Read time: 3 minutes
🎧 Listened in audio | 📢 Narrated by Steven Rowley
⏱ Duration: 11 hours
🏷️ Publisher: Penguin Audio / G.P. Putnam’s Sons
(Recommended by my book club!)
Book Blurb:
Patrick, known proudly as Gay Uncle Patrick (or GUP), adores his niece Maisie and nephew Grant in perfectly measured doses: vacations, holidays, and carefully scheduled fun. Full-time parenting? Absolutely not. But when tragedy strikes and the children lose their mother while Patrick’s brother faces a serious health crisis, Patrick suddenly becomes their primary caregiver. Armed with “Guncle Rules” and a flair for humor, Patrick must navigate grief, responsibility, and his own long-suppressed heartbreak. What unfolds is a tender, funny, and deeply human story about love, loss, and discovering that sometimes the most reluctant caretakers become exactly what a family needs.
Let’s talk about the book!
I laughed, I cried, and I paused the audiobook just to sit in my feelings more times than I can count. The Guncle is that rare novel that sneaks up on you. It’s outrageously funny, soaked in heartache, and ultimately healing in all the best ways. Steven Rowley writes Patrick with such sharp wit and palpable vulnerability that you can’t help wanting to be his friend.
Patrick is an absolute triumph of a character. He is the quintessential gay uncle, sharp-tongued, theatrical, and deeply loving, but he’s also painfully human. His relationship with Maisie and Grant’s mother is the emotional backbone of this story, a bond that feels more sibling than in-law, more soulmate than friend. When she dies after a long illness, Patrick’s grief doesn’t explode. It settles, heavy and unresolved. Caring for her children becomes both an act of love and a new way to grieve, and watching Patrick fumble, fail, and grow is profoundly moving.
Listening to this on audio, narrated by Steven Rowley himself, adds an entirely new layer of intimacy. He knows Patrick. Every pause, every joke, every crack in the voice feels intentional and earned. The story never becomes saccharine or manipulative. It allows space for sorrow, laughter, and healing to coexist. This is a book about redefining family, about choosing to show up even when you feel wildly unqualified, and about how love often finds us when we least expect it.
Would I recommend it?
This is one of the best books I’ve read this year so far, and easily one of the most emotionally satisfying. If you love stories that balance humor with heartbreak, characters who feel achingly real, and narratives that leave you changed in small but meaningful ways, The Guncle is a must-read (or must-listen). I’m so glad my book club pushed me toward this one. I almost missed something truly special.
To carry on the book vibes:
- The Guncle Abroad (The Guncle #2) by Steven Rowley
Perfect next step, five years later, Patrick whisks Maisie and Grant across Europe amid family drama and a wedding, blending more humor, heart, and growth.
Goodreads | Storybound | Pagebound | Fable | Hardcover | OpenLibrary | Litsy - The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
A grumpy caseworker finds unexpected family with magical kids; it’s cozy queer found family with warmth and whimsy like Patrick’s bond with the kids.
Goodreads | Storybound | Pagebound | Fable | Hardcover | OpenLibrary | Litsy - Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrik Backman
Awkward widow transforms via small-town soccer kids; hilarious self-discovery and community healing mirror the emotional uplift of Guncle grief.
Goodreads | Storybound | Pagebound | Fable | Hardcover | OpenLibrary - Lily and the Octopus by Steven Rowley
Rowley’s tender tale of a gay writer saving his dachshund from illness—funny, heartbreaking pet love that echoes Patrick’s vulnerable humor.
Goodreads | Storybound | Pagebound | Fable | Hardcover | OpenLibrary | Litsy - A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
Grumpy widower softened by quirky neighbors; sharp wit through loss and unlikely bonds delivers the same laugh-cry family magic.
Goodreads | Storybound | Pagebound | Fable | Hardcover | OpenLibrary | Litsy
What Do You Say:
Did The Guncle make you laugh through tears too? Or are you still thinking about Patrick and the kids long after the last chapter? Let’s talk grief, found family, and books that sneak up on your heart in the comments.
Book Links:
Want to purchase this or any of your favorite books while supporting a local bookstore? Consider purchasing using the sites below. These sites work with independent local bookstore owners to fulfill your book orders. #SupportLocal
Indiebookstores.ca
Bookshop.org
Goodreads | StoryGraph | Pagebound | Fable | Hardcover | OpenLibrary | Litsy
Follow Steven Rowley author page for latest on Guncle news and other books
Check out more books from Penguin Audio and G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Discover more from Views She Writes
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
