鈥楾he Guncle鈥� proves that families come in all different shapes
Do you know what a guncle is? I didn鈥檛 before I read Steven Rowley鈥檚 heartwarming new novel. But my children鈥檚 beloved guncle 鈥� that is, gay uncle 鈥� sure did. Rowley hits the sweet spot between hilarity and heart in this endearing charmer about a famous sitcom star who becomes the reluctant, unconventional guardian of his niece and nephew for a summer.
As he demonstrated in 鈥淟ily and the Octopus鈥� (2016), his debut novel about an adored pet dachshund鈥檚 illness, and 鈥淭he Editor鈥� (2019), about a struggling young writer whose editor, none other than Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, helps unlock his career and personal life, Rowley knows how to tug heartstrings. In 鈥淭he Guncle,鈥� he doesn鈥檛 just flirt with sentimentality, he invites it to move right in.聽
The initial setup is grave, but rest assured that Rowley quickly adds levity. His underlying message is positive. As in 鈥淟ily,鈥� he reminds us that love, even though it entails the possibility of painful loss, is well worth the risks. He also reminds us that love comes 鈥� wondrously 鈥� in multiple forms.聽
When 9-year-old Maisie and 6-year-old Grant O鈥橦ara lose their mother, their father realizes he needs to deal with a painkiller habit he developed during his wife鈥檚 long illness. He asks his older brother, Patrick, eminently unsuitable on the surface, to take the children for the summer while he checks himself into rehab.聽
GUP (short for Gay Uncle Patrick), as the children call him, is aghast. For one thing, he too is grieving: Before Sara married his brother, she was his best friend from college, as we learn in flashbacks that don鈥檛 quite resound. Also, he鈥檚 never really gotten over the loss of his partner in a car accident years earlier.聽
Patrick isn鈥檛 sure he鈥檚 up to the job. But there鈥檚 no way he鈥檚 going to let his uptight older sister, Clara, show him up and take charge of the kids. 鈥淲hat they need is some fun,鈥� he tells her. 鈥淲hat they don鈥檛 need is someone trying to take their mother鈥檚 place.鈥� 聽
Patrick O鈥橦ara is an extravagantly entertaining character who channels actor Nathan Lane, albeit taller and more toned. He鈥檚 40-something, but his semi-retired state, along with his stream of Oscar Wilde quotes, allusions to classic movies, and avuncular edicts make him seem 20 years older.聽 聽
As GUP explains to the kids, they鈥檙e all on hiatus from their old lives. His midcentury home in Palm Springs, California, provides a fabulous setting for the novel. He is a sucker for the trappings of Hollywood success, including a Tesla he never drives and high-end appliances like the Toto Washlet toilet that initially spooks Grant 鈥� and leads to a series of (ahem) running gags.聽
In between brunches at local restaurants and kid-friendly excursions to the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway and the Cabazon Dinosaurs, the children spend much of the hot summer in their uncle鈥檚 pool atop his outlandish floats, which include a flamingo, a Jeff Koons balloon dog, a slice of pizza, a diamond ring, and a lobster their mother gave Patrick to remind him of his East Coast roots.聽
GUP becomes a practiced hand at applying sunscreen, negotiating dietary battles, (a 鈥渧egetarian lacto-ovo pescatarian,鈥� he鈥檚 appalled by their predilection for bacon and hotdogs), and fielding questions like 鈥淲hy do you like boys?鈥澛� and 鈥淲hy do you eat fish but not pigs?鈥澛�
The margins of my reading copy are festooned with what I call vertical Morse code 鈥� exclamation points marking delight as GUP, determined to give the kids an 鈥渆du-gay-tion,鈥� lets loose with 鈥渆nough snappy comebacks to populate a screwball comedy.鈥澛�
Much of the humor involves jabs at Hollywood culture, which fly right over the kids鈥� heads, along with references to 鈥淕rey Gardens鈥� and Dorothy Parker. 鈥淒on鈥檛 you guys read Variety?鈥� GUP asks when they fail to catch the import of his Golden Globe statuette and a cherished 鈥淧orgy and Bess鈥� Playbill. 鈥淣o, we鈥檙e kids,鈥� practical Maisie replies. Later, GUP chides Grant, 鈥淒on鈥檛 make that face, you鈥檒l need Botox when you鈥檙e nine.鈥澛�
He doles out advice via quotes from Oscar Wilde (鈥淏e yourself; everyone else is already taken鈥�) and Guncle Rules. Rule number seven: 鈥淚n this house we wear what we want, it doesn鈥檛 matter if it鈥檚 for boys or girls,鈥� he says, as he shows Maisie his caftan collection and reassures her that shorts and T-shirts are a perfectly acceptable replacement for the girls鈥� bathing suits she loathes. When lisping Grant announces a 鈥渓oothe tooth,鈥� Patrick quips, 鈥淲hat sort of Dr. Seuss nightmare is this?鈥� Later, he summons 鈥渉is inner fairy鈥� to round up some loot for under the boy鈥檚 pillow because he never keeps cash on hand 鈥� nevermind that the treasures are more likely to appeal to a middle-aged thespian than a 6-year-old boy.
Rowley鈥檚 protagonist can鈥檛 resist a quip 鈥� from 鈥淢ake the yuletide gay鈥� to 鈥淣o more Mr. Nice Gay!鈥� His new agent鈥檚 name, Carrie Everest, unleashes a mountain of puns, peaking with Heidi Himalayas and Amy Adirondacks.聽
But when grief surfaces, Patrick acknowledges the children鈥檚 pain and tells them that while grief never completely goes away, there are ways to alleviate it. They adopt a dog, celebrate Christmas in July, and mark their mother鈥檚 birthday with a cake and a cathartic impromptu dance party in the kitchen.聽聽
Yes, 鈥淭he Guncle鈥� is as schmaltzy as a Hollywood tearjerker. But it also glistens with those tears. Rowley pulls it off because his protagonist is 鈥� as he might put it 鈥� such a gay wit. Could a new comedy series be in the offing?
In addition to the Monitor, Heller McAlpin reviews books regularly for NPR and The Wall Street Journal.
