Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune

26 reviews

math_scooter's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense 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

4.75

den eneste grund til at jeg ikke synes at den her bog var perfekt er fordi jeg havde de sygeste feberdrømme en nat da jeg var halvvejs med at læse den hvor jeg var Wallace der skulle hjælpe en lille fransk pige der var død i en bilulykke i bussen med hendes fodboldhold og jeg var nødt til at forklare hende at hun var død på fransk på trods af at jeg altså ikke taler flydende fransk. klarede mig ret godt hvis jeg selv skal sige det alligevel, men det var en stressende omgang. Eksempelsætming: “tu es aussi morte que moi”

hvis du er bange for at dø er denne bog for dig, hvis du har lyst til at dø er denne bog for dig, hvis du har et afslappet forhold til døden er denne bog for dig. hvis du er i live er denne bog for dig. læs dog lige content advarslerne inden :)

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Murder, Blood, Child death, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Death of parent, and Death

Moderate: Animal death and Cancer

Minor: Medical content and Body horror

aurinkotuulia's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful 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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Grief, Animal death, and Death

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Body horror, Suicide, Murder, Death of parent, Violence, Terminal illness, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Cursing

zarhara's review

adventurous emotional hopeful 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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Grief, Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Child death, Car accident, Suicide, and Medical content

Minor: Blood

fiveredhens's review against another edition

emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

mmm... hugo deserves better

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Suicide, Panic attacks/disorders, Child death, Death of parent, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Racism and Cursing

sophie42's review

adventurous hopeful 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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Child death, Death of parent, Grief, and Death

Moderate: Medical content, Animal death, Suicide, and Terminal illness

Minor: Blood and Injury/Injury detail

elazza3540's review

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful lighthearted slow-paced

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

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Cancer, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment, Animal death, and Injury/Injury detail

jamiebrito's review

emotional funny hopeful relaxing sad fast-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death of parent, Grief, Car accident, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicide, Terminal illness, Mental illness, Cancer, Medical trauma, Suicidal thoughts, and Infidelity

ppixxie's review

emotional hopeful informative reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I sort of picked this up on a whim, knowing that it was about a man who had passed and living out a kind of gay Christmas Carol situation; I figured that I would give TJ Klune another shot. I had read the Green Creek series (which I sort of hate read/sort of liked despite... You know. The really weird grooming adjacent stuff.) and House in the Cerulean Sea (which read completely different than the Green Creek series. Very much trying to emulate Terry Pratchett but not as charming?). So, to set the scene here is me, recently losing someone very important in my life and picking this book up. I expected to feel at least something that wasn't on a spectrum of boredom to annoyance.

And yet.

This book has everything that I disliked about House in the Cerulean Sea but turned up to eleven. The unearned character growth that Wallace goes through that seemingly comes from nowhere in Chapter 2 (I wanted to see him be shitty! I wanted to see him EARN his redemption and feel his horror at how bad of a boss he used to be.), how the nonwhite characters seem to only exist to further the white main character's emotional journey, and he never seems to build on the interesting concepts he introduces? He resolves them very quickly. I loved the idea of Cameron and I would've loved to see him more as some type of looming element throughout the book <spoilers>instead of coming in at the middle of the book, then getting his big resolution at the end. I'm also not a huge fan of how TJ Klune writes romances in general, he uses many of the same tropes for a lot of his couples so it ends up feeling more like a Hallmark movie rather than two individual characters falling in love.

I won't comment on how the book deals with grieving, the conversation about death, and how the narration deals with it. After I finished the book I read the acknowledgments where the author says that he used this book to channel his experiences. Everyone's journey with the death and grief of losing a loved one is different. However, why does it feel like the narrative punishes people who aren't immediately okay with their death? Or if they react in a way that is... not convenient to the characters at Charon's Crossing? it would've been cool to see how Hugo changed tactics to accommodate the different reactions that people had, but he kind of just sits with them and says "I can't even begin to imagine what you're going through" and sort of leaves it at that. (Which all the other characters repeat as well)

The part in this book that I truly, absolutely loved that hit me as incredibly real and grounded and sort of endeared me to Wallace and Hugo's relationship was at the end

where it's one of the last nights before the Manager has to take Wallace into the door. Wallace and Hugo are in bed, and they're talking. They're having a conversation about how they would've met if Wallace were still alive, it's so bittersweet and tender.

It almost makes up for how one note all the characters are. 

Spoilers for the ending

But, if he was going to bring Wallace back in the end I think it would have been stronger thematically - especially with the depiction of the manager being this antagonistic bureaucrat - with Wallace choosing to live out of spite, saying that yes; my death was unfair. I have so much else I want to do, it's unfair that I am only now living my life happily now that I am dead. So I will fight the world, I will claw my way to the man I love, to the family I love - and live? The entire book is about the finality of death, the process of grief, and how inescapable it is. The ending felt like the antithesis of the core themes, which I understand that TJ Klune is a writer that exclusively writes happy endings! That's fine! But this ending seems so disingenuous to the heart of the book.

I honestly think this is the longest review I've ever written for anything. Wow.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Murder, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Cancer, Child death, Medical content, Animal death, Car accident, Cursing, Death of parent, and Racism

the_vegan_bookworm's review

emotional hopeful mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This book made me bawl my eyes out in the most cathartic way. I loved all of the characters and the intricate fantasy world created in this story. Klume also inserted a lot of poignant meditations on grief, loss, death and finding meaning in our lives through and around those things. 

I wish the relationship between Wallace and Hugo was better fleshed out, as it felt rushed in some parts. As well, the ending felt a bit rushed and didn't match a lot of the rest of the book in terms of tone. The epilogue was excellent, though.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Suicide, Death of parent, Death, Grief, and Animal death

hannahrogers's review

emotional hopeful medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicide, Grief, Animal death, Child death, Death of parent, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, and Violence

Moderate: Blood, Car accident, and Murder

Minor: Alcohol, Infidelity, and Medical content