Happily ever after?

I'm sure you've heard the saying, "Happy endings are only found in books." It's a pretty cynical way of looking at life, but let's run with it for a moment. If you take fairytales, trashy adult fiction, or even a typical teen novel, you're likely to find a clichéd ending where the guy and girl have fallen in love, circumstances have changed in their favor, and they live...well, happily ever after.

We're taught as we grow up that, should any story begin with the telltale words, "Once upon a time..." a happy ending is to be expected post haste. In fact, nowadays there are many people who wouldn't pick up a book if it didn't have some suggestion of a possible romance or relationship. But does this expectation of eternal happiness, this semi-unreasonable ending, water down a book that could be potentially notable? Does a story need only a beatific conclusion to capture its readers' hearts? Is a juicy romance what we really yearn for, and therefore what we seek to find in the books we read - books that can provide the happy endings not always found in life?

Now, I'm not averse to a good romance. In fact, I enjoy books that end well; I get a feeling of resolution when stories have those tidy endings where everything works out and the characters probably lead content lives beyond the end of the novel. It's a good feeling. But I don't think it's a necessary feeling. A good author appeals to our emotions -  all of our emotions. An author should be able to make you feel giddy on one page and heartbreak on the next, but that shouldn't be where it ends.

As I have mentioned before, the magic of writing is that it opens up another world for you. And, while the story may not be real life, the characters should still seem real. Unless you're reading a science fiction novel that includes a race of mindless robots, or a thriller filled with brain-dead zombies, you should expect characters to have a range of emotions that goes far beyond love and a zeal for romance. Some of the best books out there give you those feelings and take them away. Why do we still love those authors after they've just raised our hope, crushed it, and then helped us move on? Because they did all of those things successfully and you feel a sense of contentment for having experienced it with them. Nicholas Sparks and his fondness of killing off major characters after we learn to love them is a perfect example of this. There is so much respect to give an author who can connect you so strongly to a character that does not really exist.

It's true when they say that it's easier to smile than to frown. The same goes for the emotion - it's easier to feel happy, giddy, or in love than it is to feel depressed, hopeless, or scared. A book that encompasses all of these emotions should be cherished just as much as one with just the former, if not more. I dare you to pick up a book this week that does not have a guaranteed happy ending. Find a story with an undeterminable conclusion and expect the most from it - you may be surprised by what you find. Happy endings are not bad things, but limiting yourself to that particular type of novel can be detrimental to your experience with the printed word. So challenge yourself with something a little different and let me know how it turns out!

What's your stance on happy endings?