Why do some books leave me hollow after the ending?

[Addison_M]

I just finished a book that left me feeling completely hollow, but in a way I can’t stop thinking about. Has anyone else had that happen, where the bleakness of a story somehow sticks with you more than a happy ending would? I almost wish it had given me some kind of closure instead of this lingering, quiet ache.

[FrankLL]

That hollow feeling hit me after a book too. The bleakness lingered like a chalk outline of a person who won’t get a proper ending. It’s not closure I wanted, but it’s stayed as a kind of echo in the back of my head.

[Timothy43]

I think the ache is a place where the story and memory meet. Closure is a construct, and the author might be inviting you to sit with not knowing.

[Adam_J]

Hmm, I might have misread the last chapter, was it really supposed to be bleak or just ambiguous? Either way, it did the job of nagging at me.

[RobertL]

Bleak endings can feel like spending time in a room with the door open and wind howling. I respect the craft, but it’s not a mood I always want to borrow.

[Tyler.L]

I’m with you but also a bit skeptical: sometimes the gloom is a marketing tool, a vibe they want to sell rather than a genuine aftermath.

[CamilaL]

What if this is less about the plot and more about how we tolerate silence from characters after the last page?

[DanielZT]

Short and true: the bleakness sticks, but maybe that point of contact is the point of reading itself.