The Guncle Abroad

Steven Rowley

New New
Book cover for The Guncle Abroad
Book cover for The Guncle Abroad

The Guncle Abroad

The Guncle Abroad

Steven Rowley

Description

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Celebrants comes the much-anticipated sequel to the Thurber Prize-Winning novel The Guncle, in which Patrick O'Hara is called back to his guncle duties... this time for a big family wedding in Italy.

Patrick O'Hara is back.

It's been five years since his summer as his niece Maisie and nephew Grant's caretaker after their mother's passing. The kids are back in Connecticut with their dad, and Patrick has relocated to New York to remain close by and relaunch his dormant acting career. After the run of his second successful sit-com comes to a close, Patrick feels on top of the world . . . professionally. But some things have had to take a back seat. Looking down both barrels at fifty, Patrick is single again after breaking things off with Emory. But at least he has a family to lean on. Until that family needs to again lean on him.

When his brother Greg announces he's getting remarried in Italy, Maisie and Grant are not thrilled. Patrick feels drawn to take the two back under his wing. As they travel through Europe on their way to the wedding, Patrick tries his best to help them understand love, much as he once helped them comprehend grief. But when they arrive in Italy, Patrick is overextended managing a groom with cold feet, his sister Clara flirting with guests left and right, a growing rivalry with the kids' charming soon-to-be-launt (lesbian aunt), and two moody young teens trying to adjust to a new normal, all culminating in a disastrous rehearsal dinner.

Can Patrick save the day? Will teaching the kids about love help him repair his own love life? Can the change of scenery help Patrick come to terms with finally growing up?

Gracing the page with his signature blend of humor and heart, Steven Rowley charms with the much-anticipated sequel to a beloved story all about the complicated bonds of family, love, and what it takes to rediscover yourself, even at the ripe age of fifty.

About the Author

Steven Rowley is the New York Times bestselling author of Lily and the Octopus, a Washington Post Notable Book; The Editor, an NPR Best Book of the Year; The Guncle, winner of the twenty-second Thurber Prize for American Humor and Goodreads Choice Awards finalist for Novel of the Year; and The Celebrants, a Today Show Read with Jenna book club pick. His fiction has been translated into twenty languages. He resides in Palm Springs, California.

Critical Reviews

As Seen on The Today Show
Featured on Zibby Owen's Summer Reading List

One of BookBub's Best Beach Reads
One of The Nerd Daily's Most Anticipated Books of 2024

One of Scary Mommy's Most Anticipated Books of 2024
One of Electric Hit's The Best Books of Spring 2024
One of Book Riot's Recommendations for Summer Reading
One of Brit & Co's Essential LGBTQ+ Books for Pride Month
One of Electric Lit's Must-Read Queer Books for Summer 2024

One of Writer's Digest's Notable LGBTQ+ Books to Celebrate Pride
One of Literary Lifestyle's Best LGBTQ+ Books to Celebrate Pride

"Patrick O'Hara is back for another adventure with his beloved niece and nephew. This time, they're traveling to Italy ahead of his brother's wedding. And like its predecessor, Steven Rowley's sequel is a heartfelt and funny tale of grief, joy and self-discovery." --E News

"Few authors possess the infectious mix of light- and heavy-heartedness that makes every Steven Rowley novel an experience; his gift is to make the reader laugh out loud one minute and clutch their chest the next. . . . Rowley returns to the world of the eponymous gay uncle of 2021's The Guncle, this time sending sitcom star Patrick to Lake Como for his brother's wedding." --Electric Lit

"Hilarious and heartwarming." -Brit & Co

"All the ingredients you have come to expect from a Steven Rowley novel are here (and elevated!). This story on the complicated bond of family is infused with so much heart and humor that it will have you cracking up with laughter on one page and wiping a tear away on the next. Reading a Steven Rowley novel always makes me appreciate being alive with the urge to call up my friends and family and say, 'I love you!'" --Nantucket Magazine

"Maisie, Grant, and GUP, their Gay Uncle Patrick, return in Rowley's funny, heartfelt sequel to The Guncle. . . . This follow-up has a humor and affection for the characters in a story with just the right amount of domestic tension but will still be a balm to readers." --Library Journal

"Rowley's cunning sequel is as much travelogue as uplifting love story, with happy endings all around." --Booklist

"The wise-cracking and wisdom-dropping protagonist of The Guncle returns for more adventures in Rowley's diverting sequel . . . The author's fans will gobble this up." --Publishers Weekly

"Few authors possess the infectious mix of light- and heavy-heartedness that makes every Steven Rowley novel an experience; his gift is to make the reader laugh out loud one minute and clutch their chest the next." --Electric Lit

"From the New York Times bestselling author of The Celebrants comes the much-anticipated sequel to the Thurber Prize-Winning novel The Guncle, in which Patrick O'Hara is called back to his guncle duties . . . this time for a big family wedding in Italy." --The Nerd Daily

"Steven Rowley's 2022 hit, The Guncle, charmed readers with its heartwarming story and hilarious cast of characters. The sequel promises more of that, with an overseas twist." --Queerty

Publishing Information

Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
Pub date: 2024-05-21
Length: 320 pages
View full details

The Allstora Membership

Membership Perks:

  • Save 30% on all online store purchases
  • Exclusive access to author's content
  • You pay less, but authors still earn double

Membership Terms:

First Month: $0.00
Monthly price: $5.00
  • To access membership discount simply log in and add to cart, discount applied automatically.
  • One month free trial, cancel anytime. Membership renews on the 15th of each month.