I was following a comment thread on a blog post on Dear Author this weekend when someone entered the conversation and noted that they think epilogues are “literary lazy”. I thought this was an interesting viewpoint. I’ve seen past conversations focused on epilogues, and I’m fascinated by the number of people who actively dislike them (prologues are another story and I’ll be asking you about those next week!). I’m not sure what might lead someone to think of an epilogue as “literary lazy”. Maybe the belief that the story should be done in the main story, not have something tacked on?
For myself, if I enjoy a book, I sometimes enjoy seeing an epilogue of the characters months or years into the future, to get a glimpse of their ongoing relationship. I know many people hate the “baby” epilogues that are sometimes common in romances. Those epilogues that show the hero and heroine with their requisite 2.5 children, picnicking on the lawn and glowing happily. I admit, I don’t hate those but I don’t particularly find them necessary either, unless there’s some major callback to the main story.
The one epilogue I’m not a fan of, and don’t really understand, is the one that’s…not actually an epilogue at all. I read a book in the past year, where the main conflict did not get resolved in the main chapters. Instead, what I would consider the last chapter of the story, where all of the plot threads, and conflict, and HEA are resolved was titled “epilogue”. I admit, that bothered me (clearly, if I’m still thinking about it a year later). The definition of an epilogue is “an extra part ended at the end of a novel…” and I can’t conceive of a story where the entire resolution is thought of as an “extra part”
I’m also not a fan of epilogues that set up a cliffhanger. You’ve gotten your story resolution, though you know there may be plot threads unresolved for future books in a series, and then comes the epilogue and suddenly…the author kills off a main character without warning or otherwise creates what is a cliffhanger situation. To me, that feels a bit like reader manipulation rather than depending on the quality of storytelling to compel readers to continue reading the series/future books.
But still, despite my dislike of certain epilogue scenarios, I don’t hate epilogues as a general rule, and as I said a few paragraphs up, sometimes I enjoy the opportunity to see what’s happening in the characters’ future (I’m also a fan of series that usually switch protagonists from book to book revisiting the original main couple/protagonists and using them again as the main protagonists in a later book)
So you tell us…love them, hate them or indifferent? How do you feel about epilogues? Are there certain ones you love and certain kinds you hate?
(and next Monday, yes, we’ll talk about prologues!)
Tags: epilogue, you tell us
Truthfully, if the author isn’t going to be writing a sequel to the story then I want to read an epilogue. It probably has something to do with me liking the happily-ever-after idea of things but I’m always curious as to how their life is once everything that has brought them together has taken place. =0)
I dislike the “let’s show how all this is wrapped up and everyone’s happy” types. The last Harry Potter book being a CLASSIC case of of OMG SHE DIDN’T. But something along the lines of Kind Hearts and Coronets in book form where there’s a sting in the tale, that works much better.
It all depends on the focus of the epilogue. I’ve used them in my own books before, but felt they were necessary because the information contained there didn’t quite fit with the last chapter. Adding it in would have been too disjointed.
As for other authors, I can’t say that I’ve ever read an epilogue that just didn’t need to be there. Prologues, however, oh…I’ll have something to say about those. : )
I love epilogues, even the 2.5 children three years later type. I like knowing characters have gone on and are living fabulously happy even though I already know that from the HEA ending. I enjoy a peek into the characters lives, sort of like an after show lol.
Now if I don’t like a book, a joyously happy epilogue is not going to fix that for me or change my mind about the book. I’m very likely to just skip the epilogue of a book I didn’t enjoy.
I love them. Some are more necessary than others, but I always like the in-the-future update.
Since I transitioned to romances from urban fantasy, where we stick with the same protagonist for many books, I do like the epilogue in romance where you see the hero/heroine a few years in the future. Because there’s always a moment of panic for me when I finish a good romance like “Oh no, I’ll never see these characters again”, and it’s nice to know they are doing well in the future. As crazy as that sounds.
