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I think it was a hard ending for the main character. I thought it was too Arab for him as he was trying to make anchanxe for that be better and redeem himself.

A G Darr wrote: ↑31 Oct 2018, 17:43 I don't feel that his end was necessarily "deserved", but I most definitely saw it as poetic. Hiram spent his life blaming others for his misfortune, when his misfortune was actually him reaping what he had sown in his mistreatment of others. He became an actual victim of circumstance when, in the past, he had been the instrument of his own destruction.

totally agree, saying he deserved it is too much but his ending was unavoidable, he knew that his acts will have consequences and they did.

I was surprised by this ending I will admit, but it also makes sense. McDowell made quite a few enemies in his lifetime. Some will say he deserved it. I don't think he did.

I really think, given the fact he was unarmed, he should not have been gunned down. He wasn't putting up a fight and he was unarmed. He should have been arrested and sent back to prison to rot. (I still don't like him.) I'm just not too sure about that sheriff either. Maybe it was for his own personal satisfaction or gratification.

No one deserves to be shot dead without a weapon. I wish he could have given a statement to his children or seen them again at least.

I think in a way Hiram's "end" is the kind of end you would expect for a man like him. Not that killing an unarmed man is justifiable, but I couldn't see any other ending for the life of a man who put himself first most of the time. He actually ended up the same way as he lived his life: alone.

He obviously didn't deserved that end. He was changed and he deserved a second chance, a better life and a better end.

I do feel bad for him (as he had evidently changed his views on life) and his family who wanted to see him one last time. I don't think he should have been killed as he was unarmed, but legally speaking he was convicted and escaped prison so I could understand the law wanting to bring him back in. They shouldn't have done it with such force though, he was unarmed and it was unnecessary (but it is something which happens in real life, unfortunately!)

I don't believe he deserved death. Perhaps another stint in jail and/or a rehabilitative program, but definitely not to be shot after saving a woman's life. It's hard to pinpoint how guilty we should find him--when I started the book, I hated McDowell but, by the end, I have to say I was sort of rooting for him.

I think being shot after risking his life in trying to save another person is a testament to the change as well as the redemption in McDowell's character. The book started with him easily letting go another person's life. Here, we get to see a different side to him, one that would risk his own life to save another.

Dael Reader wrote: ↑08 Oct 2018, 17:40 I don't think he deserved to be shot down--if he was in fact unarmed and not putting up a fight. I think he deserved to be caught and sent back to prison to accept the consequences of his actions.

I agree - this is how I thought it would end for him- he would be caught and returned to prison to finish his sentence and possibly have his book published. I didn’t like the ending for him in the book

Although Hiram was unethical at times. I do not believe he deserved the ending that he received. I think he did a lot of wrong and he was on the run, but I also believe he was starting to realize his wrong doings and become a better person. I also do not think it was fair to Hiram's family to have their father killed the way he was. They went years without seeing him and never really got the chance to see him one last time or to say goodbye.

I had tears in my eyes while reading that scene. After I read, I realized that I always knew it is going to come to this. I guess that is what we call poetic justice. However, I would have liked to see him return to the society as a changed person and continue his life. Maybe an epilogue showing the good turns he does to others?

I cant judge if he deserved the end or not, but it was disheartening to see him go like this when he was trying to make a life for himself.

While I do not agree with the actions of the sheriff, I am not sure the book could have ended as successfully in any different way. Sending Hiram back to prison would have created a dull finale. I didn’t expect the ending the author gave us. I was surprised as to how much it hurt me as a fully invested reader who disliked the character throughout most of the book.