Better Than Home

by Joe Hill

This short story was originally published in Joe Hill's collection 20TH CENTURY GHOSTS.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Horror, Audiobook, Adult

336 pages, ebook

First published October 16, 2007

About the author

Joe Hill's debut, Heart-Shaped Box, won the Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel. His second, Horns, was made into a film freakfest starring Daniel Radcliffe. His other novels include NOS4A2, and his #1 New York Times Best-Seller, The Fireman... which was also the winner of a 2016 Goodreads Choice Award for Best Horror Novel.

He writes short stories too. Some of them were gathered together in his prize-winning collection, 20th Century Ghosts.

He won the Eisner Award for Best Writer for his long running comic book series, Locke & Key, co-created with illustrator and art wizard Gabriel Rodriguez.

He lives in New Hampshire with a corgi named McMurtry after a certain beloved writer of cowboy tales. His next book, Strange Weather, a collection of novellas, storms into bookstores in October of 2017.

Reviews

[Andrew Lennon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well that was weird?
It was quite a good story. Homer, the main character obviously has some form of mental illness, maybe autism? The story was interesting in the way that Homer told it to you. You could see things from his perspective and see through his eyes how he thinks people see him. It was interesting and a little bit moving.
What was weird about it? This story is in the book collection 20th century ghosts! I just don't see where this fit in at all?
Good story, just shouldn't be in this collection.

All reviews can be found at http://lennonslair.blogspot.co.uk

[Sungil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Re-read.
A beautiful, heartwrecking story about Homer, a boy with special needs and the sad fact, that the only person in his world, that understands him (in some degree), is his father.

This story has so many layers, and if you know about these childrens fight to fit in, be accepted & understood and their numerous battles, where the losses outnumbers the wins 99 to 1, it will break your heart.

It’s not about baseball, or being weird, behaving badly, having bad manners.
It’s about being different and misunderstood in a world, where being alike is a mantra.

I pity people who doesn’t understand this story. So sad.

(I apologise for bad grammar and typos. English isn’t my native language)

[Benjamin Stahl · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice, poignant tale about a boy and his father.

[Jonathan Echevarria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better Than Home is about child named Homer who suffers from autism. His father is what I believe to be a somewhat famous Baseball player. Homer and his old man share a deep caring relationship with each other which serves as the backbone for most of this novella. While is relationship with his mother and aunt seems strained at best, especially with his aunt who seems to be incredibly selfish and inconsiderate. One of the major highlights of this tale is how Homer is sensitive to certain sounds and scents which seems to drive him into a frenzy. If anything I felt genuinely bad for the child and it caused me to hope for the best for him at the end. After all it seemed like the only one who really understood him was his dad.

Overall I give this one a three stars out of five from this rabid fanboy. I didn't think it belonged in this collection for 20th Century Ghosts. Especially with the other stories outshining it in my humble opinion. Also I think I may of missed the point of the read if there was any hidden subtext. Maybe it was because I was waiting for some kind of supernatural twist to this tale. However I didn't care enough to go give this novella a second chance either. I liked it but it just wasn't really that great to begin with.

[Beth Roberts · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading several reviews here, I was happy to see it wasn't just me. I admit, I didn't get it.

It's not badly written, it just didn't go anywhere. We had the bitchy aunt who blew off finding a dead guy in a covered bridge and everybody's solution seemed to be to send the poor kid to a "special needs" home. Was the body not there? The aunt acknowledged it! I'm here to tell you, my kid could be severely emotionally disabled but if he finds and freaks out over a rotting corpse, I'm sure as hell not going to threaten him and blow the whole thing off! Poor kid!

I agree - touching father/son story, but it just ended. Three stars for decent writing.

[Carlos Pfister · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think it's better when you realize that the father is dead. That's why no one responded to him when they took the tour of the school or why they never play their game at home. The only one who can see him apparently is Homer. It sounds like Homer has the ability to see dead people, as he does with the body on the bridge. This whole story is written in a really confusing way, so for all I know, I could be completely off base about everything here. If the father isn't dead, then this is a three star story and shouldn't be in this collection.

[Linda Gonzales · Rating 1 out of 5]

?????

