Why I need happy endings
Happy endings taste of "kiss the bride" and kitschy sunsets, of long hugs and sky blue skies. They sound like cliches and roll-your-eyes-unrealisticness.
BUT.
I need more happy endings.
I don't want completely ridiculous just-in-time-rescues and yes, books are supposed to represent life and there are no happy endings in life because in the end we all die. (I know I'm a little ray of sunshine.)
But then, why do we read at all? Why do we spend so many hours wrapped up in blankets with a cup of tea beside us and gobble up the words of these wonderful things?
It's an escape. (And this is nothing new.) We want to forget the world around us and if we do that, the rules of our world don't apply anymore. And if you're not reading a book about immortals, then you know anyhow that your favourite characters are going to die at some point. The ending of a book does not necessarily mean the end of that world you just lived in. Imagination is the key here. You can dream up whatever you like. You can close the book with a satisfied feeling. But not so if everyone you have loved is dead.
BUT.
I need more happy endings.
I don't want completely ridiculous just-in-time-rescues and yes, books are supposed to represent life and there are no happy endings in life because in the end we all die. (I know I'm a little ray of sunshine.)
But then, why do we read at all? Why do we spend so many hours wrapped up in blankets with a cup of tea beside us and gobble up the words of these wonderful things?
It's an escape. (And this is nothing new.) We want to forget the world around us and if we do that, the rules of our world don't apply anymore. And if you're not reading a book about immortals, then you know anyhow that your favourite characters are going to die at some point. The ending of a book does not necessarily mean the end of that world you just lived in. Imagination is the key here. You can dream up whatever you like. You can close the book with a satisfied feeling. But not so if everyone you have loved is dead.
Dark and depressing endings cast a shadow over the whole book or even book series and might lead to me never reading it/them again. And I love reading books again.
Happy endings don't mean that we expect them in real life all the time but they can bring hope and light to dark days which is at least one reason for reading in the first place, right?
So please stop killing my favourite characters and, at least, try to conjure up a half-way happy ending.
So please stop killing my favourite characters and, at least, try to conjure up a half-way happy ending.
“Happily ever after, or even just together ever after, is not cheesy,”
“It’s the noblest, like, the most courageous thing two people can shoot for.”
(Wren, Fangirl)
Au revoir, little biscuits *snorting and sighing at a romantic film*
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