Michelle Blanchard Ardillo

I did not expect to love this book. I had heard good things about it, but I didn’t think this would bowl me over and make me laugh out loud and cry at different moments, especially on a crowded airplane.

I had previously read Rowley’s The Editor and enjoyed it (you had me at Kennedy). When his latest book, The Celebrants, came out in May of this year, I realized I had missed The Guncle, which I started just the night before I boarded a flight. I read during most of the flight and found myself laughing and crying, completely swept away by Patrick and his “niblings.” This man…Patrick (or am I talking about Rowley?), was ill-equipped for the task at hand, yet he found his way. His niece Maisie and nephew Grant needed so much; somehow, he knew what to give them and when. Irreverent and irresponsible (sometimes), he figured out how to quasi-parent two kids out of overwhelming grief, and while doing so, managed to bring himself out of overwhelming grief as well. At the unluckiest moments of their young lives, these two children were also the luckiest children to find themselves in Patrick’s temporary care. The lessons he shared with them, from Oscar Wilde quotes to scenes from Broadway musicals, taught them perhaps the lesson many of us still haven’t managed to learn: acceptance. Oh, if only we could all spend a summer in Palm Desert out at Patrick’s pool, with Guncle Rules guiding us to our better selves.