Happy Endings


The wonderful Sarah Lapolla asked a question this week that got me thinking about endings... She asked if a book can be great literature if it has a happy ending. (She also broke up with vampires last week; for this, she has my eternal devotion and gratitude.)

I think it's a little too complicated to classify any ending of any story as "happy" or "sad." More important, I think, is whether the ending flowed naturally from the story and the characters. I'd rather ask, "was the ending satisfying?" To me, that's far more important.

Sarah over at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books blogged about the "happy for now" ending. I love what she says about real life - no one gets to "wallow in the warm mud of happiness without any extra effort." Life is messy, complicated, unsatisfying, and confusing most of the time. Happiness has to walk alongside all of that other stuff.

My novel has a "happy for now" ending for the protagonist, but not so much for his love interest. He chooses her, but she distrusts him because of his previous choices. The next book will focus on her and her choices more. Will she choose him amidst the chaos and fear of a coming war? Hm... Wait and see...

What do you think? What are some of your favorite satisfying endings in literature? Do you like the "happy for now" ending or the happy ending or the sad ending?