The Guncle by Stephen Rowley

Read 9/30/21

This book got so much buzz it was almost a turn off, but honestly it was terrific. The only thing I didn’t like about it was the title, which I found stupid, because I find Guncle a stupid term. I went into this thinking it would just be a fluffy fun story, and while it was certainly fun and made me laugh out loud, it really had a lot more going on. The gay uncle in question, Patrick, is a bit of a reclusive star, once famous on tv, now basically in hiding in Palm Springs due to a truly sad tragedy. Meanwhile his brother has a tragedy as well-losing his wife (coincidentally a bff of Patrick’s) and entering rehab for a drug problem. Patrick is the unlikely person chosen to care for his two young children. I liked it that right up front Patrick was skeptical of them being some kind of tv movie cute plot of the cute kids breaking down his cold heart or whatever. Because of course, that’s sort of what is happening, but in a very natural, fun, and sensitive way. All the characters-the adults and children-have a ton of grief to process and how they do is thoughtful and kind and believable. I really enjoyed this and also shout out to caftan life.