Better by Far

A Novel

By: Hazel Hayes

Narrated by: Hazel Hayes

One of Zibby Mag's Most Anticipated Books Coming Out in 2024 | One of SheNet's Highly Anticipated Books of 2024

A genre-bending story about love and loss, hope and heartbreak, and the healing to be found in life’s little limbos, those in-between spaces where you’re no longer who you were and not yet the person you will be

About her debut, Out of Love, Hazel Hayes said, “The journey from writing horror to writing love stories was a short one. There is nothing more horrific than love.” In her new novel, she sets out to prove it.

This genre-defying, meta-modern novel is unlike anything you have ever read, and yet at its core it is a story we all deeply understand. A story of love and liminality, and the ways in which grief grips us all. Prepare to laugh and cry; Hazel Hayes will break your heart, but then she’ll mend it for you.

Following a breakup, Kate and Finn decide to keep sharing their house until the lease runs out in twelve weeks’ time, alternating week by week so that they are occupying the same space but never at the same time.

Practically, the plan makes sense, but coming back each Sunday to a home where Finn has been and gone feels far too much like living with a ghost. Kate lost her mother at a young age and now this fresh grief dredges unhealed sorrows up to the surface, and soon, Kate finds herself adrift in her own subconscious, trapped in the liminal space between loving someone and letting go.

Critic reviews

Praise for Better by Far
“Hazel Hayes is a great writer. . . . Bittersweet is the vibe, and she does it with rare class.”—Matt Haig, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Midnight Library

"Heart-wrenching and healing in equal measure, Better by Far offers a double-edged (and incredibly poignant) look at what it means to grieve — stinging one moment and soothing the next. Hazel Hayes' characters and prose have that innate capacity to make the reader feel truly seen, tackling themes like love and loss with immense grace, warmth, and nuance. On the first page, Hayes notes that ‘we wear our feelings, wrapping them around ourselves like cloaks...’ I'd argue this story is equally engulfing, wrapping itself around you until the very last chapter."—Genevieve Wheeler, author of Adelaide

“A geography of loneliness, a map of the liminal spaces of heartbreak, and a testament to grief’s ability to supplant any narrative, Better by Far is a tender and powerful book that simultaneously bruised and healed me. I leaked all the way through this deeply felt and moving journey.”—Ling Ling Huang, author of Natural Beauty

"There's feeling in every moment and line of Better by Far, whether it's the crushing weight of loss or the monumental power of small, kind acts. The second-person form achieves extra resonance, enabling a powerful ending that will leave readers both devastated and renewed."—Shelf Awareness

"Not only does Hayes have a knack for voice-driven narration, she also evokes the sights and sounds of the region...This is bursting with feeling."—Publishers Weekly

"A complex, richly literary, and surprising break-up novel."—Booklist

"I highlighted so much of this story because I felt seen and finally felt like my feelings were being reflected back to me and described perfectly. So many times I thought and said, yes, that is exactly what I have felt. If you have been through a breakup, this is also going to be a story you’ll want to read."—Chick Lit Central

Worth every second

This book was poetry from beginning to end. I am so grateful I found it, and is a life changing read.

I feel less alone.

I wasn’t expecting this store to heal something in me. i lost my mother a few years ago to cancer which isn’t the same. A lot of people do understand the pain i feel, this made me feel less alone in my grief. I loved this book. me, my best friend & my bonus mom are reading it for our book club

This book Rocked me

I'm not sure how this book ended up in my Wishlist, so I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I started listening. The moment that I finished it, I immediately started it over again. This book is lovely and emotional and terrifying and hopeful and everything I could ever want. It explores grief and loss and heartbreak and self-discovery and memory and romance and fear and art and psychology and philosophy in ways I have never heard. I laughed and cried and it took my breath away. I've never read anything like this and I know I will read it again and again. Hazel is an incredible writer and her narration is wonderful to listen to.

Beautifully Devistating

The kind of book that you didn’t know you needed until you find it. Or it finds you. Hazel has a way of taking the thoughts and feelings that you don’t know how to verbalize, and showing them to you.