please recommend some books without the traditional happy ending.

[sweetheart]

My sister loves reading but is always complaining that books always have too much of a happy ending. I thought for her Christmas present I'd try and seek out some good books which don't have the traditional or anticipated ending for her to read. She normally reads fairly easy going books - no war and peace type stuff please.
Thanks

A Fine Balance is a wonderfully depressing book, with a hugely tragic ending. I loved it It's a thick book, but a relatively easy read.

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake - I don't think of that as having a happy ending

Lauren Oliver - Delirium.
It's about Love being a disease rather than a good thing, and that all society's problems are solved by a procedure that stops it.
girl falls in love before she has it, lots of angst, no happy ending cos the boy she falls in love with is killed.

'The Grapes Of Wrath' or, 'Of Mice And Men' by John Steinbeck. Neither are 'easy-going' but they are easy enough to read.

Another, which I don't like but lots of people on here do, is, 'A Prayer For Owen Meaney.'

The Way I Found Her, by Rose Tremain

ohhh quick replies - thanks so much. A couple of these sound great, the deeper heavier ones are not for her - I guess I'm more talking about an unexpected ending where things don't all end happily ever after - not just books that are full from front to back of doom, gloom and drugery.
Thanks, any other ideas?

ohhh that fine balance one sounds a bit too depresing AP - great suggestion but it may tip my sister over the edge

Atonement
Never Let Me Go
Rebecca

House of Sand and Fog

Anything by Stephen King.

Lovely Bones

The Age of Innocence - Edith Wharton

Brideshead Revisited / A Handful of Dust (Evelyn Waugh)

The last 3 are not what you'd call tragic, but neither do they have a conventional ending and are well written without being heavy. Even if you've seen the adaptations, they're worth a read.

Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks is also worth a go - sad and moving.

Anything by Jodi Picoult (specfically My Sister' Keeper)

5 Peolple You Meet in Heaven

Death and life of Charlie St Cloud

I was going to come back on to say Brideshead Revisited but thought that the OP might class it as too deep and heavy! And 'A Handful Of Dust' is such an amzing book but again doesn't sound like the sort of thing the OP is after. In fact, I'm annoyed now because I can't think of something that would be perfect for the OP's sister and I HATE not being able to recommend an ideal book! :)

Sister -Rosamund Lupton

We need to talk about kevin?

How about One Day by David Nicolls? Not high brow or anything but I thought the ending was a bit of a surprise and I don't think it was a happy one. It wasn't depressing but just a bit sad imo.

Pretty much any Catherine Cookson. Pure As The Lily is relentlessly unhappy.

The Handmaid's Tale

Ah, I missed this part - 'not just books that are full from front to back of doom, gloom and drugery.' - Not Pure As The Lily then.

Second we need to talk about Kevin. Fabulous book. V much not a happy ending. I am still thinking about it and read it twice!

The Awakening, Kate Chopin, and The Nether World by George Gissing

The Road.
Testament of Youth.

The Whole Day Through by Patrick Gale

An Equal Music by Vikram Seth

A Thousand Spelindid Suns - Khaled Hosseini
The Other Hand - Chris Cleave
Dusklands - JM Coetzee

What Was Lost by Catherine O Flynn
When Will There Be Good News? - Kate Atkinson
The Tortilla Curtain (very unhappy ending)
The Kite Runner - bitter note to the happy ending
WNTTAK - definitely agree with this.