It happened this weekend. I was getting near the end of a book, and skimmed ahead. I'm not sure why I do this, especially with books I've enjoyed; maybe it's kind of like ripping the paper off of a Christmas present that you've been looking at for weeks under the tree.
Usually the tidbits I pick up from skimming make me happy, ready to go back and read to the finish at a quick trot, my predictions of a neatly-tied-up-ending becoming more and more apparent with each page.
But this book was different. I was down to the last two chapters, and the details didn't jive with the previous 269 pages. It made me rethink the entire book, and slowed my pace to a turtle's crawl. This was not the ending I was expecting. It's not the ending I want. Twelve pages to go, and I am not sure I want to finish this story, this way.
I won't give the book title away, because I know there are readers who love this sort of plot twist. It doesn't make me love the story any less, at this moment before closure...but I may pick up this book again, and reread it, keeping the end in mind. I wonder if I will like it less the second time around, knowing what I now know, looking through a different lens.
It's Monday! Have you read any books that had a surprise ending you didn't like?
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