Hard to beat this one from THE LONG GOODBYE (Chandler) ''I never saw any of them again — except the cops. No way has yet been invented to say goodbye to them."
What is your favorite last line?
And wishing the very best to Ron Scheer, our dear friend, undergoing treatment in Palm Springs Hospital.
I've always loved the last line of Beckett's Malloy: "It is midnight, it is raining; it is not midnight, it is not raining."
ReplyDeleteAnd, of course, the last line of The Great Gatsby.
Patti, thanks very much for letting us know about Ron. I was wondering why he was quiet on his blog.
ReplyDeleteThe last line of Agatha Christie's Lord Edgware Dies is excellent I think: Do you think they will put me in Madame Tussaud's? It just works perfectly given that novel.
ReplyDeleteNo one will top THE GREAT GATSBY, I think.
ReplyDeleteI'm very fond of the last line of I, THE JURY.
ReplyDeleteI'd have to do some research on this. My favorite ending line from my own stuff is: And Death turned away, laughing like hell.
ReplyDeleteYes to GATSBY. Also THE SUN ALSO RISES and HUCKLEBERRY FINN.
ReplyDeleteJeff M.
I, THE JURY and Gatsby for certain. I'm also fond of the ending in Damon Knight's "To Serve Man" and Richard Matheson's SOMEONE IS BLEEDING.
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ReplyDeleteSo now I have to look up those lines because all you smarty-pants mention the book but not the last line? Swell. Now that I'm finished whining I'll say I can't think of any last lines that were memorable. But then I'm not awake yet...need coffee.
ReplyDeleteThis Brubaker a-hole has been spamming my blog, too. What a pathetic punk.
ReplyDeleteAs for last lines, I like Nightmare Alley.
ReplyDeleteI suppose the last line of TALE OF TWO CITIES is too much of a cliche?
ReplyDelete"For there she was." Mrs. Dalloway
ReplyDeleteI would have to go with Paul Bowles' THE SHELTERING SKY: "Tunner reluctantly appeared to take her home. Her face contorted. It was the end of the line."
ReplyDeleteApologies, that was a bit rushed - that was from a jokey article about the book by John Crace I meant to link to (http://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/feb/28/the-sheltering-sky-paul-bowles)
ReplyDeleteThe actual line goes: "the car, still loaded with people, made a wide U-turn and stopped; it was the end of the line"
Is this one included on the website? Ah well, it's always stuck with me though I enjoy people making fun of it.
"He could feel his heart beating against the soft pine needle floor of the forest."
ReplyDeleteProbably not exact, but that's from FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS. Along with Gatsby, it's one of my favorites.
THE LONG GOODBYE has some very moving lines.
ReplyDeleteThe last line that always has me teary-eyed is from Graham Greene's THE QUIET AMERICAN:
“Everything had gone right with me since he had died, but how I wished there existed someone to whom I could say that I was sorry.”
Some gems here.
ReplyDeleteHave you read them all?
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