[Maree Backhouse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting but ended somewhere weird

I gave this short story 5 stars even though I was kinda unpleasantly surprised by the ending because it really grabbed me from the opening line. I'm Australian so not a baseball fan, so when I realised it was based around baseball I was a little put off but kept going anyway. I was loving the story as it shot along, & it really did shoot along quickly. I got so sucked in & had to know what was gonna happen. Then all of a sudden, it ended, weirdly. Cute, sweet ending but I felt kinda ripped off. I wanted to know what happened with the main characters mental health issues & what was gonna happen to him with his schooling (you'll read what I mean), but all I got was what felt like a love note to his dad. Sure it was a beautiful way to look back on a life well lived with lots of both good & bad memories of your childhood but not where I thought this story was going to end up. Either way, I thoroughly enjoyed it but I really wanted more...but hey, maybe that was the point.

[Michael Sorbello · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice slice-of-life story about a mentally disabled boy and his daily festivities with his understanding father. Wholesome.

[itchy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read as part of the collection 20th Century Ghosts.

[Giordan Jade · Rating 2 out of 5]

This kind of felt like a non-story. Homer certainly has some special needs, particularly with sensory overload, but I’m not too sure what the point of the story was. It seems he struggled throughout to make sense of the world and nothing really got resolved. I guess it was a pallet cleanse mid book?

[Geoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

A chapbook that contains a story about a troubled child. This child has panic attacks, is afraid of everything, and drools. The story is of the child, and his interaction with his family. His father is the only one who understands and accepts the child's problems, whereas the other family members do not. This is really a touching story, and was well written. I liked it quite a bit!

[Nick Katenkamp · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bizarre and mostly pointless, this story only works if the dad is deceased, and the protagonist has the ability to see ghosts. If that is not the case, which no real explanation or anything beyond minute hints even suggest, then this story is a complete flop. The story starts fine but completely devolves into a jumbled mess.

[Сибин Майналовски · Rating 3 out of 5]

Поредният много добър, но звучащ като недовършен разказ. Shame on you, Joey :(

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

I won’t lie, this one absolutely baffled me. It wasn’t bad writing by any means it was just...there. The first thing I’ve read by Joe Hill that I’ve given less than 4 stars to.

[Fee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed it. A memory from the past can fit in my definition of a ghost, and it was nice to have a decent Dad story after multiple crappy ones.

[Whitley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I find it funny that this short story collection has such a variety of stories because this one is not horror at all, except for the dead body that Homer finds during that trip with his aunt.

When it comes to the actual story, I don't know how to feel about it. I like Homer's relationship with his dad and how, despite his dad's own temper, he really understands Homer and what his son needs to be able to go about life. I think it's cute. And I'm glad to see how he's so supportive when the aunt doesn't know how to interact with her nephew.

The ending, tho... I don't know. That annoyed me. I get that Homer's autism stops him from doing certain things, but really???

[Kirk Savage · Rating 5 out of 5]

In my opinion this story was very nice. Homer, the son deals with what is seems to be is autism, how he picks through his food and can’t stand noises like vcr tapes being rewound. His father is the only one who seems to give a shit about him, and caters to his child’s needs. Very great ending, the other reviewers who don’t get it must not see the impact of a son and father bond, and joe hill did a great job of cutting the ending off like he did.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a story about baseball, erratic behavior and a different place like home. The main character is well drawn, but what is the story about? Not too sure about it, no real climax, everything a bit vague and superficial. It could have been a good story if the author had had a clear aim. Not among his very best. Readable.

[Persy · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Everyone should have a memory like that.”

A sweet, delicate turn from the other stories in Joe Hill’s collection 20th Century Ghosts. The relationship between father and son was a beautiful snapshot of mundanity.

[Baby Monster #563 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read for a dad or older son. Made me think of catcher in the rye

[Andrew kutz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one was not a horror story, but it was so heartbreaking and I loved it. I loved that Joe Hill shows that he can do more than just horror in just this one book.

[Kaitlyn (ktxx22) Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful story about a Father’s love and ability to care and understand his special needs child. I really enjoyed this one.

[Mayumi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gosto da contradição de que a pessoa que melhor entende um garoto que supostamente tem alguma neurodivergência é o pai grosseiro.