In "The Guncle" by Steven Rowley, Patrick, a former Hollywood sitcom star turned recluse, finds himself as the guardian of his young niece and nephew after a family tragedy. The story follows Patrick's journey of navigating grief, loss, and unexpected responsibilities while forming a unique and heartwarming bond with the children. The novel blends humor, emotional depth, and themes of family, love, and growth as Patrick, Maisie, and Grant learn to heal and support each other through challenging times.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
Content warnings include themes of grief, loss of a parent, addiction, and mental health struggles.
From The Publisher:
From the bestselling author of Lily and the Octopus and The Editor comes a warm and deeply funny novel about a once-famous gay sitcom star whose unexpected family tragedy leaves him with his niece and nephew for the summer.
Patrick, or Gay Uncle Patrick (GUP, for short), has always loved his niece, Maisie, and nephew, Grant. That is, he loves spending time with them when they come out to Palm Springs for weeklong visits, or when he heads home to Connecticut for the holidays. But in terms of caretaking and relating to two children, no matter how adorable, Patrick is, honestly, overwhelmed.
So when tragedy strikes and Maisie and Grant lose their mother and Patrick's brother has a health crisis of his own, Patrick finds himself suddenly taking on the role of primary guardian. Despite having a set of "Guncle Rules" ready to go, Patrick has no idea what to expect, having spent years barely holding on after the loss of his great love, a somewhat-stalled acting career, and a lifestyle not-so-suited to a six- and a nine-year-old. Quickly realizing that parenting-even if temporary-isn't solved with treats and jokes, Patrick's eyes are opened to a new sense of responsibility, and the realization that, sometimes, even being larger than life means you're unfailingly human.
With the humor and heart we've come to expect from bestselling author Steven Rowley, The Guncle is a moving tribute to the power of love, patience, and family in even the most trying of times.
Ratings (44)
Incredible (8) | |
Loved It (14) | |
Liked It (13) | |
It Was OK (4) | |
Did Not Like (4) | |
Hated It (1) |
Reader Stats (115):
Read It (42) | |
Currently Reading (1) | |
Want To Read (51) | |
Did Not Finish (2) | |
Not Interested (19) |
4 comment(s)
If you’ve seen the movie Raising Helen, then good news, you’ve read this book! It was cited but I DNFed because I could only endure the insufferable MMC if I pictured him being played by Daniel Levy. The kids were annoying stereotypes of Adorable Kids Who Are Going Through Something Hard and the rest of the supporting cast was flat and single faceted. There are other things I wanted to move on to.
3.5 stars rounded down to three for, God help me, fake Oscar Wilde quotes. Patrick, the protagonist, is supposed to be a devote of Wilde. The book has 5 (supposed) Wilde quotes, one of them part of the epigraph. Three are genuine, traceable to his plays. Two -- including the epigraph -- are fake. They are widely attributed to Wilde on the net, but a Google books search doesn't show them up anywhere in his works and they don't have his characteristic acerbity and wit. Seriously, did the publisher not bother to fact-check, or did they just have an incompetent fact-checker? Fake Wilde quotes that make him sound like a self-help guru instead of a brittle genius with a superior air are a pet peeve of mine and actually made it a lot harder to like the book, but I did eventually get caught up in the emotional journeys taken by Patrick and his young charges.
3-3.5
I’m kind of torn on this one. The book was cute. But it could get a bit cloying. And cliche. (Did the youngest kid really need a lisp?) It read like a movie. I really felt like I was reading the book version of a movie that already existed. (Staring a 40 year old John Cusack.) I liked the characters, for the most part. The setting was cool. The story was good… but… *shrug*. I don’t know. I liked it, but, also, I kind of didn’t.
A sweet story about grief and family. I enjoyed watching the characters grow as people. It felt realistic, but not so much that I was filled with my own grief. The characters were fun and spunky.
What can you read after
The Guncle?
About the Author:
Steven Rowley is the author of The Editor and the national bestseller Lily and the Octopus, which has been translated into nineteen languages. He has worked as a freelance writer, newspaper columnist, and screenwriter. Originally from Portland, Maine, Rowley is a graduate…
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