Love is All Around TJ Klune's House in the Cerulean Sea

The cover art was the initial reason I added TJ Klune’s book “The House in the Cerulean Sea” to my endless “to read” list. Then a person dear to me mentioned that he had read this novel and it brought him to tears. I am sorry it took me so long to get to it because, oh my, I too welled up at the predictable but delightful ending. And who doesn’t fall in love with an author who uses the word cerulean?

Our hero, Linus Baker, is particularly good at his soul deadening job as a caseworker with the Department in Charge of Magical Youth (think J. K. Rowling) He lives in a future that lacks color, all beige and brown and gray. His office is a cubicle denizen’s nightmare, a warehouse of people mesmerized by their computer screens, not allowed by their superiors to interact with each other, to have personal items on their desks, or to speak without being spoken to.

Imagine Linus’ fear when he is called, without explanation, to the ominous fifth floor Office of Extreme Upper Management where, rather than being fired, he is assigned to spend a month investigating an orphanage where the children are so magical that they are deemed a menace to society. Because Linus has proved himself to be a bland, strictly by the book caseworker, the powers-that-be have no worries that Linus will quickly recommend the closure of Marsyas and the suspension of the manager, Arthur Parnassus.

Packing up his cat Calliope and his lone suitcase, boarding the train with trepidation, Linus leaves his dreary existence behind. His life will never be the same. Marveling at the smell of the sea, the colors of the flowers, the warmth of the sun, something inside Linus unfurls. His soul ignites. He is unabashed when greeted by Ms. Chapelwhite, the sprite who is the caretaker of the island, and nonplussed when accosted by the first of the six remarkable children he’ll be evaluating, a feisty little bearded girl named Talia who just happens to be a gnome. There’s also Lucy, short for Lucifer, and Sal, a little boy who’s been so abused that he turns himself into a cowering puppy when spoken to harshly.

Here you must suspend disbelief and go with Klune’s marvelous imagination and quirky sense of humor. Fantasy has never been my bailiwick, but this novel won my heart. As Linus gets caught up in the children’s daily routines, comes to recognize Arthur’s love for his charges and skills as their teacher, and overcomes his own innate trepidation of anything new, he too loses his heart.

This David and Goliath story will have you laughing out loud, then dabbing at your eyes with a tissue, as you cheer for this bizarre band of misfits as they learn to navigate the shoals of societal disapprobation, facing the fear and rage that their existence elicits in the townspeople, a theme so apropos for our current times. And you’ll feel joy as you witness the burgeoning relationship between Linus and Arthur, hoping beyond hope that they choose to follow their bliss. A wonderful, uplifting read for those suffering from pandemic emergence syndrome and the rest of you as well!