Book Review: Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune

Oh my goodness but TJ Klune writes the most magical incredible stories! I absolutely loved this one… It was a difficult read for me – my dad died a year ago, and I’ve been struggling with grief for some time now. A book focused on death and the afterlife may seem like a strange choice as a result, but I found it therapeutic and delightful and hopeful all at once.

That’s totally down to the magic of Klune’s storytelling skills. The book is, in a word, brilliant. It’s original and clever and thought-provoking, all while being endearing and entertaining and running the gamut of emotions. I literally laughed and cried.

The characters are marvelous and totally human in all their foibles and frailties. Characterization is one of Klune’s particular gifts, and that gift is on full display here. World-building runs a close second though, make no mistake, and that is managed deftly and with humility and humanity, as it was in Cerulean Sea.

It’s a magnificent story and definitely one I’ll read again and again… There is so much complexity here that I imagine the rereading will be every bit is delightful and feel every bit as novel as the original read did. That doesn’t mean it’s an overly complicated story – or one that you cannot grasp if you read it only once. You definitely can. But as with so many good things, I can tell it will only get better with time…

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my obligation-free review copy.