I finished reading Pet Sematary last week. I really liked the story and the characters.
At the end, we see Louis being forced by whatever is in those woods to bury someone else there. We have seen evidence of that evil thing's powers and influence. We know how it plays with humans' minds and makes them do what it wants.
Obviously, it has an interest on having people keep using the graveyard, so I suppose it might let Louis live, only to have him "infect" others with the knowledge of that burying ground. Oz might let Rachel keep up appearances to Louis (he himself would try to convince his brain that everything is alright) at least until he tells other people about that place, who knows (even if they have to live hiding after what happened, that place would call back to him).
All the things he kept thinking about how Rachel had not been touched by whatever was in there because he was quick to bury her this time are obviously caused by the Oz. Whatever it takes to convince this otherwise rational man to do what is needed.
But a couple of days after I finished reading it, I thought of Cell.
In that book, young Jordan explains his theory about restarting/rebooting the brain of the affected people, with a high degree of certainty that it could work (at least, it was worth trying it). The book ends before we see the actual results of this theory put in practice.
SK later said he thought it was clear that it was going to work, and that the book has this relatively happy ending.
Then I found the parallels between those two books interesting. I still think all evidence in Pet Sematary points to a not-truly-happy ending, with undead-Rachel still being an avatar of Oz/Wendigo.
But forgetting about Oz just a little, seeing Louis's conviction that it will work this time (he was somewhat more objective in Gage's case, although, of course, he was less exhausted) and undead-Rachel's last word before the end, this presents an interesting case of "what if" and an alternate chance of "lived happily ever after".
At the end, we see Louis being forced by whatever is in those woods to bury someone else there. We have seen evidence of that evil thing's powers and influence. We know how it plays with humans' minds and makes them do what it wants.
Obviously, it has an interest on having people keep using the graveyard, so I suppose it might let Louis live, only to have him "infect" others with the knowledge of that burying ground. Oz might let Rachel keep up appearances to Louis (he himself would try to convince his brain that everything is alright) at least until he tells other people about that place, who knows (even if they have to live hiding after what happened, that place would call back to him).
All the things he kept thinking about how Rachel had not been touched by whatever was in there because he was quick to bury her this time are obviously caused by the Oz. Whatever it takes to convince this otherwise rational man to do what is needed.
But a couple of days after I finished reading it, I thought of Cell.
In that book, young Jordan explains his theory about restarting/rebooting the brain of the affected people, with a high degree of certainty that it could work (at least, it was worth trying it). The book ends before we see the actual results of this theory put in practice.
SK later said he thought it was clear that it was going to work, and that the book has this relatively happy ending.
Then I found the parallels between those two books interesting. I still think all evidence in Pet Sematary points to a not-truly-happy ending, with undead-Rachel still being an avatar of Oz/Wendigo.
But forgetting about Oz just a little, seeing Louis's conviction that it will work this time (he was somewhat more objective in Gage's case, although, of course, he was less exhausted) and undead-Rachel's last word before the end, this presents an interesting case of "what if" and an alternate chance of "lived happily ever after".