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Under the Whispering Door

T.J. Klune

Start date: April 1, 2023

Finish date: April 30, 2023

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What Members Thought

Oct 23, 2021 Beth Tabler rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

"I'm dead," he said. "There's no going back from that. A river only moves in one direction."

TJ Klune's books have become a place where my heart can get a zap like a defibrillator pedal. Both Under a Whispering Door and Under the Cerulean Sea tread the line between sentimental and sweet, but Klune is such a skilled writer that I never drift to the wrong side of that line.

Instead, after I get done with his books, and for this review, I will be talking about the newly released Under the Whispering "I'm dead," he said. "There's no going back from that. A river only moves in one direction."

TJ Klune's books have become a place where my heart can get a zap like a defibrillator pedal. Both Under a Whispering Door and Under the Cerulean Sea tread the line between sentimental and sweet, but Klune is such a skilled writer that I never drift to the wrong side of that line.

Instead, after I get done with his books, and for this review, I will be talking about the newly released Under the Whispering Door; I feel good about myself and good about the world. I hope that somewhere in the vastness of this universe, there are true stories like what you find in these books. In the infinite, anything is possible. But until I discover and am witness to real-life stories that are as sweet as these, I will have to go back and read Under the Whispering Door again and again.

Wallace whispered, "It's easy to let yourself spiral and fall."
"It is," Nelson agreed. "But it's what you do to pull yourself out of it that matters most."

The book follows Wallace Price Esq. A big-time lawyer and partner in a law firm. He is everything a someone who does not practice law expects lawyers to act. In that vein, Wallace is an immediately identifiable character, not one you can sympathize with, but absolutely one you understand. He is cold, calculating, ruthless, and utterly devoid of the ability to empathize.

These characteristics served him well. He is smartly dressed and expects the same of those around him. He is crushingly fastidious and again expects this of others. Any infraction on this is met with cold civility and a pink check. In other words, he is hated by his employees, has no friends, and his contemporaries are either terrified of him or believe him to be a cretin.

Then he dies. Alone. This starts the actual journey.

He wakes up from death at his funeral. There was no gnashing of teeth and wailing to the Heavens. Quite the contrary. "He was a real bastard." Everyone is ignoring him; no one can see him. He is dead, so it makes sense except for one woman. She keeps staring in his general direction. She introduces herself, her name is Mei, and she is a reaper. She has come to take Wallace onwards.

She takes him to a place, a shabby chic little tea house in the middle of the forest. A place that Wallace would never have visited in his life but is now staying at in his death. Mei introduces Wallace to Hugo, the ferryman. Hugo's job is to help Wallace get used to the idea that he is dead before he steps through the final door. A door where Wallace hear's whispers coming from underneath it.

The writing is lovely. Klune writes in a minimalistic style; he gets the ideas across in prose that is not overly embellished or wordy but still packs an emotional punch. "Because you're you, and that's who you're supposed to be." It is also hilarious, and there is one scene involving an ouija board that had me in tears.

Klune is so good, and his books keep having me come back for more because of the relationships he forges. There are many types of love in this life, or death as it were. There is familial love. The love of found family. The love of a dog. And the love between lovers. Klune explores them all. Because what can teach someone most about life more than love? Love spans the gamut from Blisteringly painful to joyous, and Wallace needs to learn to be a person.

Under the Whispering Door is a joyous book, a little slow at first, but things start to get rolling about midway, and I finished it all in one afternoon. It has passion, love, pain, and all the beautiful things life has to offer if you can recognize it and appreciate it. Thank you, TJ Klune, for another lovely book. I won't be forgetting Wallace's journey anytime soon. ...more

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Apr 26, 2022 Jenn rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, 2022-finished

I read The House in the Cerulean Sea and I did enjoy it so I was eager to read his new one. Under the Whispering Door, for me, was way better. I had so much fun reading this book. Plenty of emotions all throughout the entire book.

