tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post4757209349700508359..comments2024-03-25T09:56:16.164+00:00Comments on An Awfully Big Blog Adventure: END GAME - Dianne HofmeyrUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-56352718957873410632011-11-22T12:04:56.580+00:002011-11-22T12:04:56.580+00:00A slight variant on your ambiguous and complex end...A slight variant on your ambiguous and complex endings, to which I'm partial: the ambivalent ending, in which the reader is left with powerfully conflicting feelings about whatever the protagonist got. Tolkien's Frodo succeeds beyond hope when he destroys the Ring and saves the Shire; but he loses the Shire for himself; but but he gets to go Bilbo to the Blessed Lands for healing.... Le Guin's Ged succeeds beyond hope when he stops the Dry Spring and restores the Kingship; but he loses the art he's built his life around; but but he gets to have done with doing, and see Tenar again, and walk in the pine-woods of Gont Mountain... <br /><br />For me, suchlike ends to a tale are the most haunting and unforgettable of all. They don't close off everything, but end still alive, still moving, still mattering beyond the last white of the page. For that, I love them the best.Gray Woodlandhttp://goat-in-the-machine.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-6249613476271017052011-11-20T20:27:51.291+00:002011-11-20T20:27:51.291+00:00Oh yes... Owen Meany! Gosh how I loved John Irving...Oh yes... Owen Meany! Gosh how I loved John Irving. What an interesting idea, Liz. Like one of those write your own adventure stories. And Adele here it is... 'So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.' –F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby (1925)<br />I found this site with the 100 best last lines a moment ago and your one was 3rd on the list!!! Its a fascinating list. Worth looking at. http://americanbookreview.org/PDF/100_Best_Last_Lines_from_Novels.pdf<br />(you'll have to copy and paste as it doesn't want to underline)Dianne Hofmeyrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18222157214605257030noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-13918582658136987882011-11-20T12:56:02.816+00:002011-11-20T12:56:02.816+00:00I'd forgotten about Owen Meany! I got to the e...I'd forgotten about Owen Meany! I got to the end and lay on the sofa gasping at it ...madwippitthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02595748471651052552noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-2577769850126004462011-11-20T10:35:24.247+00:002011-11-20T10:35:24.247+00:00Very thought provoking. John Irving is very good a...Very thought provoking. John Irving is very good at providing astonishing endings that make you feel like clapping because he wraps everything up with such style and in a totally unexpected way. He did that in A Prayer For Owen Meany - I can't remember the details, but I know I was lost in admiration. Terry Pratchett sometimes does it too - I just re-read Lords and Ladies, and that was a kind of hang-onto-the-reins-and-try-to-keep-up kind of ending, too.In fact I think TP is the reverse of the usual - he's better at endings than beginnings. Thanks, Di, and congratulations on finishing the first draft!Sue Purkisshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09084528571944803477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-20768787469123187072011-11-20T07:59:19.815+00:002011-11-20T07:59:19.815+00:00Di, this is a great post, and so true. I very ofte...Di, this is a great post, and so true. I very often feel let down by the end of a book. So many seem inadequate to me, and I've often wondered how so many authors seem to write great books with weak endings. <br /><br />Interestingly, we watched 'Limitless' (hi-concept thriller) on DVD yesterday, and in the extras, there was an 'alternate ending' which we watched - and I actually preferred to the original one. But the idea of having an alternate ending in itself was interesting. I wonder if our editors would ever let us get away with that with a book if we can't decide between two endings!<br /><br />Good luck finding your perfect ending! xxLiz Kesslerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12675259815023413448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-30854061964611132892011-11-19T21:31:27.364+00:002011-11-19T21:31:27.364+00:00Yes, Howard's End.Yes, Howard's End.catdownunderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06959328192182156574noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-79811369234042042622011-11-19T15:54:02.921+00:002011-11-19T15:54:02.921+00:00You're so right about endings being so importa...You're so right about endings being so important and hard to get right. As a reader, they quite often influence whether I'll read another book by the author. As a writer, I know myself when the ending is inadequate - but how to get it right is another matter. The master of endings, for me is Markus Zuzak. The ending for 'The Messenger' (SPOILER ALERT) is: "I am not the messenger at all. I am the message." It is stunning and, having read the rest of the book, makes you gasp with realisation.Abi Burlinghamhttp://www.abiburlingham.talktalk.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-86958469375541752332011-11-19T15:29:41.634+00:002011-11-19T15:29:41.634+00:00Fascinating, Dianne! MY favourite last line and I&...Fascinating, Dianne! MY favourite last line and I'm too lazy to go downstairs, climb on a chair and get The Great Gatsby off the top shelf but it's the one about us being carried like boats beating against the stream etc. One to google if you don't know it and if you do, you'll know what I mean. Apologies for laziness.adelehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15826710558292792068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-38793891077659440732011-11-19T14:53:48.688+00:002011-11-19T14:53:48.688+00:00yes... forgot cliff-hangers! And before I unpack e...yes... forgot cliff-hangers! And before I unpack every book on my bookshelves, where is 'Only connect' from Cat? Is it Howards End? Or am I way off the mark? And beginning as endings... that's one to test out.Dianne Hofmeyrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18222157214605257030noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-39687340120226190082011-11-19T12:23:06.153+00:002011-11-19T12:23:06.153+00:00With my children's books I sometimes copy Walt...With my children's books I sometimes copy Walter de la Mare and use the beginning paragraph as the ending. It's also easy, finding an ending, as I write sequels. :0)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07957545161716269528noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-46090938936579640942011-11-19T10:22:28.835+00:002011-11-19T10:22:28.835+00:00Don't forget the cliffhanger ending!
However g...Don't forget the cliffhanger ending!<br />However good they may be, those are REALLY annoying when you weren't expecting them, and assumed it was a standalone book ...madwippitthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02595748471651052552noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-57059244389209837652011-11-19T07:34:43.946+00:002011-11-19T07:34:43.946+00:00The ultimate ending has to be "Only connect.&...The ultimate ending has to be "Only connect." I wish I had written that.catdownunderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06959328192182156574noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-49536272203345039662011-11-19T07:10:17.510+00:002011-11-19T07:10:17.510+00:00I like endings with a hirsute theme.I like endings with a hirsute theme.Gorilla Bananashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13044093013423635830noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-44342319843954967572011-11-19T07:09:34.310+00:002011-11-19T07:09:34.310+00:00Here's the last sentence of
Chronicle of a Bl...Here's the last sentence of <br /><i>Chronicle of a Blood Merchant</i> by Yu Hua<br /><br />"That's why people say pubic hair doesn't come out till after you eyebrows do, but gets even longer in the end."Gorilla Bananashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13044093013423635830noreply@blogger.com