T.J. Klune: The House in the Cerulean Sea

The House in the Cerulean Sea has a plot, genre and tone that ordinarily isn’t quite my taste, but T.J. Klune’s execution and lowkey sarcastic humor kept me going. Hopefully optimistic, sweet, and a very comfortable easy read, this is not my typical read but it’s still a novel I don’t regret picking up. The plot is predictable and some extended metaphors and social commentary are a bit on the nose (this has a tone and approach better suited for YA, apart from a few rare adult-natured jokes), but it’s unapologetically warm and has so much mass-appeal.

Other reviews describing The House in the Cerulean Sea as a modern fairy tale are quite appropriate. The style of narration told from the perspective of the main character Linus Baker evokes that nostalgic fairy tale feel that’s felt through Klune’s descriptive visuals and dialogue (the house for example screams fantasy fairy tale aesthetic, including the gorgeous interpretation on the cover). While reading this, I could instantly see this being adapted as either an animated or live-action miniseries. Linus Baker is a refreshing, atypical main character aged 40, overweight, uptight, queer, no frills government worker who serves as the perfect foil to the otherwise fantasy-filled story and cast. His constant freakout or groaning reactions are quite funny, and Klune does a particularly good job at writing humor derived from innocently honest kid-adult interactions. The cast of “orphans” are diverse and were the highlight of the read for me, particularly Lucy’s hilariously dark humor.

As expected, there are good themes and metaphors included such as prejudice or ostracization of those that are different (magical beings are an obvious parallel to the queer or really any minority group). Nearly all the conflict and resolution has to do with this prejudice and bigotry, though the portrayal is still imo mild and only just negative enough to serve its narrative and thematic purpose. At the end of the day, this is still a cozy and comforting book that feels like a warm hug against the harshness of society. In fact, I’m convinced TJ is clever and purposely writes scenarios where as an adult jaded reader, you would expect something really bad to happen in certain situations. Repeatedly the book feels like it knows where the reader’s fears will go, and then goes in an unexpectedly positive direction (this purposeful tactic is something Heartstopper also utilized very successfully, likely contributing to why kids, teenagers, and adults all love both series).

Negatively critiquing this novel feels like kicking a puppy due to how sweet and well-meaning it is, however I cannot deny that the story occasionally felt slow for me. I likely would’ve been fully invested had I read this when I was 14-17, but as an adult, I felt like the plot and pacing was a little too rosy for me (then again, I’m heartless and love dark, hard-hitting works). Despite the stakes being high for Arthur’s orphanage during Linus’s investigation, it still felt like an overly casual and mild affair. This is the kind of read where you know everything will somehow work out perfectly, which is fine since it commits to it, but it still takes away some of the urgency for me. The synopsis also makes a point to highlight the romance in the book, but I personally felt like the romance is quite minor and serves as a small bonus rather than being a main plot point. The focus is primarily on the kids and their well-being while any romantic development is only lightly touched on occasionally. I don’t think the romance is badly done by any means, just that it’s not in the forefront and probably shouldn’t be the reason why you pick up this book to read (and ofc it’s vanilla based on the book’s content, any spice would absolutely not work with this book so you’re not going to get anything beyond a sweet kiss).

Overall though, this was a pleasant and quick read. This was obviously not going to be a favorite of mine based on the genre and style, but I thought it was successful in what it was trying to do. Well-executed, consistently paced, subtly funny with a sophisticated sarcastic kind of humor, I understand and get why The House in the Cerulean Sea is a beloved book. It also functions well as a decisive and resolved standalone novel, so I’m curious to see where T.J. Klune goes with the sequel novel due to be released soon in a few months (total coincidence that I read it now). I hear it’s written both as a sequel and as a companion novel told from Arthur’s perspective instead, I’m definitely going to give it a try when it’s out in September.