Ode to Happy Endings
Posted on | October 27, 2009 | Leave a comment | Print This Post
I read a lot. It doesn’t matter if the kids are screaming or a deadline is looming, I have to read. Fiction, nonfiction, all books call to me but at the end of the day I gravitate towards books with those gosh darn happy endings.
I’m not talking about fluffy or cotton-candy-pink kind of happy (though I’ve read some of those, too). I’m talking about books with a hero or heroine we find ourselves rooting for, watching in both horror and fascination as they navigate the unwieldy circumstances of their lives. Will they make it? God, I hope so. I find it difficult to believe that we’re all put here on this earth just to fall flat on our faces and fail, over and over again. What kind of life experience is that?
I was perusing reader comments on amazon.com the other day in search of some new titles and I saw that there is always the reader that detests happy endings (and yes, I confess, I read the comments for my books too—how can you resist?). This kind of reader hates it if things get “tied up too neatly” or “issues are too easily resolved.” I get it: life’s not always like that. In fact, I’m sure he/she could regale me with stories (most likely personal in nature) of things that have gone wrong. Repeatedly. Sometimes with disastrous results. And, of course, with no happy ending.
Happiness is a good thing!
But here’s why I write what I do: I write fiction that’s fun and entertaining, but also full of mishaps because I want my heroine to grow. I want her to figure it out, I want her to be pushed to really question what matters most. She won’t always, at least not right away, but eventually she finds her way. This does not mean that everything goes the way she wants it—it just means recognizes the value of her ordeal. It is all not for naught. In coming through the other side, she opens herself to all the good things that come when we appreciate what life throws at us. It helps us appreciate what we have and refine what we really want.
I loved Thelma and Louise. That’s hardly the kind of happy ending you’d expect, but it worked for me on so many levels for all of the reasons I’ve stated above. Happily ever after doesn’t mean the prince and the castle (though it can, there’s nothing wrong with that) but in my mind that’s all gravy. It’s actually all about the heroine and, by extension, the reader. In real life we root for the underdog, the most deserving, the most passionate, those who have overcome all odds. So why not in fiction?
I think it’s great when we fall in love with the characters in a book and hope that things work out for the best, especially when things are looking pretty bleak. I think it’s okay to be thrilled, happy, relieved, when things do work out, because don’t we want that in our own lives?
I know I certainly do. Have a great November, everyone!
hugs,
Mia
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