“Somewhere
Beyond The Sea” by TJ Klune is charming, and I agree with the basic agenda the
book is trying to present. The magic community is an obvious metaphor for the
LGBTQ+ community. TJ Klune himself is gay, and he includes in his author
biography that he writes stories to present the queer characters in a more
positive light. It is true that while there are straight characters in his
books, the main relationships presented in a TJ Klune book are gay and lesbian
couples, and I have zero problem with that.
“Somewhere
Beyond The Sea” is the sequel to Klune’s bestselling “The House On The Cerulean
Sea” and follows up with our main characters, Arthur and Linus. I suggest you
read the first book to enjoy the second. Linus was originally an inspector in
the last book, looking into Linus’s orphanage on the island of Marsyas. While the first book had
it's metaphors for prejudices and people not understanding differences, the
book didn’t say it outright. Klune in this sequel is much more forthright in
his politics, having characters directly address it in the dialogue, which
while relevant to the plot, can feel a bit awkward. Lines about generational
trauma and racism stick out a bit like a sore thumb, as most people don’t talk
this directly about these issues like these characters do. This is more awkward
with the young characters because I don’t think children this age would say
these lines. Maybe I’m wrong? I don’t know.
While that
is a criticism, these lines about social justice did take me out of the book’s
story. However much I did agree with the general ideas. Things get more
political as Linus and Arthur travel outside of the island in this book to
stand in front of a government hearing about abuse Arthur had at the hands of
the Department for Management of Magical Youth. A conservative congress woman
grills him during the hearing. After the hearing which is broadcast on the
radio and covered by all the newspapers, a bigger problem is afoot as the
federal government sends a new inspector to look into the orphanage’s handling
of the magical youth. However, the hearing isn’t the only reason Linus and
Arthur leave the island. They also want to take in a new child, David, a young
Yati.
Miss
Marblemaw, comes to the island to inspect the orphanage, and while at
first, the magic orphans and Linus and Arthur try to make the best of it,
things quickly go south. Miss Marblemaw is an obvious stereotype of
conservatives, and to be honest, it isn’t that far off base. At one point, she
even says she has God on her side. Her main target is Lucy, a young boy she
believes is the antiChrist, and because this is a world where magical kids
exist, this actually could be the case. However, Lucy is only a 10 year old boy
and Arthur and Linus see him as simply a kid. At one point, Lucy even calls
Arthur dad which touches him greatly. This is an interesting flip on classic
horror novels like “The Omen” or “Rosemary’s Baby” where in this case, it’s a
misunderstood child.
TJ Klune
does a good job presenting fantasy elements in a world we can recognize. It’s
not overpowering, and Klune’s version of fantasy is more cozy than epic.
However, towards the end of the book, which I won’t spoil, things do get epic
with one of the inhabitants of the island revealing a supernatural twist.
Klune is
still a wonderfully good writer. However, out of all the books I’ve read by
him, this was probably the weakest. Like the last review I wrote of a Stephen
King book, I will say the same about Klune. None of the books I’ve read by him
are truly bad. In some ways, though, I feel Klune is trying to also make up for
the controversy surrounding the first book in this series. Klune said in an
interview that his book was inspired by the indigenous scoop by the Canadian
government. From the 1950s to the 1980s, the Canadian government took
indigenous children and placed them for adoption to white families. That
interview caused some problems among his readers, asking the question: is TJ
Klune using a terrible injustice by a government to make a cute fantasy novel?
I’m not really sure. His writing is still really charming, but the inspiration
can be troubling. People accused him of cultural asportation, despite the fact
the book was a straight metaphor for misplaced communities. Magical children,
of course, don’t exist. It’s like if Harry Potter was placed in a foster
home instead of Hogwarts. It does make me wonder if a novel about magical
children adopted by humans in a positive light would be an interesting take,
but I digress. TJ Klune has said his new book was inspired as an answer to J.K.
Rowling’s anti trans activism, which I can see. Rowling becoming a right wing
bigot was a twist I didn’t see coming years ago.
I liked
this book, but I felt it was a bit all over the place, and often felt like it
was spending more time with these characters without a real direct reason why.
The first book was better, but this one wasn’t bad.