Weird. Quirky. Eclectic. Under the Whispering Door ©2021 by TJ Klune is a very strange read that kept me up until 2:00 a.m. last night to finish, once I got past the first two chapters a few days ago. The first chapter is about a despicable lawyer, Wallace. Wallace's insensitive, even cruel actions punctuate his workaholic mentality. I kept reading, nonetheless, giving the book a chance. The second chapter is almost as bad. Only his partners from the law firm, his ex-wife, and an unknown figure visible only to Wallace are at his sparsely attended funeral. Eulogies are remarkably derogatory of his life. With such an auspicious beginning, the novel did not bode well to be an uplifting, fun read; but I continued on, giving the book a second chance, even though I am not a fan of snarky humor. Besides my interest was piqued in who this mysterious unknown figure was who appeared at the funeral.
The cast of characters is unique and oddly endearing. The mysterious unknown figure is Mei, a reaper (note the absence of the adjective grim). She is guiding Wallace, now a ghost, from his funeral to a way station of sorts where he will be prepared to transition to the after life domain at Charon's Crossing Tea and Treats, by Hugo, the ferryman who owns operates the establishment. Other ghosts residing at Charon's Crossing are an elderly ghost Nelson and a dog Apollo. Wallace, accompanied and soothed by Mei is relentlessly yet gently pulled toward the tea house by a cable attached painlessly by hook to his chest. Yes it is strange and yet the story is strangely engaging ... and kind. The succinct final paragraph of the front flap says it extremely well.
Hilarious, haunting, and kind. Under the Whispering Door is an uplifting story about a life spent at the office and a death spent building a home.
The awesome jacket art follows the author's narrative in great detail, even down to the green scooter. Yes, the ferryman rides a scooter but do not necessarily jump to the conclusion that it is the means of conveyance to the after life. This is indeed a home that would challenge any fixer upper show on HGTV Note the silhouette of the stag in the background. It reminds me of the stag that is Harry Potter's Patronus. Hmm... could it have a similar significance? The jacket art is attributed to Red Nose Studio but no specific artist. The jacket lettering is credited to Katie Klimowicz. I checked the website of both the artist and the studio; cover art they have produced for many novels is truly amazing and distinctive. I know it is said that you cannot judge a book by its cover, but I certainly am tempted to try several of these books solely from the cover art.
Artwork, reaper, ferryman, ghosts, scooter, tea house, wacky architecture, kindness, caring, and love. Have I caught your interest yet? Because of how off-the-wall it is, I hesitate to give Under the Whispering Door five stars. But any book that can keep me up to 2:00 a.m. to finish, surely deserves at least four stars.
★★★★☆ Really good; maybe only one weak aspect or limited audience
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