Hi there! I’m here today to talk about another one of my most anticipated 2021 releases. **And every day we are reminded that discrimination against marginalized communities is still a serious problem, so click here to find a compilation of resources where you can donate your time, money, or whatever you can to support these communities. I still encourage you to research these causes on your own to educate yourself and find the best way to lend your support.**
T.J. Klune has appeared on many more readers’ radars since his publication of The House in the Cerulean Sea in March of 2020 (it was the first book I ever reviewed on this blog, and you can check out my thoughts here). The story seemed to capture a pure essence of hope that the world could be a better place, which is honestly what we’ve needed in the past year. His second adult title with Tor Books, Under the Whispering Door, comes out on September 21st, 2021, and while his signature humor and writing style is present throughout, he’s made it extremely clear that this will not be a carbon copy of Cerulean. In a blog post released this month, Klune states that he wrote Under the Whispering Door while wrestling with grief, and used at least some of the writing process to make sense of his own feelings around loss. You can tell that this book is deeply personal, and while I did find some similarities between these two works, I hope readers will be able to appreciate it for its own individuality.
Wallace Price is a no-nonsense man who has lived a life with little more than his work. And then he dies, and realizes at his sparsely attended funeral that maybe he hadn’t impacted anyone in a positive way. Then a Reaper named Mei comes to collect him, albeit not without answering a few of his questions, and brings him to a way-station between life and the afterlife. Off a path through the woods, in a little village Wallace has never visited, they arrive at a rather peculiar tea shop, Charon’s Crossing, run by a man named Hugo. Loved by the locals, Hugo is more than just a master of tea – he is a ferryman, tending to the souls of the dead until they are ready to cross over. While Wallace does not want to accept his fate at first, the more time spent at the shop, and with Hugo, the more he realizes just how much he’s missed out on. And when the Manager, a curious and powerful being, makes an unexpected appearance, time for Wallace to cross over may be running out.
Ok, I’ve tried and failed to write my review for this several times now. There are so many things I want to say, but can’t quite write the proper words to articulate them correctly. So, my dear readers, I’ll leave you with this to start: Under the Whispering Door explores, life, love, death, and grief in such an intimate and personal way that I found myself speechless after many passages throughout. It takes Wallace’s death for his bubble to pop and for him to realize that the life he once lived was not fulfilling, and that those he had surrounded himself with pale in comparison to the companions and, eventually, family he finds for himself at Hugo’s tea shop. As he comes to acknowledge his flaws, shortcomings, and regrets, and begins to make any amends he can after death, Wallace finally finds himself in a place where he belongs, where those around understand him in a way no one has before. In terms of the relationship between Wallace and Hugo that develops, I felt the exact same way about Linus and Arthur in Cerulean – at first, Wallace is stubborn and set in his ways, and Hugo is amused and fascinated by his stubbornness, and what develops is a mutual appreciation for each others’ company while they both can learn new things from each other, where everyone else seems to realize what’s happening before they do. It was absolutely lovely to see. The pacing at the beginning seemed a bit slow, as the reader is being introduced to the idea of Reapers and ferrymen, and I found that sometimes phrases and/or actions were being repeated to/by Wallace multiple times. While some may find that off-putting, and I can see why, I thought it worked in Klune’s favor as he captured an individual experience of grief – repetition can be connected to a person in denial, as they try to carry on as if nothing is amiss and when realization hits, the cycle continues. I’m not sure if anything will be changed in the finished copy, but I still stand by my thoughts that the repetitive nature was purposeful and suited the story quite nicely.
*There is an author’s note before chapter 1, informing readers that there are discussions of death in different forms – quiet, unexpected, and death by suicide. While the topics are handled with care throughout the book, sensitivity to reading about them will vary, so please take that into consideration before picking it up*
I’m truly interested to hear what other people will think of this story. Everyone’s life and experiences with grief will shape what message truly shines through for them. It’s what I love most about reading – hundreds of people can read the same text and interpret it hundreds of different ways, and those interpretations will always make for great discussion. Under the Whispering Door is set to release on September 21st, 2021, which is just two weeks from when this post goes live, so if you’re interested in picking up the newest T.J. Klune novel, and are ready to have your heartstrings pulled at, I highly recommend preordering a copy for yourself or picking one up once released. *Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Tor Books, for the e-copy, all thoughts and opinions are my own.*
Where to find Under the Whispering Door:
Bookshop
Amazon
Goodreads
T.J. Klune’s site
Macmillan
Thoughts About Things 