The Sweet Far Thing
discussion
Needs a different ending!!
date
newest »


as for felicity, i caught on a little the first time i read it but when you read it the second time around and know that she is a lesbian, you get a lot of hints dropped to you throughout the books. i liked that part about her, it was her "flaw" and it made her more likable and human instead of her acting so catty and tough all the time. it's not that big of a deal, really.

I would say that changing the ending might give one a happier memory of the book, but it wouldn't necessarily make it better, sometimes pain and loss is necessary to make a book realistic and go beyond being a "book".
We already have too many books that get overly happy and unrealistic ends simply to satisfy the readers, at the cost of tainting the book. It is satisfactory in a way to know that the book has not been influenced by others' opinions and that the characters have acted in the story as they would, that makes a book come alive.
Also, if it brave of Libba Bray to write such an ending, which she could predict would disappoint and anger some readers.



Coming back to the ending, I was totally shattered. How could Karthik die? ( i cried my eyes out) what kind of Merlin stuff is this?
I was so looking forward to a happily ever after end, Gemma and Karthik getting married and so on. It may have been victorian England which shunned scandals of this type, still they could have lived their life. Things have changed haven't they?, had ppl not rebelled and liberated, we would not lead this life of independence. One of the flaws in the ending is that miss Bray has given what any normal regency/historical novel would give for an ending. So this doesn't seem to be an unheard of or revolutionizing denouement.
Besides its for the impossible, beautiful and perfect story that steels one away from mundane issues, we read. Real life is full of imperfections; a roller coaster ride, why would any one care to read some book with same regular things when we can forget for at least some time in a dream about something fantastic?
otherwise the trilogy was good.

And Felicity being a lesbian doesn't mean she possibly liked Gemma. Just because someone's gay doesn't mean they want *everyone* of the same sex.




But I'm not holding my breath though, I doubt Bray would do that. :(

Totally agree!!!! I may not have been happy with the ending at all! Because of Kartik but it made the story more raw and realistic!


Same!! I was literally devastated, I cried for days :( I've never ever been that upset because of a book before in my life. But yeah, I agree it made it more realistic, it wouldn't have made sense to have a lovey-dovey fairytale ending :(
I'm so glad to read other people saying that even looking at the book weeks after reading it made them cry too XD I felt like such a saddo haha


HAHAHAHHA I laughed so hard at this comment. I cried, too, and was subsequently angry that the romantic lead got turned into foliage.

Haha totally agree!!! tears of anger and sadness :)




I also love the bittersweetness of it, how I did really hate that Kartik died, and I was sad after finishing the book, but I also would have been disappointed if it had been an "and they all lived happily ever after" story, because that's so trite and overdone. We all need to be able to deal with the reality that characters and people we love are not immortal and that tragedy and loss, though they may seem insurmountable, are in fact, not. The sadness in the book is, for that reason, moving and beautiful and it makes me happy. It brings validation to feelings we've all experienced, and there's nothing wrong with that.


I love a good happily-ever-after, but when a book doesn't have one, it makes it (at least for me) much more memorable. I loved this series and even though Gemma and Kartik will never be together, I can still appreciate it.
But if you were expecting a happily-ever-after (and with what's available in teen books today OF COURSE we all expect happy endings) then you should stick to mediocre books that follow a format instead of going their own way.
I don't mean to offend anyone with this, it's just how I feel :)

I agree- but i NEVER say the Felicity being lesbian coming my way. I had to have a moment of silence to think about what happened. It was like a "I'm sorry what?" moment for me.

Lol! So did I! xD

As to Fee, I truly loved the way the author dealt with her love for Pippa, and Gemma's reaction.

I completely, completely agree. I saw something coming from A Great and Terrible Beauty and wasn't that shocked. I actually really liked that addition to the story.
I didn't like the way Kartik died. I didn't like THAT he died, but I understand people we love die in books. I'm with those who just found it a really strange way to do away with a character. Maybe a re-read will bring more insights, but my initial reaction was just...huh?

It was bittersweet.
And Felicity and Pippa were women who were subjected to the cruelty of popular opinion. Their relationship was sad and beautiful.
The ending was not what I had expected; it was sad and I felt like something had been torn out of my heart when Kartik "dies", but I can't picture it ending any other way.

completely agreed!

I couldn't agree with you more. I seriously bawled at the end, and I was SO sad that Kartik died. But at the same I can't picture any other ending.


I literally cried so much the night i read the ending that the next morning i couldn't open my eyes because they swelled
There's so much beauty in this book, but i believe it could of been greater if Kartik lived.
Well since Bray won't write an alternate ending I decided that He did live and they got married in India and had five kids




One week ago I finally read it again. And I'm touched the same way I've been ten years ago by the ending.
Yes, a good book must not necessarily have a happy ending and in this case, it is only consequent. But still I cried and kept on thinking of it all day long. Gemma and Kartik are one of my favorite 'lovers' in literature and this is so bittersweet.
I was always wondering if there will be one day a fourth part as many things at the end have been left open. Some sort of a 'ten years after', to see how the girls have made their way, what has happened to the other characters in the book (Mrs. Nightwing, Gemma's brother and father), what has happened to the realms and -of course- Kartik !!
About Fee it was a big surprise for me when I read the books for the first time, but re-reading it, you find a lot of hints to it already in the first two books. I like this twist.

My daughter who was in middle school when I read this is now in college and she still likes to make fun of me, “Hey mom remember when you were crying over that book where the boy turns into a tree?!”
*sigh* She just doesn’t understand. And she won’t read it because I really ruined the ending for her.
all discussions on this book
|
post a new topic
How is she going to go to the realm if she lives in America? Same dif except she could've had true love with her