Hi! It’s been a little while since I’ve posted any reviews here. I’ve read some great books and will be sharing my reviews over the next few weeks. Today I’m sharing my review of The Guncle by Steven Rowley.
Synopsis
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 a bit out of his league.
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 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.
Why I Decided to Read this Book
This was my book club’s pick for June and I had seen nothing but great reviews.
Rating
4 Stars (Check out my rating system!)
My Thoughts
This book is delightful! It is one of those books that I picked up at the right time and I am so glad I read it this summer. I read it at a time that I was grieving the death of a family member and I wasn’t expecting this book to cover the topic of grief at the extent it did. For me it was helpful to read at that time. As I mentioned above, I read this book with my book club a few months ago and we all loved it! We had a great discussion about it so I recommend it for a lighter but still substantial book club pick.
There’s lots of moments when I laughed out loud reading this book. The kids are really funny and also the main character Patrick. I’d say this is a character driven book with a plot. I would have liked a little more plot but it didn’t take away from me enjoying the book. My only other critique is the love interest of Patrick seemed a little forced, I would have liked a little more development there as well. I can definitely see this book turned into a movie or a tv show and I’d watch it!
Content Warnings
Death of a parent, grief, cancer, addiction, drug abuse
Who I Recommend this Book to
If you’re looking for a book that you’ll want to hug this is for you. I recommend reading it in the summer (there’s still time!)
Get the Book!
Did this review of The Guncle convince you to read it? Check out the links below to order it from Bookshop.org and libro.fm. Please consider ordering it from a Black owned independent bookstore. This list of Black owned independent bookstores accepts online ordering.
If you’ve read this book let me know your thoughts in the comments!
