Now that may
seem like an oxymoron but there are novels I loved until I got to the
ending. But the journey was so intriguing I still count some of those
books as favorites. I’m going to mention a couple without giving
the story or plot away—just simply state the book was a great read
in spite of the ending.
The first
novel that comes to mind is House
on the Strand by Daphne du Maurier. It’s a
time travel and the inspiration for my future time travel stories
featuring Dr. M.M. (Lynnie) Tiger, whose first time travel adventure
occurred in a short story in my YA book The
Happy Tigers. House on
the Strand was a book I couldn’t put down.
And although the protagonist was able to go back into the past by
taking a drug, my protagonist will go back by touching ancient
artifacts. The ending, however, was a downer but the fact I couldn’t
put the book down until I got to the end still puts it in my all-time
favorites list.
Another
novel I loved until the ending was Sullivan’s
Sting by Lawrence Sanders. This was a fun
read all the way through until I got to the ending., which was a
great disappointment but I still gave the book an A+. Sanders wrote
some series that were fabulous (and I always looked forward to the
sandwiches one of his protagonists ate). Other novels by him were
great disappointments all the way through. Sullivan’s
Sting was a fun read but, for me, the ending
fizzled.
On an
opposite note, I have read novels I hated until I got to the end
where the ending was so good it made up for the rest of the novel.
One novel that comes to mind is The Children
of Men by P.D. James whose Dalgleish
mysteries I love. But this is a stand a lone. For me the first half
was beyond depressing but the ending more than made up for the rest
of the book. It was even made into an award winning movie.
And in
regard to my own writing, my novel Who’ll
Kill Agnes? has an unexpected and not so
happy ending. There were a few miniscule clues along the way but I
doubt any reader saw that ending coming. In fact, I, as the writer,
didn’t see it coming until I got to the end.
