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Under the Whispering Door

T.J. Klune

Start date: October 1, 2021

Finish date: October 31, 2021

Discussion: Group Reads

Discussion leader: Lindsay

Why we're reading this: Group Read Fantasy - October 2021
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What Members Thought

Sep 25, 2021 Trish rated it really liked it · review of another edition

My goodness, this blindsided me, espcially after my buddy-reader was thrown off by the beginning so much.

Meet Wallace, asshole par excellence. He's a lawyer and has a very successful firm. He's also the proverbial shark and a monster to his employees, spreading fear. So it's no surprise nobody is too sad when he suddenly dies of a heart attack.
But death is only the beginning. Wallace comes to as a ghost at his own funeral and is quite shocked about how people talk about him now that he's gone. He also meets Mei, the only person who can see and hear him - because she's a reaper.
Mei takes Wallace to a tea shop that is also a way station for the dead. And thus, Wallace and Hugo meet. Hugo being a ferrymen between this world and the next and supposed to help Wallace come to terms with his death until he cane "move on". Suffice it to say that Wallace learns A LOT about himself and there will be some reckoning!

The author created a really interesting version of the redemption trope. I REALLY despised Wallace. But him getting taken down a few notches by Mei and grandpa Nelson was not only welcome and just, but also hilarious. And he DID learn eventually. It might be a bit sappy what with the trope of bad people being bad because of prior events (some simply like being assholes after all), but it was also fantastic in showing all kinds of deaths (from suicide to murder victims) as well as all kinds of grief.

Overall, some very profound topics were addressed here (mental health, human connections, the mistakes we make and if/how we try to make up for them, doing things not for a reward but because it's the right thing to do) and the author had a very nice way of making you care for everyone to the extend that I was whooping and cheering but also crying and shuddering.

The love story was adequately slow-burn, there was an actual learning curve (and it was an appropriately bumpy road) and I felt as if someone was putting my favourite blanky around me while I was reading.

In a word: cute. Not easy to pull off considering the heaviness of the topics addressed.

Not as fantastic as the previous book by this author that I've read but I liked it well enough. ...more

80 likes · Like · see review

Sep 21, 2021 Bradley rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy, 2021-shelf, romance

Yes, it's possible to thoroughly enjoy whole swaths of this novel without ever quite accepting its premise.

Indeed, I could very much enjoy the romance and the stages of grief and the whole personal development bits a great deal, even to the point of giving this novel a full five stars, IF it hadn't been for the truly rough intro.

I'm sorry. If I had started reading this after his death without ever having seen him in action during his life, I never would have had a single issue with the novel.

As ...more

43 likes · Like · see review

Oct 18, 2021 Lata rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: sf-f-h, x2021-read

A heartwarming story similar to the previous book by this author (The House on the Cerulean Sea), where an emotionally stunted, and in this case, sort of evil corporate guy learns to be a better person after meeting some genuinely good and kind people in an odd line of work.
Wallace, a particularly insensitive and often mean corporate lawyer dies and is taken by his Reaper Meiying "Mei" to meet the tightly knit family of the Ferryman Hugo and his grandfather Nelson (and dog Apollo) at the Charon ...more

16 likes · Like · see review

Dec 09, 2021 Veronique rated it really liked it

Shelves: read2021

Having loved The House in the Cerulean Sea, I couldn’t wait to read Klune’s latest novel. When I started it, back in late September, I couldn’t get into it. I picked it up again yesterday and this time I ripped through it, finishing it in the evening, and yes, I enjoyed it a lot.

First of all, this is a very different story and tone to Cerulean, mostly due to its theme. What hasn’t changed is Klune’s way of creating endearing characters. Wallace is anything but endearing at the beginning, really ...more

15 likes · Like · see review

Nov 15, 2021 DivaDiane SM rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: sffbc-book-shelf, ebook, netgalley-arc

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

15 likes · Like · see review

Sep 11, 2021 Emma rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, netgalley, paranormal

Even before I read the acknowledgments at the end of the book, I realised from the writing that this was a deeply personal account from the author. The characters in the story are adorable- not just Hugo but Mei, NElson and Apollo. In fact, the character I liked least was Wallace! The book revolves around the premise that once we die, we move on and between the two is a time to evaluate. This is an endearing and thoughtful book with a big Heart. Many thanks to Netgalley for an arc of this book.