So yes, I do like those shiny-happy epilogues. . . except I don’t like to see them with children, unless having/not having children was involved in the main storyline. That turns me off, because I generally wasn’t thinking about the romance that way.
But I also agree that epilogues should just be extra. If they include any of the final climax, etc, they aren’t epilogues – they’re the last chapter!
I don’t know about them being “lazy”, but I have read epilogues that were better suited as a last chapter. It’s always been my understanding the epilogue should serve as a glimpse into the future of the characters, not a wrap it up and get the resolve in a neat package addition. My personal feeling is that at the end of a book, your readers should be satisfied and have resolve enough that it’s “the end.” In the case of series, there should be no need for an epilogue as the story will resume in the next installment. I don’t use them in my own stories these days, although I think when I first started writing I thought they were a staple along with a prologue and that every book had to have one. I don’t think that now at all and even think sometimes a prologue either reveals too much, or drags the tempo of the story from the start. Will I put someone in my don’t read again pile for these things? No. They serve a purpose at times. I’m more likely to never read an author again for a poor grasp of grammatically and technical skills or undeveloped characters and plot.
For the most part I enjoy epilogues. I like spending time with the h/h when they are happy together.
I do not like epilogues that do not revolve around the main characters though. If you want to set up the next book, save that for an excerpt.
Well done, they provide a lovely, literary wind up. I agree I don’t want a clumsy tacked on update of how everyone ultimately ended up, but that wouldn’t be a well-done epilogue and I’m guessing it would mirror the other flaws of the book
I’m a fan of the HEA epilogue. If I’m invested in a romantic couple, I love that glimpse into the future as an assurance that the love story really did work out and they got what I was rooting for them to get.
Interesting discussion. I’m conflicted about epilogues. I used to love them, but recently the seem to be used as a means of rapidly tying up loose ends and give the book a rushed feel, or they have been used to manipulate the reader. If the book has come to a well paced, all tied up ending and then there is a short epi to show the couple, well it still is a bit manipulative. (See, they are still together? Aren’t they lovely and happy. It’s almost like those annoying Christmas missives from the HEA family.) So, although once and awhile I enjoy an epi, most of the time I either feel they are not needed, or they are functioning as the last chapter of a book.
I know “it depends” sounds like a cop-out, but it’s the truth. If the main story ties everything up well, I don’t see a need. I don’t have to see the wedding to assume that the couple got their HEA. But if some of the important plot threads don’t fit well with, say, an action-packed final act, then a brief epilogue set a short time in the future to take care of them is fine with me.
Epilogues should not introduce new threads or exist just to set up a sequel. Do that in the story itself, or save it for the sequel.
I say YES to Epilogues! I always want to know the rest of the story!!
As long as it is an epilogue, and not a chapter in disguise, I’m a fan. I always like the happy ending with a cherry on top.
I think, in contemplating this further, that I want an epilogue to almost be like bonus content. So if you don’t read it, you’re not missing anything crucial to wrapping up the story threads. I think of the epilogue as a little extra perk for people who loved the book, not as something that should be integral to be read for the purpose of getting closure, or for being set up for a future book.
I’m not that keen on the ‘baby’ epilogue but if it adds to the story I like them
I think they are sometimes overused. I like them as a “bonus.” You know–the story wraps up nicely and you like the characters but you wonder, just a little how they are at some future date. I particularly like epilogues that show the character healed/moved on, or grew in some way. Just a “postscript”–not another chapter or a lead-in to the next installment. It’s like looking up a former classmate on Facebook–you see how they turned out but you don’t need to reconnect or learn more about him/her.
If the book works without the epilogue — all loose ends are tied, the conflicts resolved — then the epilogue is properly done/named; otherwise, it’s really just a last chapter. For me, the epilogue is a little like the last bit at the end of a movie based on a true story; after the movie ends, there’s text/commentary about what happened to the people a few years later and what they’re doing now.
