final blog post.

i think that this was a satisfactory ending, especially for this type of book. I as a reader tend to want some sort of closure between Christopher and his parents, so i think this was a good way to do it. it is also not the super cheesy "everything's alright, kids!" ending where the divorced parents get back together, the kid loves them both and feels finally complete, and everyone lives way too happily ever after. Oh, and they throw in a new puppy sometimes for extra emphasis on the new life full of laughter and smiles. A la The Parent Trap... minus the puppy. But no, this book kept the parents separate but worked out a situation where Christopher got what he wanted, which was to live with him mom because he was afraid of his dad, and also threw in a puppy for good measure. This way, as a reader I felt the closure, like "things aren't perfect but it all works out" and I wasn't left feeling unsatisfied with a head full of questions or anything. I like this kind of book because confusing books are not appealing to me. What's the point of reading a book if it leaves me unsatisfied, mildly angry, and feeling like I just wasted many hours of my life I'll never get back? Books for me have to have a good story to tell, like a purpose for being written other than just to annoy the reader into oblivion and "make us think." Anyway, I also thought that this ending went well with the general storyline - the end isn't picture-perfect, and the lives of the characters isn't either, considering Christopher's problems and all. The characters know their lives will never be easy or normal, and it seemed like the author tried to make the ending tie into this notion. Why make the ending seem like the icing on top of a cake of perfection if that would never really be the case? No, Haddon creates a less-than-perfect ending with the right amount of closure for his readers with reading satisfaction problems while keeping in sync with the style and flow of the story... good, good, and good.