I always read the end of a novel before I begin it. I have done that for years. When I was a child, my mother told me she never picked up a book without reading the end first. I asked her why. She replied, "Because if I don't like the ending, I won't read it." For me, I still read the book anyway, because not knowing the meat of the story, it may be difficult to understand truly whether or not the ending is good or bad.
When my mother initially confided this information to me, I thought, "How silly. Why even read the book if you already know the ending?" But now, years later, and doing the same thing, I have my own reasons as to why. If the ending is going to be sad, I need to prepare myself. If the ending is happy, I am relaxed and content as I continue reading. Often, I will flip to the end again at the halfway mark to see if I can figure out how it coincides with where I am in the story. If I had the ability to look into the future of my life or the lives of people around me, however, I am not sure I would.
Last night, my husband watched a movie, "The Prestige." I wasn't interested in watching a movie, especially since he didn't start it until almost 10 pm. So I sat on the couch, reading my book (the ending of which I already knew), and glanced up now and then to the TV. At 11 pm, I went to bed while he watched the rest of the movie.
This morning, I asked him how it was. He said it was filled with twists and turns, the ending of which one couldn't guess. He went on to tell me various parts but refused to tell me the ending because "you might watch it."
"I'll never watch it. Ever," I replied vehemently. "Just tell me how it ended." He refused and said, "I think you might watch it."
"Even if I do watch it, knowing the ending won't change things for me."
"Of course it will."
"I'll just watch the ending myself," I retorted. "I read the endings of every novel before I even begin them, you know."
"What a jerk," he called as he headed to the kitchen for breakfast. Smiling, and having finished the book I was reading last night, I picked up my new novel and turned to the last page.
Copyright 2008 liamsgrandma