13 likes · Like · see review

Dec 13, 2021 Susy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, owned-ibooks, lgbtq

4.5 stars
At first I was a little hesitant to read this book by Klune as some of my bookish friends weren5 too positive about it. But I ended up reading it to fulfill a certain book challenge. And I’m very glad I did! Such a heartwarming story with very lovable characters. It’s sweet, sad, humorous and joyful. I do give it a slightly lower rating than The House in the Cerulean Sea (which I gave 6 stars). Partly I think I enjoyed Cerulean Sea more because it was the perfect book at the right time ...more

11 likes · Like · see review

Nov 01, 2021 Vavita rated it liked it

Shelves: specficgroupreads2021

Maybe I expected too much... I read The House in the Cerulean Sea and I expected to love this book as I loved that one. To be honest, this book didn't have enough plot. I felt bored most of the time. I finished it only because it was part of a challenge... Really sad. ...more

11 likes · Like · see review

Aug 19, 2023 Cathy rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

In the last two hours of this audiobook I cried like a baby at least three times. Considering the fact that I wasn‘t sure I wanted to continue this book at all after the start… not bad! 😭😭😭😭😭

The first thing this made me think of: Ebenezer Scrooge. With a bit of Terry Pratchett thrown in. After the first two chapters—unlikeable, self-centered lawyer without empathy dies and attends his own funeral—I wasn‘t sure if I was interested and wanted to continue. I am glad that I did.

Ok, so, Wallace, a ho ...more

6 likes · Like · see review

Nov 19, 2021 Helen rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

What a lovely book. Wallace is a lawyer and lives for his work. He’s filled with scorn for…, well everything. Then he dies and, unlike the expression, wishes he could go back.

There follows an exploration into himself. Is he anybody without his job? What purpose does he serve?

A lovely sweet, teary tale about love, caring and helping others.

4 likes · Like · see review

Oct 18, 2021 Liam || Books 'n Beards rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: bought-2021, fantasy, 2021, audio, owned-audible

"Life is senseless, and on the offchance that we find something that does make sense we hold onto it as tightly as we can."

My second TJ Klune, following on from the excellent HOUSE ON THE CERULEAN SEA - unfortunately, not quite the follow up I was hoping for.

Wallace Price is a high-powered lawyer - his career is everything to him. He fires loyal employees for little to no reason, he has an ex-wife that he doesn't particularly care about, and all in all he's a fairly reprehensible human being
"Life is senseless, and on the offchance that we find something that does make sense we hold onto it as tightly as we can."

My second TJ Klune, following on from the excellent HOUSE ON THE CERULEAN SEA - unfortunately, not quite the follow up I was hoping for.

Wallace Price is a high-powered lawyer - his career is everything to him. He fires loyal employees for little to no reason, he has an ex-wife that he doesn't particularly care about, and all in all he's a fairly reprehensible human being. Then, one afternoon whilst in his track pants, Rolling Stones t-shirt and thongs, Wallace Price dies of a heart attack - and that is where his story really begins.

I am really torn - I can't remove HOUSE ON THE CERULEAN SEA from my memory, but it being there gives me expectations that were never feasibly going to be reached by UNDER THE WHISPERING DOOR. Without the former, Whispering Door is probably a 4.5 - with, I'm sitting at a 2.5-3.

I enjoyed WHISPERING DOOR - but it felt very similar to CERULEAN SEA, except not quite as cohesive. It felt a lot less focused, the plot kind of meandering - fittingly, like a purgatory. Wallace's redemption from stuffy ass to lovable felt very, very easy - especially considering how we see him at the beginning of the book. I didn't buy it the way I bought Linus' slow warming.

The concept of the afterlife, with the Reapers and the Ferrymen and the Manager, was intriguing - but only really on a surface level. There wasn't much depth to it, though TJ Klune has said that he didn't really want to explore what came after death, really, but the process of grief.

I've been incredibly lucky in that I've not (touch wood) lost anybody close or important to me, thus far in my 30 years - so perhaps my lacking of a proper understanding of real human grief was part of my issue, I feel like this book is going to be incredibly personal to a lot of people - but the arc that the grieving characters go through didn't strike me as particularly well handled.

The other characters were more interesting to me than Wallace - but only just - and the (view spoiler) just felt saccharine. I don't think it needed it.

This is a pretty harsh review for a book that I pretty much felt okay about, but it was just such a hard come-down from the wonder and joy that I felt listening to CERULEAN SEA. Considering what inspired the book, I suppose that's understandable - TJ Klune's interviews on the subject provide some valuable context I wish I'd had before I started listening.

If you've not read CERULEAN SEA yet, read UNDER THE WHISPERING DOOR first - otherwise I fear you'll find it a pale shadow. ...more

3 likes · Like · see review