Hazel Hayes’ sophomore novel, “Better by Far,” is full of twists and turns, always keeping readers guessing what’s actually going to happen between characters. The 2024 novel follows main characters Kate, an author struggling to write her second book and Finn, a musician, through a messy breakup and a shared house with three months left on the lease.
This book is written from Kate’s point of view, using second person to direct everything towards Finn. That means the reader is put into Finn’s place without knowing his side of the breakup. It really makes “Better by Far” stand out against others that may follow a similar plotline.
The book being written in the second person really makes readers feel every emotion Kate is experiencing as her character writes everything she never expressed to Finn. It’s such a simple touch, but if this book was written in a different POV it wouldn’t impact readers the way it truly does. It gives the feeling that “Better by Far” is actually the book Kate is trying to write in the story by compiling short stories and letters to Finn.
Going back to the house and the outstanding lease, the ex-couple decides to continue sharing the house but alternating every week. They’re never actually there together. The plan was simple: One cleans up and leaves by Sunday morning so the other could come home later that afternoon.
However, it’s not actually that simple. Kate describes it as living with a ghost; he’s there, moving stuff around the house and such, but she never sees him. This feeling is tough for Kate and during the first week, she writes herself a note reading, “We’re not talking,” sticking it on the wall above her desk to remind herself they have gone no-contact.
This note on the wall, however, led to some not-so-casual back and forth with the man she’s supposed to be no-contact with but still sharing a house with. His first note back reads, “BIT HARSH,” with a smiley face, giving Kate mixed signals about his feelings regarding their break.
During the weeks Kate doesn’t have the house, she spends her nights at her friend Fran’s place that they share with their partner Jay. She never really knew Jay before she started staying there, but they quickly became stakeholders in each other’s lives, helping each other stay afloat while Fran was away at work.
Another thing that helped her through the breakup was reconnecting with her friend Jenna. Kate was able to help her through a hard time, and Jenna helped distract Kate from her feelings.
The whole story puts a lot of emphasis on how much friends can help through tough times and how even if both are at low points, they can build each other up. Her friends play such a crucial role in making her feel a little like herself again.
Throughout the story, Kate struggles heavily with vivid dreams where her deceased mother was present in various disturbing forms. In the dreams she often found herself in her father’s living room with the front door open so she could leave if she wanted. Despite that, she’s drawn to the basement and always ends up down there, where she’ll eventually find her mother.
When opening up to her father about her dreams, she’s asked why she doesn’t just leave through the front door rather than going to the basement where she knows she’ll find her mother. To that, she has no idea, but it quickly translated to her relationship with Finn. Why would she keep going back to him and their fights when she can just leave and avoid it altogether?
Along with these thoughtful connections that are built up throughout the book, there are also many beautiful metaphors that explain feelings that are so hard to explain. One of the best metaphors was one about grief.
While writing to Finn, Kate personifies her grief, making it a real person who follows her everywhere after the breakup. She explains this ghost of grief very poetically, saying, “It follows me, always one pace behind. And when I finally go to bed, I find it there in place of you again.” Beautiful writing along with clever use of figurative language really brings so much life to this book.
Overall, the book was a bewitching rendition of toxic love, heartbreak, grief, recovery and growth. Kate grows so much throughout the 321-page masterpiece and is a totally different person from the character readers first meet on page one. “Better by Far” really shows the beautifully ugly side of getting put back together after finally coming to terms with needed loss.
