7 Novels With Great Endings

7. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky 

The novel widely considered (well by me at least) to mark the start of modern Russian literature has one of the best endings around. After the main character, Rodion has been found guilty of murder, he is sentenced to life imprisonment. Our last sight of him is in a prison colony in Siberia in a chilling foreshadowing of the gulags that became a regular feature of Russian life with the demise of Tsardom and the rise of the Soviets. But he is not alone. His wife continues to look after him and brings him food. The message? That not all criminals are irredeemably evil - that everyone deserves forgiveness. Even from themselves. 

6. The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien

The concluding chapter of this epic saga doesn’t end like most fantasy books. Other authors would have wrapped up proceedings shortly after the relief of Minas Tirith and the destruction of the Ring. Perhaps with the coronation of Aragorn or a sight of the elves leaving Middle Earth for good. Tolkien does it differently though. The rest of the narrative for The Return of the King reaffirms what fans of this series knew all along - that this saga starts and ends with hobbits. Tolkien shows us what happened to The Shire with the rise of Saruman and Sauron, as well as how the Hobbits have changed, both for better and for worse. They overthrow Saruman’s goons in one final battle and liberate the Shire. But the whole ordeal comes at a cost to Frodo who despite his good nature was unable to resist the temptation of the Ring, being saved only by Gollum’s desire for his ‘precious’. And so at the end of the book he leaves Middle Earth to go to the Grey Havens a changed and withered figure. The message? That war changes everyone, perhaps the victors most of all. And some wounds no matter how much you try can never be healed. 

5. 1984 by George Orwell

George Orwell’s novel completely defines what we consider to be a dystopian nightmare: authoritarianism, total surveillance, the erosion of the human condition, and the seemingly limitless power of Big Brother. Orwell plays out the tragedy perfectly because there is no heroic ending, no escape from the heinous clutches of the secret police. Winston Smith is duped, apprehended, tortured, and then finally sentenced to death. The book ends with a broken Winston waiting agonizingly for the executioner’s bullet to pierce the illusion of freedom. The message? That if it is allowed to gain the ascendancy, Stalinism’s shadow will be absolute. There will be no escape, no reprieve from the hangman’s noose. Everything that is truly human: love, life, leisure, laughter will all have vanished. 

4. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

The moment where George shoots Lenny in the back of the head in order to save him not just from the lynch mob but also from himself having just killed a young woman by accident is one of the finest endings around. And therein lies the book’s humanity - it allows us to understand that though these two men are both murderers they are nonetheless human despite their ‘crimes’. And we are all the wiser for it.

3. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling

Anyone who follows this blog or listens to my podcast, ‘What! The Heys,’ will know that I am a huge fan of the Harry Potter series. And the fourth installment in the saga has the best ending of the lot, perfectly setting up the next book in the series- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. The climax of the story gives the reader something they’ve been waiting for since book one - the return of Lord Voldemort - and in a ghostly graveyard no less - where he gleefully sets about torturing Harry in an effort to seal his rise to power. And this is all after the riveting triwizard tournament where Harry is forced to combat all manner of magical conundrums from impossible mazes to flesh-eating dragons. There’s even a final twist that one character is not exactly who he appears. Young Adult writing at its very finest.

2. Pet Semetary by Stephen King

When this book came out everyone was talking about it. And no wonder- it had a monster straight from American myth - the wendigo - reincarnated pets, family tragedy, and an ending to literally die for. Our last sight of the protagonist, Louis Creed is with him rushing towards the wendigo’s lair - his dead wife in his arms. And there it ends, leaving us to wonder what happens next - does she reincarnate and then kill him? Is he brought back to a kind of half-life too? And what are the repercussions for the sleepy American town in the distance?  Is it next? This is the brilliance of an open-ended book - it leaves its destiny in the arms of the reader. Now that’s what I call fiction! 

1. For Whom The Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway

The original cliffhanger ending and the best of the lot. Does the wounded hero Robert Jordan survive at the end of the climactic battle or is the Spanish soldier walking towards him about to finish him off? We’ll never know, but that’s the point - it’s up to the reader to decide what happens next and therein lies Hemingway’s brilliance- to create the type of climax that requires the input of the reader for it to make sense. Pure genius.