The Guncle – Steven Rowley
100-Word (or Less) Synopsis: Patrick is a former sitcom star that lives out his days relatively carelessly in Palm Springs. When his sister-in-law dies and his brother heads to rehab, he temporarily becomes the guardian of his pre-teen niece and nephew. Together they navigate grief, second chances and what it means to be a family.
Expectation: A what-would-you-do dramedy tailor-made to us queers that relish being the “cool” uncle or aunt.
Reality: A campy, somewhat stereotypical story that runs a little long but delivers a lot of humor and heart.
Recommended For: Fans of “Will and Grace.”
Why I Read It: As a proud guncle, it was a no-brainer.
My Take:
As a gay uncle — or guncle — to 11 individuals ranging in age from eight to 25-years-old, I consider myself somewhat of an expert on the ins and outs of navigating the line between authority figure and friend with a sibling’s offspring.
To say I had high hopes for Steven Rowley’s modern take on lineal kinship would be an understatement. The topic alone was enough for me to forgo my usual library loan process and instead purchase the audio format on publication day.
So, while there was a lot I liked about “The Guncle,” it also left me a little disappointed. Whether a product of over-hype or unreasonable expectations, my final assessment was a solid good, but not great, read.
Here’s the things I liked about it:
It’s legitimately funny: I laughed out loud multiple times, mostly when Patrick uses not completely appropriate language around Maisie and Grant (guilty), provides them with the fundamentals of an “edugaytion” and the really extra ways in which he orders a drink at brunch.
It deals with grief and trauma in an honest and healthy way. [mild spoilers] Like many queer adults, Patrick has held on to feelings of inadequacy that started in youth. He also struggles to recover from the death of his partner in an accident years before. Sure, he’s somewhat of a recluse, but Rowley didn’t make him a stereotype of the damaged gay man (addicted, reckless, etc.) to make us believe he had demons. For all intents and purposes Patrick is a successful, well-adjusted person with some baggage — who isn’t? — which made the healing feel natural and organic.
Thankfully these two elements are the through-line of the story, because while there was nothing I hated about the book, there were a couple things that bothered me:
The fabulous white gay man trope. Wealth, perfect body, caftans, cocktails, parties, younger lover — stop me if you’ve met this character before. Because Patrick is a former TV star it’s believable that he would be over-the-top, but he was also a caricature, which made it difficult for me to fully connect with him.
Some of it felt dated. I got “Must See TV” vibes from how Patrick described his sitcom and stardom. Couple that with his affinity for camp, “Grey Gardens,” Liza Minnelli and some other interests, I couldn’t help but think of Jack McFarland from “Will and Grace.” Also — do gay men under 50 still like these things (Patrick is 43, four years older than me)? This isn’t a criticism as much as the fact that Patrick’s life feels so far removed from my own, and I think it’s natural to want to see more of yourself represented in queer stories.
Went on too long. Cutting out some ancillary characters, repetitive experiences and plots that were introduced and not revisited (for example, Me Too and older sister drama) this could’ve been a much tighter narrative that delivered more emotional, and less zany, punch.
As an audiobook it is narrated competently by Rowley — a feat in and of itself since he’s not a trained actor. He gave each of characters a unique voice, knew exactly how to deliver the joke and when to dial-up the emotion. I don’t usually like it when an author reads their own work, even memoirs, but Rowley might be an exception. Just don’t think too hard about how someone like Sean Hayes, Dan Levy or Matt Bomer could’ve elevated the text even more.
All-in-all “The Guncle” is a solid, if flawed, beach read that deserves to find an audience. While it wasn’t completely to my taste, there are far worse ways to fill your time.
Rating (story): 3.5/5 stars
Rating (narration): 4/5
Formats: Audiobook (SIL’s library)
Dates read: May 28 – June 9, 2021
Multi-tasking: Good to go. I mostly did housework and traveled while listening.
