The other day, a friend mentioned she often reads the last page of a novel before deciding whether to continue. I dearly love this friend and have great respect for her. Maybe you, like her, also read the last page first. Good for you! Keep being beautiful you! As for me, I found this concept distressing, heading toward horrifying.
Not that I’ve never read ahead. I frequently skip forward a few pages to see where the story’s going. I’ll sometimes call it quits partly through a novel if the upcoming pages don’t hold my interest. But I don’t think I have ever, ever flipped to read the last sentence of a novel. Perish the thought! The last line, like the first line, holds sacred space in my mind. Earning the right to read the closing sentence only comes from having let the author walk me through all the preceding sentences.
Case in point. I recently read The Copper Beech by Maeve Binchy. Lovely story! As the end approached, I slowed my reading pace, not wanting to say goodbye to the characters. But the last page inevitably came into sight. Then the final paragraph.
As I read the closing sentence, I thought with dismay, “That’s how this wonderful story ends?” And suddenly I realized I was exactly where the author wanted me. The main point of the entire novel was cleverly hidden, and at the same time revealed, by my response to the last line. Had I skipped ahead, I might not have appreciated it.
When has a novel’s closing line made you smile? I hope you’ll send me a message and let me know, because I’d love to hear about it.
Okie-dokie, let’s talk about how all this relates to Wren Island. Every once in a while, a reader tells me they loved how Interesting Enough ended. Whenever I can, I ask for specifics. Answers vary, usually tied up in the concept of Allison finally understanding Virgil’s love for her. Sometimes a reader will, with a satisfied smile, quote the last line from memory.
And of course, that pleases me very much!
Interestingly enough (wink), Interesting Enough went through several significant changes before settling into the ending we love so much. There is no magic formula for crafting opening and closing lines that resonate. Instead, authors agonize (with blood, sweat, tears, during the day and in our dreams) over specific wording—for months, if not years. Then we send the manuscript back and forth to editors and critique partners and let them agonize over it. When the manuscript is finally off to print, we’re still wondering if anything might be improved by yet another tweak. By then it’s too late to make changes. So you can understand why it’s a thrill for an author to hear a reader say they loved the book’s closing line.
Not long from now, the next Wren Island novel be released! Ready for you to enjoy on your summer vacation, page after page, right up to the closing line—which, after many iterations, now makes me smile every time I read it. Will you smile too? Time will tell!
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[Photo courtesy of Unsplash.]