Under the Whispering Door
£8.70£9.50 (-8%)
Witty, haunting and kind, Under the Whispering Door is a gift for troubled times. TJ Klune brings us a warm hug of a story about a man who spent his life at the office – and his afterlife building a home.
From the author of joyous New York Times bestseller The House in the Cerulean Sea.
Welcome to Charon’s Crossing.
The tea is hot, the scones are fresh and the dead are just passing through.
When a reaper comes to collect Wallace from his own sparsely-attended funeral, Wallace is outraged. But he begins to suspect she’s right, and he is in fact dead. Then when Hugo, owner of a most peculiar tea shop, promises to help him cross over, Wallace reluctantly accepts the truth.
Yet even in death, he refuses to abandon his life – even though Wallace spent all of it working, correcting colleagues and hectoring employees. He’d had no time for frivolities like fun and friends. But as Wallace drinks tea with Hugo and talks to his customers, he wonders if he was missing something.
The feeling grows as he shares jokes with the resident ghost, manifests embarrassing footwear and notices the stars. So when he’s given one week to pass through the door to the other side, Wallace sets about living a lifetime in just seven days.
Fans of A Man Called Ove and The Good Place will fall for this queer love story by TJ Klune.
Praise for TJ Klune:
‘I loved it. It is like being wrapped up in a big gay blanket. Simply perfect’ – V. E. Schwab, number one New York Times bestselling author of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
‘A modern fairy tale about learning your true nature and what you love and will protect. It’s a beautiful book’ – Charlaine Harris, number one New York Times bestselling author of the Sookie Stackhouse series
‘A whimsical, warm-hearted fantasy’ – Guardian
‘Fans of queer fantasy won’t want to miss this’ – Publishers Weekly
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Additional information
| Publisher | Tor, Main Market edition (2 Feb. 2023) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Paperback | 400 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 1529087996 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1529087994 |
| Reading age | 18 years and up |
| Dimensions | 13 x 2.4 x 19.7 cm |
by cathryn melani
I really wanted to love this one. Really. After falling under the beautiful spell that was The House in the Cerulean Sea, my expectations for this one were sky high. And that’s all on me.
There are aspects of this one that are charming, profound, whimsical, interspersed with the found family trope. These are many of the elements that I loved from THITCS, but this one didn’t pull me in as much. And I don’t know if that’s because when we meet our main character Wallace, he is not that likeable. This is very much his journey to becoming a better person. Even in death you can learn and become better!
I really enjoyed the lack of any particular religion at the backbone of this world that Klune has built, and the people, each with their own unique roles in supporting the passing on of people who have died. And the strong message running through this one of being kind, is powerful.
by cathryn melani
OMG this one got me good!
Just finished, and spent the last quarter of the book reading through tears why I UGLY cried my heart out!!
Yes I knew this would be sad but was not prepared.
At first I wasn’t sure about this book. I didn’t instantly LOVE it like House in the Cerulean sea and In the lives of puppets, but about a quarter of the way in I was totally invested and just knew it was going to break me by the end!
I love ALL the MCs Wallace, Hugo, Mei and Nelson and they each brought something different to the story.
Nelson was the light relief in a HARD hitting story dealing with grief and death and the realisation that life needs to be LIVED
Mei the girl you DO NOT want to mess with.
Hugo and Wallace’s story was touchingly bittersweet.
A beautifully, heart breaking story that draws you in, chews you up then rocks you lovingly while you UGLY cry your heart out.
Definitely one to read. Stick with it, its totally worth it for sure!!
by Wowbagger_The_Third
I did something I rarely do. I deleted this from my Kindle collection. It really got on my nerves.
I am sure many regard it as clever and inventive – creative and imaginative.
Not I.
To be honest – and this is an honest review – I found it crass, laborious and soporific.
The main character was boorish to the point where he and others became exasperating and galling.
I do get that the protagonist is meant to be conceited and egotistical, but it was just too much. I think this is probably one of the most tiresome books I have ever read. It was hard work!
Yes – there was the occasional spark and the conclusion worked well; it’s just a great shame that getting there was so arduous and gruelling!!
by Maund
A very enjoyable read with some genuinely hilarious moments as time moved on and the characters got used to one another. Interesting twist on the ‘life after death’ trope.
Got fairly predictable towards the end with the HEA.
A definite downside, probably just exasperating to me, was having literally every conversation dotted with a few variations of ‘you don’t need to tell me if you don’t want to’, ‘please don’t feel pressured’, and ‘I’ll never force you to do anything you don’t want to’. Like, yes, we get it, you’re empathetic.
I also found it a bit unrealistic all the HEA declarations etc. when the characters barely got to know one another, or it was glossed over so it felt as though they didn’t spend time getting to know one another.
Overall, an enjoyable read, not sure I’d go back for a second read though.
by T. Dudgeon
This has a similar theme to the other TJ Klune book I’ve read but it wasn’t quite as well rounded out I feel. I did enjoy it, the world and the characters, but it felt a little too similar to rate 5 stars…
by belle-lolita
At 1st l like this story line & how it was written, but half way through I’m sorry to say I got a bit bored with it! It is a slow read! But will get back to it I think you have to be in the mood to read
by imysbookshelf
What a beautifully written story about love, loss, grief, second chances and the human need for connection. This is the second book I have read by this author. I think I preferred the house in the cerulean sea slightly more to this one. But both are filled with characters that give so much hope, warmth and kindness. I definitely would recommend this book and any other by TJ Klune.
by Miss Sharon Hazlewood
Okay, I really loved it. It took me a little bit of time to get into it, but it was worth it. It’s an amazing book with a really creative plot.
Just like with Cerulean Sea, I loved every character. He just knows how to write characters so damn well. They are all amazing in their own way, and each have a really important role to play.
Of course, I love Wallace and Hugo so damn much. They are so adorable and well-suited for each other. Wallace’s character development is everything; Nelson and Mei are fantastic, as is Apollo of course! ????
I keep comparing it to The House in the Cerulean Sea, which I think is an unfair comparison. Even though they were obviously both authored by the same person, they are very different novels, with very different characters and very different messages.
It’s a really beautiful book about life and death that I honestly think should be read by everyone. It made me laugh, and it made me cry (twice – Cameron’s story really brought the emotions out). If you’ve read and loved The House in the Cerulean Sea, I highly recommend Under the Whispering Door!
I loved the seance scene with Desdemona, it was so funny! It was also really nice to see Wallace and Nelson have some fun.
I cannot wait for In the Lives of Puppets! ????