I have spent the past...12 days reading a 488-page novel borrowed from the library, Wish Upon A Star by Olivia Goldsmith. It's not an impossibly long novel (like Harry Potter 5), but I have been rather busy and could only read it when I was at home and in the mood.

I started off not really liking the writer's style. But the intriguing plot promised by the blurb at the back of the book kept me interested enough to go on.*

And as I progressed in the book, I started to warm up to the style of writing. She (the author) had the most extraordinary habit of giving very dramatic ends to some of her sentences. E.g. (if I remember correctly) "She turned the corner and fell in love." I liked that.

And I discovered a few minutes ago that she also had the most extraordinary way of ending a story. In the last chapter, which lasted two pages, she wrote:

"You might believe that Claire *that's the main character* lived happily ever after. Of course, nobody ever does but if you'd like to believe that Claire was the exception, you're free to do it." and went on to describe what the perfect happy ending would be.

And the last paragraph read:

"Choose that if you will, but all novels are, in a sense, fairy tales. They are pulled from the air and create the magical illusion that the characters you read about are real, are living and the lives that are described have happened. The novelist imagines and conjures but, when the narration ends, has no more idea of what happens to the characters than you, the reader, does. Fiction is so often preferable to life because, sadly, only in fiction can you write the magical incantation at the end: 'And they lived happy ever after.' "

Smooth and beautiful, isn't it. I think it allows escapists like me to believe that it has a happy ending and cynics or other people who prefer not-so-rosy endings to believe otherwise.

And then, I turned the page and read that the author, Olivia Goldsmith, died after finishing this book. I contemplated for a while about whether another author might have written the last paragraph for her (I was in denial because it was a really weird, though excellent ending.), then went on to read what her "close friend and assistant Nan Robinson" had to say about the author and how they met. I was especially enthralled by the second last paragraph:

"I haven't even made a dent in thanking Olivia for all the impact she's made on my life and continues to make. If life could mimic fairy tales then I would wish upon a star for my best friend to come back so I could 'live happily ever after'."

I don't know exactly why, but tears sprang to my eyes suddenly and immediately after reading that last sentence.

This novel, especially the ending and Nan Robinson's words, has made me think quite a bit. About life, risks, monotony, how children and teenage fiction differ from adult fiction (I feel that adult fiction tends to imitate the ups and downs of real life more vividly and consistently), and how nice it would be if I could write fiction until the day I leave this world. You should read this book sometime.

*By the way, I have come to the conclusion that people who write blurbs do not actually read the book. I have come across many a synopsis that gets some of the details wrong. For example, in this book, the protagonist's love interest was supposed to be an investment banker, not a lawyer as stated in the blurb. Sometimes, there are also mistakes in the blurb with regards to the plot. Marketing gimmick, maybe?