I am growing tired of enjoying a book, only to be utterly let down by the ending. Sometimes they’re overly juvenile and saccharine where love conquers all, or it’s obvious that the author wanted the most shocking twist imaginable and threw all sense of logic away into the wind. I want to finish a book and sit there in stunned silence while marveling at the inner workings of the author’s mind. The ending doesn’t have to necessarily be shocking, although I do rather enjoy a twist ending. I would enjoy a predictable ending, as long as it wraps the story up in a satisfying way. I am open to all genres as well. Thank you! 🩷
by honeypeppercorn
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Watership Down is one of my favorite books, in no small part because it has one of the most satisfying endings I’ve ever read.
The Curse of Chalion by Lois Macmaster Bujold has a very satisfying ending.
Surprisingly, when I think about it, Strugatsky brothers have some really nice endings in their stand alone works.
Their Roadside Picnic is about a person that goes through life stealing and selling alien artifacts and how such life affects him. It has a very nice ending. You both expect it and hope that somehow it will turn out to be something else. It doesn’t disappoint in means of its quality, not for me, at least, it’s well rounded enough. I think that it ended right where it had to end.
Another one that came to my mind is A Billion Years Before the End of the World, for some reason the published name for it in English was Definitely Maybe. Basically, it’s a story about Universe literally hating you, your work and your very existence, and how you can (or cannot) fight it. Mindblowing experience. The story is told in this sort of diary tone, that makes you sink into it. Somewhat scary and unsettling, tbh.
Both those books have open-ish endings that don’t need to be closed with sequel or another chapter. And both left me in awe.
I know his writing isn’t everyone’s cup of tea but The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon has my all time favorite ending.