Patrick is the main character of Steven Rowley’s Guncle series. He is a gay former sitcom star who traded Hollywood for a quiet life in Palm Springs, spending his days poolside and keeping the rest of the world at arm’s length. That changes when a family tragedy leaves his brother’s two young children, Maisie and Grant, in need of a caretaker. Patrick steps up, becoming their GUP: Gay Uncle Patrick.
The first book, The Guncle (2021), follows Patrick as he figures out how to be a parent figure while barely managing his own grief. He is funny and sharp but more damaged than he lets on. The kids crack open the carefully maintained walls he has built around himself, and the book manages to be very funny about grief without making light of it. The book won the Thurber Prize for American Humor and was a Goodreads Choice Award finalist.
The Guncle Abroad (2024) picks up with Patrick and the kids traveling overseas. New setting, new complications, but Patrick is still Patrick. He has grown since the first book, though he remains prone to dramatic overreaction and fiercely protective of Maisie and Grant.
Reading Order
See the complete Guncle reading order for all books in the series.