Twee?
(Note: this post contains spoilers of The Gisborne Saga.)
Most of my reviews are excellent, between 4.5 and 5 stars, but recently a reviewer remarked of Gisborne: Book of Kings that the ending was twee. She still gave me a high star ranking for which I am very grateful, but I’m guessing she didn’t like the way in which the story was resolved… Ysabel meets the man who saved her husband, an outlaw who is one of the most famous outlaws in history or legend, or both.
No one knows for sure if Robin Hood actually existed. Certainly there are many arguments for his existence in at least two timeframes. But the common view is that he is a legendary character, one who caught the imagination of the average man.
So if Hood was legendary then surely Guy of Gisborne, his nemesis, was as well. I wrote The Gisborne Saga as an alternative view of Gisborne – what might have happened if the cards had fallen differently. And there was a fighting if faint chance that he may meet Robin of Locksley at some point.
I remember writing the conclusion long before I had reached that stage in the novel. It was one evening very late and as often happens, my story took hold of me and it wrote the ending itself. I remember thinking that this takes the legend, or history if you prefer, in a neat circle. To me, the writer, it seemed right. I was paying homage to the legend that had fed my series in the very first instance. I ‘saved’ the chapter, and placed it in a safe place, ready to see if it flowed on from the second last chapter in the way I hoped it would. For me, it did. It said what I wanted it to say at the time.
And one can presume anything after it. That Gisborne ‘turns’, becoming the nemesis that is familiar, if one wants. Those of us who know my Gisborne though, will no doubt think otherwise. That he will go back to Venice with his family, that he will become even more successful in his intelligence enterprise, that he might become a merchant. The world can be his for the taking.
To me it was the ending that I as the author chose to write. It led me quite neatly out of Gisborne’s story and into Tobias’s so I have to say I am quite happy with that development.
How you may ask? Ah, well you will have to read Tobias to see the connection…
I adore that hooded ending; when it came it came simply, succinctly, yet its power blew my mind, made it whirr and ping and resulted in a massive grin: a memorable moment ending that has stayed with me since. You will never please every reader but those you do will grin like loons.
Thank you John. I do know it made quite a few readers sit back and laugh with glee. Which is fine because the tension in that third novel was very high. The reader deserved to have a ‘phew, thank the stars!’ moment, I think.
It seems to be human nature to be more bothered by a negative comment than the accolades we may receive. A quick web check and Guy and Robin are interlinked, neither existing without the other, both most probably fictional creations. I haven’t completed trilogy yet, but from your comments you are happy with the ending. I think after a long saga your reader was disappointed to reach the end. I think a lot of endings disappoint us because we want more. And all “happy” endings can seem “twee”,however Romeo and Juilet style endings do not suit every love story. At the end of the day you have told the story you wanted to and published it, if someone wants a different ending well maybe they should write their own story. Good luck with your new book.
Hi Denise. I am not so bothered with it because the reviewer gave me a very good rating and when all is said and done, that is all that matters. Merriam-Webster defines ‘twee’ as ‘sweet or cute in a way that is silly or sentimental’ and I find that interesting as I certainly didn’t set out to write a sentimental ending. I wanted to write a conclusion that was right for Ysabel and Gisborne in an English setting. If the two had made it back to Venezia, I suspect the ending would have been different again.
Reading is an immensely subjective thing – what one person sees as sentimental, another might say is rubbish, and another might say, ‘Oh perfect! Love it!’
Thank you so much for your good wishes in respect of Tobias. He and I are having the time of our lives detailing his adventures. I do agree with you about reaching the end of a series – it’s a wrench. And perhaps this reader felt that. Either way, I do hope she goes on to trust me as a writer and read Tobias. It would be very hard to be sentimental in the middle of Byzantium where penalties for crimes can be life-altering.