Review of ‘Guncle’

This is one of the most fun books I have read in a while. Even among works of fiction, it just has a certain vitality to it. I think we can credit the main character, Patrick, for that.

This is a nice twist on a tale of kids losing one parent and having another parent unavailable. Hijinx ensue. Again, we can think the title character for that. Guncle of course is for gay uncle.

If you want to join a group discussion about this book, written by Steven Rowley, tune in at 7 p.m. MST tomorrow (Tuesday). Details are at the end of this post.

Patrick, the gay uncle, would probably be uncomfortable with being a trailblazer. And probably in California, where he lives, he is not. Maybe elsewhere in the country, though, he would be more of a trend setter, for being a single guardian of his young niece and nephew.

The book itself is novel in its narrative in that he does become the guardian of the two kids whose mom just died and whose father is in rehab.

The mom who just died, by the way, was the best friend of Patrick. She in turn married the brother of Patrick.

This is just one of those kinds of books. Reading it, I felt like I was in on an in-joke.

Perhaps predictably, Patrick completely rises to the challenge of raising these two young kids. He does it while being true to his own unique identity, which is not at all limited to being gay.

And therein lies the gem in this book, which is the unconventional yet loving parenting style that Patrick adopts as his own.

This book reminds me of another novel that came out not so many years ago.

In that novel, the protagonist also is gay and also comes to help a family that finds itself faltering amid chaos. In this instance, he is the former husband of the mother of two young kids who herself is going through a divorce. She is divorcing the father of those kids.

Just like the book about Patrick, I also recommend this older book. It is called ‘My Ex-Life.’

To join a book-club discussion about ‘Guncle,’ register here or here.

This book club is MC’ed by my former colleague and uber-organizer Prairie Wife, aka Cathy Holman.