Reviews with content warning for Sexual harassment - Under the Whispering Door

Ah! I loved the tenderness of the whole book. It takes the time to steep in grief and life and love and death. It's even more special having read the acknowledgements and learning how the author was going through their own processes of grief and mourning while writing the book. The emotions and themes are lovely, and the found family and romance is a really nice cherry on top.

The writing took me out of the story from time to time. I found the characterisation of Wallace, the main character, to be so cartoonishly and outlandishly cold and oblivious in the beginning, and that setup made it hard to feel genuine empathy for the character he becomes later on. I know there's meant to be character development and transformation, and it is noted by the end that he's no longer the same man from the beginning of the book, but it's just such a drastic and sudden change that I feel like it's just a completely different character. I think I would have really liked if the tone was more consistent—maybe something more substantive about his character in the beginning that lets us see his growth .

I even think his marriage with Naomi could be really interesting to explore with more depth! Especially earlier and more consistently. With the way that that memory of pulling out her chair affected him so much, and the way that he wanted Hugo to call her to tell her that about Wallace's good memories of her, I think the marriage could be a compelling way to show his lack of humanity (like his firing of Patricia Ryan) but potential for connection (which was harder to see in the firing).

Overall a lovely time!

Content Warnings

batwinggoth's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

The book has a slow start, but the delivery of main character's struggles and inner monologue are written whimsically and humorous which is a great balance to the dark and heavy themes of the novel. The characters are all written well with great detail to each. The story's narrative is well encompassing of both predictable story progression and the pleasantly unexpected that pull you even deeper into the story being told.

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Grief, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Suicide

Minor: Animal death, Child abuse, Car accident, Homophobia, Racism, Sexual harassment, and Self harm

The book is centered around dead people and meeting people from all walks of life as they die in various ways - understanding and helping them process their dead and pass. Most characters are complicated and real with great detail of their emotions, feelings, and inner dialogue and they process their life and what happened to them or what they're currently going through. There's a child

who died from terminal illness whose mother is actively grieving and constantly visiting the tea shop (central setting of the book).

There's a character who we meet who was

murdered in an ally who recounts his death and expresses his extreme anger drastically.

There's a character who was bullied and emotionally abused

by his parents and experiences a sudden loss of his partner in the hospital and ends up dying by suicide due to his overwhelming grief.

The main character begins as an extremely toxic, workaholic and overall extremely bitter man who had been once married to a woman, the both of whom where extremely toxic and gaslighting towards each other in the end. The sexual harassment

is only in reference to a man and a woman who visit their tea shop often and constantly hits on Hugo in inappropriate ways and in one instance the man even says he'll 'wear him down' despite Hugo already rejecting him multiple times.

The animal death

is only mentioned because a main character, Apollo, is a ghost dog who had passed.

I may have missed other important instances of tagged content, but hopefully this helps give folks a better idea about the themes who need it to determine whether reading the book is right for them. I'd say while it's not impossible to skip past some graphic subjects, death and grief are unavoidable and I would suggest you not read the book if you are actively in mourning yourself unless you find reading about other people's grief and experiences cathartic in processing your own grief.

keen's review

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challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This book made me tear up several times. TJ Klune has a wonderful way of writing characters that start off unlikeable and grow better through their interactions with kind and patient people. It really shows that most can become better if given the time and care, even if it takes a long time. Aside from showing this skill in this book, he's also shown it in The House on the Cerulean Sea, the first book I've read from him. Speaking of that book, he certainly shows he likes the word "cerulean" in this story.

I also appreciate him for creating a story where LGBTQ+ people aren't questioned. That's always refreshing to see. There are many stories about LGBTQ+ experiencing bigotry, either as the entire story or slice of it. Those stories are important, but I prefer to experience a world where it's simply accepted as another part of humanity.

And let me say, this artist has shown the perfect way to give a content warning. This is a book that deals with a heavy subject intrinsic to human life and shows how important it is for people to be aware of what they're going to read. It's at the start of the book under Author Notes, being quick to the point by explaining the themes.

The note: "This story explores life and love as well as loss and grief. There are discussions of death in different forms—quiet, unexpected, and death by suicide. Please read with care."

CW: Suicide Discussion

On a more personal note, as someone with chronic depression, suicidal ideation, and anxiety disorders, I've never seen those subjects written with such care and empathy. I was fully ready to be disappointed when the subject would come up by criticizing people for being in a bad place, judging them for "throwing away their lives" and "not being strong enough." I was pleasantly surprised to see TJ Klune show that those comments are some of the worst ways to react to someone's suffering. He instead presents more empathetic ways to respond to people's illnesses and choices that don't blame them for how they feel.

Content Warnings

reviewsandreadathons's review against another edition

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hopeful reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

sennaje's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

becs93's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Apollo was by far my favorite character because who wouldn't love a ghost dog.
This book really made me stop and think about the meaning of life and what it means to live in alignment with my own values. I love a book that can make me think.
I rated it 3.75 because there were a lot of parts that read as very cheesy and immature which I didn't like but overall it's a great book.

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