Question Can a books ending be satisfactory?

Yes, some books it is like thank god it's finally over. THey dragged on for an additional 300 chapters after it should have ended!

Some books yes because they leave you happy with the story the way it is, especially in tragic endings when the anti hero mc dies. That would be a perfect ending for WMW thinking about it... he finally reaches his goal to be smitten by a random hero...

 

Of course the endings can be satisfactory~ I like Stephen king books. And the Dresden files by Jim butcher has good endings

 

Alright, I'll overgeneralize based on few experiences: most unsatisfying endings - Korean works (leaves you wanting more). Most satisfying endings - Chinese works (the wedding is shown, the kids grow up, the legacy is in place). Never-ending open endings - Japanese works (always room for a sequel).

Now don't go taking this seriously xD. Personally, if I really got attached to a book, any kind of ending leaves me depressed for a few days.

 

I find very little Chinese endings satisfying, other than "finally its over". They stretch things way too long and should have ended ages ago. The others I'll agree.

 

Lol, if I see a Chinese novel with over 500 chapters, I immediately give up on coherent plot structure (especially if the number of chapters has 4 digids...). My usual reads are below 200-300 chapters, so maybe that's why the endings leave me satisfied enough .

 

That makes a lot of sense. Except that I've been reading books range from 550 to 1200 chapters and they've been utterly amazing. They even have competently constructed plots and halfway decent endings and everything. Unfortunately they're not translated so they're probably not representative of Chinese novels on NU.

 

Some authors are just skillful. I'd be interested in reading such novels. Sometimes longer novels are better to immerse yourself in.

 

Exactly. Yue Guan is a great writer and one of the main reasons why his books are so good is because he draws out tons of stories from throughout history, big and small, and puts them into his books. The one I'm reading right now is set in the beginning of Wu Zetian's reign because of the number of prominent female historical figures during this period. This isn't the kind of thing I'd expect from the average xianxia novel.

 

If it is a long series or book, I tend to stop reading near the end. Same goes for TV series, or anime. I get too attached to these fictional characters, so much so that I have trouble parting ways with them. If I never get to the ending, I will always have something I love to return to. I know it is a very stupid and flawed way of thinking, but after getting to the ending of a few favorites, I miss them way too much and have no way to see new content. It's a preemptive measure.

So considering that, I don't think that there is any book with an ending that truly satisfies me. There are ones that come close, but they all end - that by itself cannot be satisfactory.

 

Well, a satisfactory ending is hard to achieve. It depends on:

• the authors: did they have the intention to end the story? did they thought about the end or just keep going and see where it may end?
• the reader: did the story ending answers all the questions, worries or wishes of the reader?

And let's not talk about publishers, they are here just for the nuffies

 

I am not always satisfied with how some books end, but I am satisfied with the book.
Sometimes we have to accept that the intent of the author is not how we want the story to end ... and sometimes we have to admit that the whole book/story was awful from the start.

But honestly, I do not read WNs/LNs with the same mindset I read most published books - just as I don't compare fast food with à la carte/gastro meals.


... and help us Lord Fith if there is even an open end ...

... really? ... I mean REALLY?

He did write some of the best books I did read (for that genre) ... but jeez did he write some awful stuff as well ...

 

I prefer open endings so I can believe the world in the story moves on and it never truly ends. Usually books that have a solid ending will have one I do not like how things ended Rather it just be left to w/e I wanted it to be in my mind while leaving hope for a future sequel. Not saying all open endings are good but I prefer that style to end stories.

 

I was trying to figure out how to word what I like in endings but then I read this and it sums it up perfectly.

I don't actually think I've seen too many bad endings, or maybe I'm just not remembering them (I have a tendency to forget things I don't enjoy). I can definitely remember a lot of good ones though.

As far as WN/LN are concerned I think I've only finished like 4 since most of them are still translating. One had a good ending (Girl Who Ate a Death God) and the others were not that great.

 

Hmmm... I think it depends on the size of the story?

The smaller one story is, the easier it is to find a fulfilling ending IMO.

The easiest examples are one-shots, it's really hard to find one-shots with bad endings, because... Hey, they need to start and wrap things up all on the same chapter, so they better make it worth it!

Small series are the same, because they're usually planned from start to finish, the author has a good grasp of what they want to make, so it's made well.

Big series though... It depends on the skill of the author, how much of that was planned and... How farther from the author's plan did it go.

The simplest example would be the Jump mangas, most of them get stretched far beyond anything the author planned for, yet they keep on being written... Well, what do you get? Endings like Bleach, Fairy Tail and Naruto... In other words, utter trash.

However, some works have been really carefully planned since way before the author started writing, like One Piece... Which still hasn't ended, but the quality hasn't dropped, so I can expect a great ending from it.

Some other authors might simply be really skilled, or they might simply have good memory and hate leaving loose ends, so they tend to wrap as many things together as possible, which tend to give better endings.

Overall, I think it's a lot easier to get an unsatisfying end than a good end, because... Well, you are already filled with that sense of "it's over", since you can no longer read that novel... To go from that, to an actual poor ending, doesn't take much, it takes a lot more skill to transform that into a good ending IMO.

 

satisfaction from being relieved that you will never be disappointed again reading the novel, that got you hooked and stayed loyal to, expecting it to become as great as when you first read it?

 

Yup. Since satisfaction is mostly dependent on the reader, it is possible. I don't really have too high of an expectation for most books, so I'm usually satisfied. I'm also not someone who needs all questions answered or all plot lines finished. So long as the ending makes sense within the world that the author created, I'll have no problem.

 

A novel with a satisfactory ending for me ? Well I doubt I'll ever find such thing ....i may find close to satisfactory though

 

To me, feeling empty is satisfactory. It signals to me that I was pulled so much into the world that I didn't want it to end. An epic journey that spanned countless hours, living life in the world of the protagonist. On the other hand, there are some novels/anime that just leave you a feeling of confusion. It felt like it ended too fast. Too many questions unanswered. What happened to that one guy?
I felt Tate no Yuusha and Mushoko Tenshi to be like this. Sevens and Code Geass (I hoped Lelouch would somehow live as it was hinted a little) felt a little unsatisfactory as I wanted more, and the drama SanShengSanShi was pretty unsatisfactory as there were many questions.

 

Have you read this masterpiece known as Where the Red Fern Grows?