The book deals with death and the "in between" time that there are tons of stories of. Wallace Price was a lawyer, a good lawyer, but his attitude and his life were basically all about work. He was brutal and uncaring for those around him. One day he finds himself look ...more

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Apr 02, 2025 Kelly (Maybedog) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: what-philosophy, what-modern-fantasy, how-audiobook, where-library-audiobook, why-i-would-like-to-thank, 2025-a-master-mm, z2025-uno-browncoats, 2025-sh-april, zz2025-q2-mm

I enjoyed this a lot even though it played with my emotions throughout. I loved all the characters, each of whom was unique and interesting, even the not so lovable ones.

I loved the world building. There were some interesting ideas about death, the afterlife and life itself. It was too complex for me to summarize in this shortish review, but I love this quote which fits:

It would be kind of hard to explain that my tea shop is actually just a front for dead people to have pseudo-intellectual con

It would be kind of hard to explain that my tea shop is actually just a front for dead people to have pseudo-intellectual conversations.

Like a lot of the characters, I have tons of questions:
(view spoiler)

There were some really funny moments. A lot with the grandfather and the dog.

Some things I like/love: I love the dog. He is totally a dog. I like that Hugo has a bit of a paunch. I like that they’re an interracial couple. I like that a couple of times your assumptions are challenged in regards to that but in a funny way. I like that one of them has panic attacks. I like that someone else helps that person by tapping. (It’s important to know something’s about it before trying it yourself. The therapy is called EMDR and can be done electronically or manually. Not all therapists are trained in how to do it/show their clients. Doing it without at least some training beforehand, i.e., not introducing it while in the throws of a panic attack, is important. I liked that there was an acknowledgment about nonbinary people.)

I hate when ancient/powerful beings appear as children. Hate. It.

If there were a sequel, I’d read it, but I don’t think there will or should be one.

The reader, Kirt Graves is really good a lot of the time with a nice variety of voices. But I think he loses focus after a while and as the book progresses, he becomes inconsistent. He was consistent in his inconsistency here. ...more

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Nov 04, 2021 Catsalive rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: 2021

Although this book isn't populated by teenagers - quite the contrary -, it feels like an adolescent story. I'm not quite sure why, perhaps the underdeveloped emotions & tedious navel-gazing. It's all very twee, anyway. Purportedly about grief & grieving, living life, and a love story, I mostly found it fairly flat & emotionless - all the right words were there but they mostly left me cold and thinking, "just get on with it".

It should have been interesting but it just didn't deliver. I found myse ...more

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Apr 21, 2024 Rachel N. rated it liked it

Shelves: gridlock, read-in-2024, death, play-book-tag, ghosts, steeplechase

Wallace realizes he's dead when he shows up at his own funeral. Mei, who is a reaper, appears and takes Wallace to Charon's Tea House which is run by Hugo, a ferryman. Hugo is there to ease Wallace and other dead people to what comes next. When they are ready dead people can travel through a door at the top of the tea shop. My main problem with the book is that the whole ferryman system didn't make a lot of sense. With how many people that die every day there would need to be a lot more ferrymen ...more

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Sep 08, 2022 Cora rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, kindle, death-personified, paranormal, ghosts, lgbtq-author, lgbtq

When Wallace dies suddenly of a heart attack he finds himself at a Way Station between life and the afterlife - in the form of a tea shop run by Hugo, the Ferryman. While coming to terms with his own death and how he lived his life, Wallace finds his purpose. This was a sweet book with interesting characters and a nice romance/love story. While it had some similarities to Klune's House at the Cerulean Sea, it was missing a bit of that book's charm. Although it did not live up to the expectations ...more

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Jan 10, 2023 Brenda rated it it was ok

I loved The House in the Cerulean Sea, but this one was just slow and boring. There were some sweet moments, but I can't help but feel like there just wasn't much story here. ...more

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