Better Than Laughter

Allan and Sam Collins run away from their home of worldly wealth and no love. They meet Horace, the elderly caretaker of the county dump, who shares with them his private world of cast-away treasures. Horace sends the boys home when he learns that they’ve run away. The boys agree to keep Horace’s identity a secret, but, when Mr. Collins confronts Sam about the gift that Horace gave him, Sam’s resolve melts in the face of his father’s anger. Mr. Collins seeks revenge against the old man. He even takes Allan and Sam to the dump so they can watch his handiwork. Risking their father's anger, the boys defy him and help Horace.

A weird and depressing book. (Spoilers abound, don't read this if you don't want to know the story) It starts with two boys, neglected (or at least feeling neglected) by their workaholic father and the mother supporting him, who decide to run away from home. A long bike-ride away, they come to a dump managed, and harvested, by an old man who has spent his life rescuing stuff - things from the years of his childhood. A whole bunch of weird interactions later (the man has been ignoring and warding off everyone for years; the younger boy has always been less courageous than his brother; the older boy has always been the strong and sensible one...and their interactions begin to change these. For no particular reason I can see), the man show more convinces them to call their parents and go back home. Where their parents can't handle and won't hear what the boys have to say. Then it turns out the father (a contractor) is actually working to clear the dump - except the old man is still there, and ready to ward off intruders. The boys are brought to convince him to go, but instead go in to help him, and then are caught in tear gas as the police clear out the defenders...which for some reason (after they're extracted) makes the father change his mind, he "quits" (what, this contract? His whole business? I have no idea what happened there, that was the end of the book). I'm sure this made sense to the author but I see a lot of action and no sense or underlying continuity to it. show less