Book Review: UNDER THE WHISPERING DOOR by T. J. Klune

UNDER THE WHISPERING DOOR by T.J. Klune (Tor Books, September 2021) Hardcover, 373 pages. ISBN # 1250217342 / 97812502 

Summary on the Goodreads website . . . . . .

Under the Whispering Door is a contemporary fantasy about a ghost who refuses to cross over and the ferryman he falls in love with.

When a reaper comes to collect Wallace Price from his own funeral, Wallace suspects he really might be dead.

Instead of leading him directly to the afterlife, the reaper takes him to a small village. On the outskirts, off the path through the woods, tucked between mountains, is a particular tea shop, run by a man named Hugo. Hugo is the tea shop's owner to locals and the ferryman to souls who need to cross over.

But Wallace isn't ready to abandon the life he barely lived. With Hugo's help he finally starts to learn about all the things he missed in life.

When the Manager, a curious and powerful being, arrives at the tea shop and gives Wallace one week to cross over, Wallace sets about living a lifetime in seven days.

My Four-Star Review on the Goodreads website . . . . . .

UNDER THE WHISPERING DOOR is one of those rare books that elicit warm vibes, honest positive feelings that make this a book you feel the need to share and recommend with friends and relatives. 

     T. J. Klune’s story is not about life. It’s not about death. It’s about that transitional period between life and death, sometimes commonly referred to as “the light at the end of the tunnel.” UNDER THE WHISPERING DOOR is a whimsical fantasy about finding purpose before moving on into the afterlife.

 

     Klune’s personal and heart-felt style of writing/description reminds me of many works by Neil Gaiman and Ray Bradbury. This also features extremely strong characterization. When you’d love to meet someone  like many of the individuals in this story, then you know the writer has done an exceptional job.

 

  However, this is so much more than a fantasy tale well-told. Klune deftly straddles that delicate balance between funny and serious, and tackles some of the big philosophical questions of our time in a non-threatening gentle manner. There are some laugh-out-loud moments here as well as want-to-cry-over scenes

. 

    Klune puts his spin on Charon, the Greek ferryman of myth who transported the souls of the deceased across the Rivers Styx and Acheron to Hades for judgment. Here, Hugo is the ferryman who operates Charon’s Crossing, a tea and pastry shop that serves as a way station to the afterlife. Hugo’s job, assigned to him by The Manager (an ethereal being that shape shifts between a young boy and a deer) is to ease the minds of the newly dead and allow them a transitional period within his shop. The Manager also appoints Reapers to collect and bring the dead to Charon’s Crossing.

I suspect Hugo may be a pun (“you go, I stay”) but the name might also indicate a strong individual with leadership/counseling qualities, so it fits.  Main character Wallace led a selfish life as a divorced, demanding lawyer with little ability to empathize with troubled employees. Wallace undergoes a remarkable transformation by learning from Hugo and his grandfather, revealing that it’s never too late to find purpose.

    I’m reminded of Charles Dickens’ A CHRISTMAS CAROL where the greedy Scrooge makes a change after a visitation with ghosts. Except that here, Wallace is the ghost and visits with those still living. 

   UNDER THE WHISPERING DOOR deals honestly with the stages of grief, sorrow, loss, regrets, death and love. There’s a believable same sex romance woven within the story, that is partly responsible for the changes in Wallace.

    Readers never learn what truly lies beyond the door to the afterlife, but the ending is satisfactory and upbeat. If not for a middle section that seems a bit repetitive and drags a bit, I’d easily give this a Five-Star Rating. Not for everyone, but those that approach this open-minded will probably be won over by this enthralling story.