RARA-AVIS: The Surprise ending and enjoyment -- THE CONFESSION

From: Bludis Jack ( buildsnburns@yahoo.com)
Date: 11 Nov 2005


Vicki Hendricks says:

>>Surprise endings
generally ruin most novels and stories, in my opinion. The writer is so concerned with plotting, in order to make his ending work, that he skimps on character development and human psychology and emotion, what literature is all about<<

Surprise endings ruin many but not most fiction as far as I'm concerneed, just so long as the writer does not skimp on character, pshychology and emotion.
  Vicki continuted (my repetition for clairty)

>>what literature is all about, as
opposed to a cheap thrill that you can't enjoy a second time because you know the ending.<<

The spoiler is out so I'll continue assuming we are talking about THE CONFESSION:

For me, THE CONFESSION was a better read for me not to have perceived the killer until the very end. I did not like him very much, but I did not think him as the killer but as some shmuck who was getting into the vortex of injustice.

For me, it made a better book. Unlike Vicki's protage in MIAMI PURITY, who I liked and felt sorry for but kept reading, I'm not sure I would have enjoyed THE CONFESSION as much as if I had known the ending all along. It seems to me that Domenic went out of his way to keep the ending ambivalentt, and thus made it a better book.

I'll ask, but I'm not sure Domenic wants to tell us--did you plan it that way?

Jack

http://www.jackbludis.com Shamus nominee for "Shadow of the Dahlia" Amazon.com / BN.com / MysteryLovesCompany.com

        
                
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