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Book: Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune
Read From: 15th October - 20th October
Rating: 5/5 stars
Summary: When a reaper comes to collect Wallace Price from his own funeral, Wallace suspects he really might be dead. Instead of leading him directly to the afterlife, the reaper takes him to a small village. On the outskirts, off the path through the woods, is a particular tea shop, run by a man named Hugo. Hugo is the tea shop's owner to locals and the ferryman to souls who need to cross over. But Wallace isn't ready to abandon the life he barely lived. With Hugo's help he finally starts to learn about all the things he missed in life.
It’s incredibly hard to not compare two works by the same author, especially when the first one you read was an all time favourite. It’s even harder when the two books couldn’t be more different from each other - whilst The House in the Cerulean Sea was an uplifting and fluffy found family novel, Under the Whispering Door is extremely heavier in its deep exploration into grief and death.
It feels almost wrong to say that this was a book I enjoyed. It would be completely wrong too, considering I was a blubbering mess by the end - my emotions couldn’t be further from enjoyment. This novel struck a chord in me like no other book has done before and it couldn’t have come at a better time. It was of course upsetting, but I also found a lot of comfort from it - the last few pages in particular.
I could quite easily sit here and gush about every single one of these characters. Whilst I loved the found family as a whole, I also loved each one individually too. However I’m going to be vague deliberately in order to let you experience the magic for yourselves. All you need to know about this book is that its about working to the death, and spending an afterlife learning how to live. Oh and that its unapologetically gay too!
Of course the premise is sad but it's executed so well. Like The House in the Cerulean Sea, it's heart-warming and hopeful but for completely different reasons. I laughed and I ugly cried - this is a book I'm going to be thinking about for a long time.