The Guncle by Steven Rowley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
“Do not punch a child, do not punch a child.”
“Guncle Rule number five: If a gay man hands you his phone, look only at what he’s showing you. If it’s a photo, don’t swipe. And for god’s sake, don’t open any unfamiliar apps.”
“Boys can do girl things and girls can do boy things. That’s not even a Guncle Rule, there shouldn’t even be boy things and girl things to begin with. People should just do what they want.”
The Guncle is about an actor, who was on a popular show but who has been hiding away in Palm Spring, who loses his best friend/sister-in-law and must take care of her/his brother’s kids. Patrick is the guncle. He lost his partner and is still in the grieving process. Maisie, his niece, and Grant, his nephew, lost their mother (Sara) and subsequently spend the summer with their GUP (Gay Uncle Patrick). Their dad is dealing with his own personal health issue. How will Patrick be able to handle taking care of kids for 3 whole months without going crazy? Will the kids start their grieving process and what will they learn from their GUP? If Patrick moves on with this life, how will he do it?
Steven Rowley wrote such a fun and enjoyable book! I laughed out loud so many times and wanted to devour it. “’We don’t eat bacon…Bacon is pigs and pigs are our friends. Do you want to eat your friends?’ (Patrick) Without hesitation. ‘If they taste like bacon.’” (Grant). I was excited to find out there was a sequel too! The Guncle Rules that permeated the book were perfect. It matched caring, humor, and a gay sensibility all in a simple, helpful rule. For example, when Patrick gave his niece his phone to record him in a video. “’Higher…Honestly, its like you want me to have four chins. Guncle Rule – What number are we on? Know your angles. Everyone has a good side. Even children, who should be photographable from all sides but aren’t.’” There was so much gay culture sprinkled in such a natural way that it would be easy to miss if you weren’t well versed. Right away Grease, Grease 2, Olivia Newton-John, and Stockard Channing were mentioned when GUP was trying to make a point. So much wit. Patrick gave them an ‘edu-gay-tion.” The messaging is something I thought was much needed but not too heavy handed. I found myself agreeing and wishing society as a whole felt the same way. Whatever you like or want, you do you. “What do you think gay people do? Have done for generations? We adopt a safe version of ourselves for the public, for protection, and then as adults we excavate our true selves from the parts we’ve invented to protect us.” Things like this felt true and hit home. It is the story of a lot of gay people. There are conversations around grief and the way the book approached it was nice. It was described well. “Grief orbits the heart. Some days the circle is greater. Those are the good days. You have room to move and dance and breathe. Some days the circle is tighter. Those are the hard ones.” A word that stuck out to me in this book was maudlin. Steven filled this book with so many witticisms. This is exactly the type of book that I will pick up whenever I need a smile and laugh.
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Tag: funny
The Focus Of James And Riding The Mississippi
James by Percival Everett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
“But the real source of our rage had to go without address, swallowed, repressed.”
“With my pencil, I wrote myself into being. I wrote myself to here.”
“Dey takes the lies dey want and throws away the truths dat scares ‘em.”
James is the story of Jim from Adventures of Huckleberry Finn but told from his perspective. We follow him through his journey from being separated from his wife and child, traversing the mighty Mississippi, encounters with many helpful people, run ins with people who want to do him harm, and all along his desire to get back to his family fueling his resolve. Throughout this story, Huck Finn is along for the ride, popping in and out of the narrative. It is told in a very rustic, local, and realistic way in the tradition of Mark Twain. Will Jim meet back up with his family or forever be on the run?
Percival Everett wrote a masterpiece here. I could not find one fault with it. The writing style was perfection and he allowed the readers to dive into the story. I felt like I was right there besides James and Huck while they were on the river, running from the white men, or eating catfish that they stole from a trotline. He has a gift with sardonic humor, keen observations, and humanistic writing. Right from the get-go I laughed out loud with “those boys couldn’t sneak up on a blind and deaf man while a band was playing.” You could just picture those boys trying to sneak. The spoken language used throughout added such depth to the narrative. On page 28, throwing in types of irony made me smile as it tickled my linguistic interests and just because I love language. Some words I ran across that I loved were Labyrinthine, Daedalean, perfidy, and sonorous. Page 103 had a great back and forth which was witty and funny. This book had an intellectual side to it as well. There were dreams of Jims, portraying historical figures and discussing equality, slavery, liberties, and whether humans are inherently evil. It added another layer of historical context based on centuries old thoughts of highly regarded writers like Volatire. It highlighted the fact that people who think they are enlightened might not be as much as they/we think. It generated many interesting possible debates. “Was it evil to kill evil?” There are so many topics and discussions I want to showcase here but I should leave things for other readers to discover on their own. The depiction of the horrific nature of slavery was palpable. The imagery that conjured in my brain with scenes describing whippings and the fear while running or hiding was vivid. It was harrowing and that was just me reading about it. Percival showcased the inhumanity it and the struggle of black people. This is exactly the type of book that I would recommend to anyone and everyone. It is quintessential.
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Gay Amnesia And Losing Your Job While Gaining Family
10 Things That Never Happened by Alexis Hall
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
10 Things That Never Happened is such a good book. It is about this guy who works at a bathroom retailer and his boss who owns it. It takes place in England and it follows some hijinks as they navigate an ever-changing relationship. There is amnesia, family drama, Christmas, and one unique looking cat. It is not deep but it is a very fun read. I laughed out loud and found it quick to get through. It was easy, bitchy, gay, and cheeky. I loved the humor and found it real. There were a few things that bothered me though including a couple of the side characters. First off, if someone is that inept, they should have a very stern taking too or be let go. The amount of damage that one person could do and still be employed there was never established. He should have been gone a long time ago. It was infuriating. There was also a young employee that I found annoying as well. All but the first, clown of an employee grew on me throughout the book though. There were also a few editing errors but overall I would recommend this.
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