What happened at the end of the novel: metaphor or supernatural ending?

[AddisonL]

I just finished a novel with a famously ambiguous ending, and I can’t decide what I think actually happened to the main character. My book club is split right down the middle, with half of us convinced it was a metaphorical departure and the other half certain it was a literal, supernatural event. I keep re-reading the final pages looking for definitive clues.

[Brian_M]

I keep coming back to the idea that the ending is metaphorical. The last pages lean into imagery—the road, the fog, a house that feels warped by memory—and I think the author wants us to finish in our heads, not wait for a supernatural doorway to appear.

[Dennis22]

I lean toward a literal supernatural reading. The hints in the final scene feel like a doorway rather than a metaphor, and the earlier chapters pace toward something crossing from one plane to another, not just a mood change.

[Chloe_H]

I keep bouncing between both and it drives me nuts. Maybe the real problem is that we want a neat verdict and the book isn't giving one. We argued for an hour, took notes, and still nothing settled.

[MatthewW]

We tried a simple exercise with the group: we listed every scene that could count as evidence, then debated which ones counted. A few people kept notes, others shrugged. I even caught myself daydreaming about my own life and why ambiguity feels safer than certainty, then circling back to the page.