Comments on: Unhappily Ever After

By: thea mcginnis

thea mcginnis — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 01:31:02 +0000

ok, i’m being perfectly frank here: i have never watched Dances with Wolves because of the subject matter. I dread Civil War stories for the same reason – i know there is no happy ending. Even Gone With The Wind didn’t have a happy ending even though it was a great ending. But, on the other hand, I don’t regret reading Sophie’s Choice, even though the story was horrendous. But it was worth the read, for the sheer joy of the written word, woven by a great author. So, even though i love HEAs, sometimes we must take the risk and read a book for the pure joy of the read. I guess I’m telling you to buy the book, ter!

By: Elena Greene

Elena Greene — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 19:34:42 +0000

I love HEA but can also love stories with bittersweet endings as long as there’s a point. In Romeo&Juliet type stories the feuding parties share the sorrow of the tragedy and (one hopes) learn from it. In The Time Traveler’s Wife we know Clare and Henry cherish each moment together, as we all should.

The story I hated in school was Ethan Frome. At least at the time I felt there was no point to the suffering. Maybe if I were to reread it…no, there are already too many other books beckoning from my TBR list!

Bryan, it’s interesting what you say about HEA helping to sell books. I am seeing the opposite in my book discussion group. Prevalent themes include illness, death, dysfunctional families, the plight of women in 3rd world countries. I get the feeling that some feel the HEA common in popular fiction is somehow less worthy.

As for me, I’ve enjoyed broadening my reading but I go back to romance novels in between for balance and relief. I cannot say it better than Jennifer Crusie did in her article on Glee and Sympathy (hope this link comes through OK).

By: Bryan Catherman

Bryan Catherman — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 19:10:52 +0000

The H.E.A. ending works sometimes. I don’t care for it in the sports glory story because it’s too predictable. I like the trade-off ending like the ones you describe here. But sometimes, I need a good old fashioned Butch Cassidy going out in a blaze of glory ending. I enjoy the story that requires the reader to think about the ending a little. It’s nice to have an un-H.E.A. ending from time to time.

However, I wonder if this reduces the chances of having a good-selling novel. Do the happy endings help friends recommend books to other friends? I wonder if this is why we don’t see as many Of Mice and Men or Lord of the Flies these days?

By: Eric

Eric — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 16:12:06 +0000

The gist I get from books and everyone else is that it’s okay to have an unhappy ending as long as there is some kind of tradeoff. Your Casablanca example is spot on. Rick doesn’t get the girl, but he does come away with something–at the very least a good feeling about the future.

The hero doesn’t always get what they want. They might get something better in a more down-to-earth way.

By: Melissa Marsh

Melissa Marsh — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 16:11:36 +0000

I love HEA’s. In fact, I get pretty depressed if I read a book where it’s NOT HEA. Since I like to read mostly for escapist reasons (unless it’s my history books on WW2 which yeah, did NOT end on a happy note for lots of people), then I want a HEA, I want to feel good when I finish reading the book.