Some books are just great. The story is good, the writing witty and smooth, and the characters loveable. You wish for everyone to read them, and you talk about them every chance you get. ‘The House in the Cerulean Sea’ by T J Klune is one of those books I find myself thinking about with wistful longing every now and then.
The writer has created a magical world I wish were real. But it isn’t just a fantasy story either. It’s rather a stunning depiction of how we fear what we don’t understand and our inability to accept our differences and exist in harmony. A queer himself, the author has also weaved in a nuanced queer love story.
The House in the Cerulean Sea describes a world with magical creatures. And just like there are ministries to govern our world, there is a ministry to monitor those beings as well. Forty-year-old Linus Baker is a caseworker at the Department in Charge of Magical Youths who lives alone in a tiny house with a wily cat for company. He is assigned to go to an orphanage on a remote island where there are six magical children.
Linus has to determine whether these children are as dangerous as the ministry deems them to be, especially as one of them is supposed to be the son of Satan. But as Linus gets to know these mysterious children and the person who runs the orphanage, Arthur Parnassus, he is forced to consider that this strange place might be the one he can finally call home. What follows is a wonderful story of finding family and friendship in the unlikeliest of places, and love when you least expect it.
Klune is a fabulous writer. I found myself rereading several passages and laughing out loud a lot. Linus is a fun narrator. He is rigid in his ways but also aware of his flaws. The ensuing mental tussle makes him an endearing character. We all know someone like him, who we want to shake and hug at the same time. Arthur reminds you of that favorite professor in college whom you could turn to for all your problems. He is a comforting presence throughout the novel and you are charmed by his calm demeanor.
The children are all fascinating: Lucy, believed to be the ‘anti-Christ’, keeps threatening everybody about how he can and will use his powers to end the world. Sal is a shapeshifter and turns into a Pomeranian whenever he is scared. There’s Chaucey, an amorphous blob with tentacles, who wants to become a bellhop. Talia is a female gnome, Phee is a forest sprite and Theodore, a wyvern. It’s rare to find character-driven stories where you can’t decide on a favorite.
Even Linus’s cat, Calliope, has more personality that most people I know. In The House in the Cerulean Sea, every character has gotten their due and no one outshines the other. The result is a heartwarming and gripping story that you want to reread immediately after finishing it.
