Readers seem to prefer books when the introduction gives away the ending.
Although many people think that flipping to the back of the book or knowing a story’s ending before it even starts will “spoil” it, a new study revealed knowing what happens in the end may actually help people enjoy a story even more.
Researchers from the University of California, San Diego added that this holds true for tales with ironic-twists, mysteries and suspenseful thrillers. Read the rest of the article to find out what else they observed about readers.
As a reader, do you agree or disagree with their findings?
What favorite stories with “twists” or “surprise endings” can you recommend?
Do you think you would have enjoyed these books more if you knew what was coming?
- Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
- Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
- Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane
- The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie
- Primal Fear by William Diehl
- Atonement by Ian McEwan
One Response to Story ‘Spoilers’ May Boost Enjoyment – Do you agree?
Kelli
August 17, 2011
I read both fight club and shutter island. *Spoiler* The plots relate around what both characters interpret from the real world around them and their delusional world. To know that right away, the story becomes a bit boring. When I finally watched shutter island after I finished the book, I didn’t enjoy it that much because I knew the twist.
A book that might interest folks who like psychological twists like the others listed here is Alex Garland’s Coma (Garland wrote The Beach and the the screenplay for 28 Days Later). The book is about a gentleman that gets brutally attacked in the subway and awakens from a coma in a hospital. Getting back into the daily routine with friends and work becomes a challenge for him because something is not quite right.