“And the one thing I’ve learned about being human is that we can’t do this alone.”
I’m not going to lie. I was really nervous about this book. I loved House in the Cerulean Sea so much, and just couldn’t bear if this book was a letdown.
If you’re like me and worried that nothing can measure up, let me just assure you that although this book is much different in its subject material, the warm hug feels are still here in mass quantities.
When we meet Wallace Price, to say he is a jerk, is probably putting it mildly. He is so entirely focused on his career, that he has one failed marriage, no friends to speak of, and is basically an unfeeling human being. Having said that, it isn’t super surprising that when he dies, hardly anyone attends his funeral. The one face he can’t put a name to turns out to be a reaper, named Mei. She has come to take Wallace to meet the ferryman, Hugo. Hugo and Mei run a quaint little tea shop together while ushering people along in their journey through death. Hugo’s job is to help Wallace process what has happened to him and prepare him to make the journey to his last stop; to what is behind the whispering door.
Klune has managed to write an amazing version of death and what awaits us after. Our journey with Wallace shows us that life is precious, and emphasizes that we should cherish the things that are important while we live;. While Wallace didn’t do very much with his life up to his death, the opportunity for him to grow into a better person, and to live a better life after his death than he ever did while alive is touching, and charming, and at times just heartwrenching.
I loved this book every bit as much as I loved Cerulean Sea, and will recommend it just as highly to anyone who will listen! TJ Klune’s writing just exudes kindness. Upon finishing one of his books, I remember that there is good in this world, no matter how hidden it sometimes might be. Under the Whispering Door was another warm hug in book form!
Thank you so much to TJ Klune, and to Tor Books for providing me an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.
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