Books

Different authors take different approaches to ending their novels. The prolific Joyce Carol Oates, for example, believes “The first sentence can’t be written until the final sentence is written.” Novelist and playwright Colm Tóibín, on the other hand, suggests that “Ending a novel is almost like putting a child to sleep — it can't be done abruptly.” Science-fiction author Frank Herbert, meanwhile, keeps it simple: “There is no real ending. It's just the place where you stop the story.” Whatever the approach, nailing the ending is arguably the trickiest part of any story: If an author comes up short with their finale, the reader will be left unsatisfied at best, or angry at worst. The following closing lines are often considered among the finest in literature, whether they are happy or sad, hopeful or hopeless, and in some cases simply heart-wrenching. And, yes: spoiler alert. yeremiah@aol.com Yeremiah Hardt