Pet Sematary Ending (Spoilers!)

[violetgoblin]

I thought the way King wrote Lou was utterly amazing...his thoughts. Like at the end where he says something like, "I guess I should kill myself now, and I want to..." very real to me. It showed his insanity clearly...

[dsurrett]

I liked the ending. A lot of King's short stories, especially his earlier ones, leave a lot of loose ends for the reader to interpret however he/she desires. I thought Pet Sematary did that as well. If you go back a week, month, or year later, is Louis still there? Has he gone totally mad? What about Rachel? It's nice to read an occasional novel where everything doesn't end up tidy with all concerns addressed.

[Ben.]

I've never been able to understand the extent to which some people crave a concrete ending, when they are so rare in fiction anyway. If King had ended it with 'and then Rachel stabbed Louis in the groin with a ballpoint pen' (or something to that same definitive effect) I wouldn't have liked the book as much. It is the knowledge that every resurrection in the novel has had repercussions that makes the ending so effective - King doesn't need to tell us what happens, because the wretched tone of the book informs the ending. This applies to the similarly ambiguous ending of Cell, as well.

[Boni]

Exactly, Ben, the whole books is about tragedy after tragedy. To me there is no cliffhanger, there's no way Rachel came back alive and good again. Louis got mad and she killed him. The only thing left is: what happens to Rachel after that?

[Evil Queen]

I know, I thought the ending was great, but I want more!

[jajatoff]

I can't imagine any better ending for the book. It left me full of anticipation and wonder - was she 'normal' or was she 'demonic'? Was Louis still sane - in any shape or form? What follows that 'darling'? In a way it gives the story a life beyond those final words - a story that remains that we can only imagine. It is almost tangible but cannot be touched, there but beyond knowing. Yes, I liked the ending very much. If I could write such a book, I could only dream of such an ending. :-)

[jkcrue]

I just finished the book last night and I agree with most people here I think the ending was perfect. I really don't think everything turned out to be okay in the end as Rachel was probably evil.

[weave9]

This is one of my favorites of SK if not my most favorite. The ending was perfect, but I've always wondered what happened next. Did their daughter come home to a living dead mom and crazy dad? I love that a sequel is coming out for the Shining, but a sequel to this story is the one I really want to read.

[icarus]

I enjoyed the idea that Louis had in that, he believed that the quicker you buried the dead in the sematary the better or good they would return, so I wonder did he get Rachel buried quick enough, or maybe that isn't relevant and it didn't matter how much time it took, they would return evil anyway, but it leaves you wondering with the ending of the book "Darling?" It sends a shiver through me...great ending SK.