Should a book say "The End"

[screwballl]

I have seen plenty of books with "The End" at the finale. Typically this is because there may be an after-word or advertising or something else after the normal pages to be read.

[carld]

I read an ebook that ended in such an odd place I had no idea if the story was finished or not. It was the first book in the series so it could well have ended there, or have continued, either way. That one definitely could have used some sort of end of book marker.

[DreamWriter]

Personally, I prefer a graphic to signal the end of a book. It's charming to see "The End" in children's stories, though.

[HarryT]

I read largely 19th and early 20th century novels. In those you have either "The End" or "Finis" more often than not.

[gmw]

Some books, particularly ones with a fairy-tale like feel to their telling, it seems to fit very well to have "The End" - in such cases I find it is almost part of the story, if you get what I mean. But otherwise I don't really care much either way. If "The End" is used in a book that is part of a series then I would suggest that it should normally also indicate whether it is the end of the series or just that book - the two words on their own could otherwise be confusing.

[James_Wilde]

Originally Posted by neilmarr

ALWAYS use 'The End'. As an editor, I made it a personal rule four decades ago to check the close of a manuyscript before reading. If the last page I had didn't clearly carry the words 'The End', the ms was returned to the author to add it. It's far too easy for closing pages to be accidentally missed otherwise. Neil

When I first read this, Neil, I thought "that's overkill". My feeling is that, if you read the last page, and don't know that you've got to the last page, then the author has screwed up. (S)he hasn't provided a credible solution to the problems (s)he has created. A well-written book should make one sigh - with happiness for a happy ending, sadly for the other kind - when one has read the last paragraph, and knows that the story is over.

But then I began to reflect. I don't know how many books I've read - especially ones recommended by quality newspaper critics - where I've got to the last page and my reaction has been "and...?". But then, a good publisher wouldn't publish a book like that, would they? Maybe I should take a look at the book list at "Bewrite".

Thought for the day: I wonder if this is the criterion for a classic work? When one gets to the end of, say, "Pride and Prejudice" or "Far from the Madding Crowd" one knows one is there. All the loose ends are tied up in a most satisfactory way. Perhaps this is why I find myself turning more and more to the classics for a good read. And even in a series, each book should end satisfactorily, which doesn't preclude room for further development in the sequel.

[boxcorner]

... and they lived happily ever after.

-oOo-

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by J. Strnad

Use "The End" only if it can be followed by a question mark..."The End?"

(Yeah, I watch a lot of 1950s horror movies....)

[unboggling]

Yes, a book, short story, poem, or whatever, should have a clear signal that it is the end of whatever it is. There is currently no open standard for what it is or should be, hence our confusion. Let's decide on one now and publish it to the world.

[unboggling]

I vote for this, centered 3 blank lines down from the last line of text:

<<< >>>

but i'm not an editor or publisher and maybe that means something else.

[Latinandgreek]

I like "The End". I haven't read a book that had "The End" at the end in ages.

[bhartman36]

I don't put "The End" at the end of stories I write. (I've never written a novel.) One of the things I like to do in my writing is to leave the reader with unanswered questions at the end (mostly in the form of "What's going to happen next?"). I feel like "The End" is part of a device that wraps things up in a nice little package, and it's not something I like to do.

[unboggling]

Originally Posted by James_Wilde

the loose ends are tied up in a most satisfactory way.

No offense, but as a reader, i want the loose ends tied up or I feel a vague dissatisfaction and may not go back to that author again.

And again a vague uncomfortable feeling if there is no clear delimiter of the end. Hence the publishing industry worldwide should decide on a symbol to indicate the end of a block of something, and stick to it for everything. Symbol not words because of multiple language issue. imho, purely as a reader.

[LaurieGator]

I like something to tell me that we have hit the end of the story whether it be "The End" or "Fin" or "Finis" or {{{}}}. I like a bit of closure to my stories :-)

[bhartman36]

Originally Posted by unboggling

Yes, a book, short story, poem, or whatever, should have a clear signal that it is the end of whatever it is. There is currently no open standard for what it is or should be, hence our confusion. Let's decide on one now and publish it to the world.

Isn't letting the reader now that the story's ending part of the art of writing? Can it really be standardized that way? (If you're being facetious, excuse my density. )