Cliffhanger epilogues are more appropriate for the James Bond or Perils of Pauline type of series — more specifically, serials. It should only be reserved for stories in which the same set of characters appears again and again and follows pretty much a formulaic arc, and each “book” is like the one before. This way, the cliffhanger epilogue is actually part of the formula, and the readers expect it. Otherwise, cliffhanger epilogues on any other kind of book or series are just plain annoying.
I’m OK with the baby epilogues in romances, but I far prefer epilogues that go a little farther — like the Harry Potter epilogue; I thought that peek into the characters’ lives 19 years later was exactly perfect.
So much more satisfying than any other epilogue I’ve read.
I mostly like epilogues – they ease the pain of coming to the end of a story that I usually wish would go on and on. Sort of a little transition back to the real world. On the other hand, I agree with the others about clumsily using an epilogue to rush the resolution of a story – I always feel cheated when that happens.
I don’t mind epilogues, but agree that they shouldn’t exist to wrap up plot points from the book. I enjoy the extra glimpse into the lives of the characters, even if it’s 2 kids and a dog.
I don’t care for most of them. Mind you, I’ll read them–they are there, after all–but I don’t care for them.
There are exceptions–the example coming to mind right now is from Sarah Mayberry’s Her Best Friend. It gives the reader a view to the opening of the Grand, which is what brought the protagonists together after years apart, so it’s closely tied to the story, and provides that ‘bonus’ content. I particularly like it because there it’s not a wedding scene, there are no kids, no announcement of pregnancy or any of those slightly schmaltzy things. It’s about the main characters together.
If I fall in love with the characters in a story, I’m going to be thinking about those characters for days after I’ve read the book. I’ll be subconsciously drawing up conclusions as to how their life together will eventually develop. I will most probably also be saddened that their story is over. An epilogue is usually dessert for me.
Epilogues have their place, but lately I’ve found more and more books with them, as if they’re in vogue or something. If the book is properly finished and it’s just giving me a little something more (a tender/happy/funny scene), that’s great! If it’s part of the actual story, then I’m confused as to why it’s not just a chapter.
If it wraps the story up too neatly (Harry Potter wise), then it tends to rub me a little bit the wrong way, but only if it’s extreme. I’m happy with happy endings. Give me another shot of pure sugary fluff. But I need to believe it.
I think of good epilogues as bonus content, especially with a standalone novel or the end of a series. It’s fun to look ahead a few years. But badly done – J.K. Rowling, yes I’m looking at you! – they almost seem to cheapen the whole reading experience.
Like prologues, epilogues need a great reason to exist.
Like Jessica up there, I find the baby epilogues a little o.O, maybe because those kids are people who are incredibly important to the H/H but not developed at all. Tallboys, which is a short story on its own, works as a baby epilogue to a whole series, and it’s kind of set my standard.
I wrote an epilogue for my own novel, but did not include it when I submitted the book. It tied up the plot of a secondary character and related to the theme, but didn’t add enough to justify its word count.
Every now and then an epilogue can tie up a dangly bit that wasn’t resolved in the book, maybe pulling back through the eyes of an unimportant character to give the reader a different perspective, or answering some question that’s unresolved as far as the protagonists know. Those are really cool.
In other words, epilogues are good as long as something HAPPENS. Static pictures aren’t good writing, even if they list offspring.
I read MOST epilogues. It really depends on the book and how long it is. If it’s 14 pages long, chances are I’ll just skim that extra info. Especially if it’s just to tell us that the hero and heroine had a baby and are happily married now.
With series, I’m not sure about epilogues ONLY because it can be hard to pull off a ‘future’ scene without giving something away from a book later on (no matter how small the detail). I’m not saying it can’t be done, just that it’s harder to succeed.
I love epilogues especially in romance. Stories that end right after the climax, feel abrupt. I need to know the couple are living a HEA weeks or months later. If there’s going to be a sequel, I want a sneak peak in the epilogue even if it’s only a hint from a few lines.