending of Everything, Everything and felt so punked I threw the book in the trash! We Were the Lucky Ones has one of the most satisfying endings I’ve read. If I dnf a book I will often read the ending for some closure. Also, if the book is especially tense I will peek at the ending to see who’s still alive!
Carol, I think you are in the majority on wanting resolution. I’ve been eager to read We Were the Lucky Ones, the author was on Sarah’s Bookshelves last week and she sold me on both that book and her newest! Oh, I absolutely will read some of an ending if I DNF a book though I’m not a frequent DNF’er so I don’t need to do that often. SAME on making sure someone is still alive with a sneak peek!