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A review by mallorypen
Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
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
Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God.
TJ Klune: if you ever read this review, thank you. Thank you for writing stories with the charm, devotion, softness and joy that you do. Thank you for this beautiful, hopeful, heart-rending story about death. Thank you for the happy ending, despite it all. Thank you for Mei and Nelson and Apollo and Cameron and Hugo and Wallace.
This book made me giggle out loud and then sob. The story itself is imaginative - what happens after death, but told in that Pushing Daisies, gothic-cottagecore charm kind of way Klune excels at. Watching Wallace’s journey from living asshole to dead, kind of born-again human was so sweet and hopeful; seeing Hugo not as an infallible spirit guide but a person with doubts and flaws and distractions was so lovely. The supporting cast held their own; fully fleshed out, nuanced people (and doggos) who I fell in love with throughout the story.
This version of the journey after death is so incredibly comforting. The idea that someone helps you come to terms with the end of your life, that you can rest and process inside the warmth of a tea house, before being called to a sweet warm light with bird song and loved ones is just … heavenly in the best and kindest way.
I was fully expecting Wallace to go through the door at the end, and for the novel to finish with a hopeful note that Wallace was going to wait for Hugo to make his own journey. Instead, the Manager making the choice to “change things up” was so perfectly business-like, and so damn happy … would it have been a better story arc without the literal deus ex machina at the end? No. (Maybe.) But honestly, the soft happy sweet ending was what I wanted, especially with Nelson TRANSFORMING INTO A YOUNG MAN AGAIN and the final night of sharing stories and APOLLO LEAVING WITH NELSON ugh ugh I’m crying again just thinking about it.
I think this book would be very painful - in a good, healing and comforting way - to read while dealing with and processing through grief. TJ Klune does such a masterful job making life and death feel beautiful and meaningful; in his author’s note, he mentions dealing with a loss of his own. I wish him the same comfort this book gives his readers.
TJ Klune: if you ever read this review, thank you. Thank you for writing stories with the charm, devotion, softness and joy that you do. Thank you for this beautiful, hopeful, heart-rending story about death. Thank you for the happy ending, despite it all. Thank you for Mei and Nelson and Apollo and Cameron and Hugo and Wallace.
This book made me giggle out loud and then sob. The story itself is imaginative - what happens after death, but told in that Pushing Daisies, gothic-cottagecore charm kind of way Klune excels at. Watching Wallace’s journey from living asshole to dead, kind of born-again human was so sweet and hopeful; seeing Hugo not as an infallible spirit guide but a person with doubts and flaws and distractions was so lovely. The supporting cast held their own; fully fleshed out, nuanced people (and doggos) who I fell in love with throughout the story.
This version of the journey after death is so incredibly comforting.
I was fully expecting Wallace to go through the door at the end, and for the novel to finish with a hopeful note that Wallace was going to wait for Hugo to make his own journey. Instead, the Manager making the choice to “change things up” was so perfectly business-like, and so damn happy … would it have been a better story arc without the literal deus ex machina at the end? No. (Maybe.) But honestly, the soft happy sweet ending was what I wanted, especially with Nelson TRANSFORMING INTO A YOUNG MAN AGAIN and the final night of sharing stories and APOLLO LEAVING WITH NELSON ugh ugh I’m crying again just thinking about it.
I think this book would be very painful - in a good, healing and comforting way - to read while dealing with and processing through grief. TJ Klune does such a masterful job making life and death feel beautiful and meaningful; in his author’s note, he mentions dealing with a loss of his own. I wish him the same comfort this book gives his readers.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Child abuse, Child death, Animal death, and Death
Minor: Suicide and Murder