Is failure more 'authentic' and 'realistic'? Are happy endings clichéd?

Melinda Snodgrass takes on that question at her blog (and gives someone a nice, unexpected shout-out in the midst of it...). Go read it -- what do you think? When you read a novel or story, do you want the happy ending? (You! Get your mind of the gutter! Yes, you -- you know who I'm talking to...) Or do you prefer gritty, gnarled, and uncertain futures for your protagonists? And why is that?
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