book club ᖭི༏ᖫྀ

I read this book after a pretty long hiatus from reading... well I have checked out books but not finished them completely. I was able to finish this one! And that says something.

Under the Whispering Door follows a bitter man named Wallace who lived a life of solitude due to his cruel treatment of everyone around him. Because his law firm was so successful, Wallace's life revolved around work. His personal life suffered, leading to only 4 people showing up to his funeral when he passed: 3 of them being the co-founders of his firm.

It is only after seeing his own funeral Wallace realized he died, being put into the care of a Reaper, Mei, a young woman who was the only person in the room that noticed Wallace's presence. Being a Reaper, her duty is to bring the dead to a "ferryman," who fittingly resides in a small tea shop called Charon's Crossing.

Hugo is the very alive ferryman, and the "love interest" of Wallace-- I say that in quotations because the story is not focused on their love, but more about Wallace becoming a better person only in his death, slowly learning what love is and what it expects of you. The other main characters are Nelson and Apollo, Hugo's grandfather and dog respectively-- who are also dead.

Overall I really enjoyed this book! Some parts were a bit slow, and the lovey-dovey scenes between Wallace and Hugo were few and far between. The lines of platonic and romantic love were often blurred, but that is not a bad thing at all! It was pretty refreshing honestly. I recommend this book a lot! There are many bittersweet moments and helped me realize the importance of treasuring my life before it's too late.