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Do you like a neatly tied up ending, or an unresolved ending? Usually, I like resolution. Especially in books, I like to know what is happening, or will happen, to the characters. Jane Austen has nice resolved endings in her books - the heroine marries the wealthy, handsome man. There is nothing I hate more than getting to the end of a very lengthy book, 400 pages or more, only to find I have no idea what will happen to the protagonist, and there is no sequel. I feel like screaming!
In short stories, the endings are often unresolved. The form lends itself to unresolved endings, and I can stomach them a bit better in a short story. But my favorite ending in a short story is the surprise ending - like O. Henry, or Jeffrey Archer. Archer is the master of surprise endings. He has a few short story collections, and one is entitled
A Twist in the Tale. That is a great read! You will gasp out loud at the endings in that book.
There is one book in the bible that ends with a question. It is a rhetorical question, but a question nonetheless. Can you tell me which book it is? You can leave a comment below.
The book of Jonah? Or the book of Job.
ReplyDeleteMagda
Jonah! Remember when Bill preached on it? "Should I not care about this great city?"
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