Under the Whispering Door

I got to know that people adore this book through Bookstagram . The cuteness of the cover added to my intrigue. The book was about death. And i have a thing for such topics because it is always nice to get perspectives on such inevitable yet unknown. Thus I started reading...

I hate to break the books into parts as if it's pizza. But i am unsure of how else to put it. 

- The first 33% is redundant and goes in circles. We are as lost as the protagonist Wallace. Maybe that was intentional. I am not quite sure. But i found it incredibly difficult to stay focused and read on

 - Thankfully i managed and reached the next 33%. There were few funny LOL moments. There was a shift in dynamics between the characters as Wallace started accepting the new reality - his "life" after death

- The last 33% was really good especially after the manager turns up. Once again i practically understood what relativity of time means. The story moved in timelapse and i loved it. The last few pages made me feel emotional too (a bit)

This belongs to fantasy genre. So obviously logic doesn't have any role. The success of this book depends upon how convincingly the plotlines are established and how empathetic we feel for the characters. While the book wins in the former, i am not quite sure about the empathy part. I wish I knew more about Wallace, i mean emotionally. Only some references of past were made. But it didn't seem enough to connect with him. I am also unsure about the character arc. It actually seemed quite abrupt for me. Hugo, Mei, Nelson, Apollo, Nancy, Desdemona and the manager (almost everyone else) seemed more clear to me than Wallace. That's why I felt the disconnect i guess. Also if the book really is about grief... Acceptance.... moving on... Then i should say i didn't quite like what the manager does to Wallace in the end (nothing scary. No spoilers). 

Many people say that this book has helped them during their grief. I am glad it did. But for me this book lacks emotional or character depth. There is no ket takeaways. No fun (ok. Maybe like 1%).

Just a huge blah book. Trust me, there are many other books that's far more enriching than this. 

3/5 

I give 3 because I liked the idea. I liked bulk of the characters. I liked the situations. But then it's bulky and redundant too. 

PS: there is a lot of LGBT references in the story which is great. But where are women? There are just handful compared to the men lot. Even the dog is a boy! The manager is also a boy. Why?

PPS: I certainly would like to believe that there is a fun filled afterlife for everyone after death. It's so amazing. 

****Spoiler****

Who was the girl that attended Wallace's funeral? I guess it's Patricia's daughter. Any thoughts?