The Guncle

I put off listening to *The Guncle* for weeks because the premise sounded too twee—a gay man reluctantly parenting his niece and nephew after tragedy. But Steven Rowley’s narration sold me within minutes. His voice drips with Patrick’s self-deprecating charm, but it’s his ability to pivot to raw, unfiltered emotion that makes this audiobook unforgettable. There’s a moment midway through where Patrick breaks down in a Target parking lot, his voice cracking as he realizes he’s the only adult these kids have left. It’s the kind of scene that would’ve felt manipulative in less skillful hands, but Rowley makes it feel earned, even inevitable. That said, the book isn’t without its flaws. The pacing stumbles in the final act, where the resolution wraps up a little too neatly, as if Rowley couldn’t bear to let his messy protagonist suffer for too long. And while Gus’s character arc is beautifully observed, Maisie’s arc sometimes veers into precocious-child tropes that feel like they belong in a sitcom rather than this otherwise grounded story. But these are minor quibbles in an otherwise delightful listen. The production is crisp, with no distracting background noise, and Rowley’s narration gives each character distinct vocal ticks that make the audiobook feel like a one-person play. If you’re looking for a story that balances humor and heartache without drowning in either, *The Guncle* is a winner—even if its ending tries a little too hard to tie everything up with a bow.