A review by laynemandros
The Guncle by Steven Rowley

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

I know there are Guncle stans on booksta and if that’s you then please look away from this review. 😵‍💫 I fear that this ultimately was a mismatch in book to reader pairing, I just did not vibe with this one! So, take this all with a grain of salt. 

There’s a lot of potential in this one as the plot does cover a wide array of topics like grief, family relationships, ‘non traditional’ family structures, and confronting toxic patterns of behavior. However, I really could not get past the fact that the main character did feel like a caricature of a gay man. I realize that flamboyant, theatrical, luxurious gay men ~do exist~ but the main character felt a little one dimensional in terms of his gay identity. 

I was also just generally put off with how much the main character seemed ignorant to the needs of children? I dislike children and I think they’re kind of annoying but if I had to take care of them I would be able to do that. Guncle just seemed to be a little too unaware for me to have believed it.  

The author does a good job of fleshing out the main character’s grumpy, recluse-like behavior and I overall found the character’s dialogue to have chemistry. 

This just wasn’t a book that I overall vibed with, but I think it’s a heartwarming and charming book that a lot of folks will enjoy deeply!