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Saying Uncle
Author Greg F. Gifune has crafted a journey of one man's voyage into the darkness of the past with the pace of a thriller but the poetic and thoughtful writing he has become known and praised for by critics and readers alike. A lyrical, complex and mysteriously enchanting novel that delves deeply into the dark side of family, friendship, love, grief, loyalty, revenge, and ultimately, redemption, Saying Uncle is a lean but thought-provoking novel about crimes of the past and the scars they leave behind. A study of violence and spirituality, of a family torn apart by a senseless act of brutality and the equally brutal aftermath that haunts them still, Saying Uncle is at once elegant, horrific, emotionally shattering, and sadly beautiful. A remarkable novel from the author of Dominion, Blood In Electric Blue, and The Bleeding Season.
183 pages, Paperback
First published March 29, 2012
About the author
Greg F. Gifune
69 books348 followersCalled "One of the best writers of his generation" by both the Roswell Literary Review and author Brian Keene, Greg F. Gifune is the author of numerous short stories, several novels and two short story collections. His work has been published in a wide range of magazines and anthologies all over the world, and has recently garnered interest from Hollywood. His novels include The Bleeding Season, Deep Night, Saying Uncle, A View From The Lake, Night Work, Drago Descending, Blood In Electric Blue and Dominion.
Along with his short story collections, Down To Sleep and Heretics, his work has been nominated for numerous awards and is consistently praised by readers and critics alike across the globe. For seven years he was Editor-in-Chief of Thievin' Kitty Publications, publishers of the acclaimed fiction magazines The Edge: Tales of Suspense (1998-2004) and Burning Sky: Adventures in Science Fiction Terror (1998-2003), and currently serves as Associate Editor at Delirium Books.
The son of teachers, Greg F. Gifune was educated in Boston and has lived in various places, including New York City and Peru. A trained actor and broadcaster, he has appeared in various stage productions and has worked in radio and television as both an on-air talent and a producer. Earlier in life he held a wide range of jobs, encompassing everything from journalism to promotions.
The author of numerous novels, screenplays and two short story collections, his work has been consistently praised by critics and readers alike, and has been translated into several languages and published all over the world. Greg and his wife Carol live in Massachusetts with a bevy of cats.
Discover more about his writing at GregFGifune.com and UninvitedBooks.com.
Along with his short story collections, Down To Sleep and Heretics, his work has been nominated for numerous awards and is consistently praised by readers and critics alike across the globe. For seven years he was Editor-in-Chief of Thievin' Kitty Publications, publishers of the acclaimed fiction magazines The Edge: Tales of Suspense (1998-2004) and Burning Sky: Adventures in Science Fiction Terror (1998-2003), and currently serves as Associate Editor at Delirium Books.
The son of teachers, Greg F. Gifune was educated in Boston and has lived in various places, including New York City and Peru. A trained actor and broadcaster, he has appeared in various stage productions and has worked in radio and television as both an on-air talent and a producer. Earlier in life he held a wide range of jobs, encompassing everything from journalism to promotions.
The author of numerous novels, screenplays and two short story collections, his work has been consistently praised by critics and readers alike, and has been translated into several languages and published all over the world. Greg and his wife Carol live in Massachusetts with a bevy of cats.
Discover more about his writing at GregFGifune.com and UninvitedBooks.com.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
May 27, 2016
Posted at Shelf Inflicted
At less than 200 pages, Saying Uncle is a short story and a fast, gripping read. Andy DeMarco is a young man who returns home after many years to bury the uncle who was like a father to him. Uncle Paulie tried to do well by his family, but he was a man with dark secrets.
This is an intense and powerful coming-of-age story that explores family relationships, friendship, grief, loss, and the scars left by a brutal crime that happened in the past. It was dark, violent, heart wrenching and beautiful. It got me angry, moved me to tears, and made me feel like a helpless child all over again. It made me think about the father I hadn't spoken to in over 20 years, the two best friends I lost touch with, and the things I wish I had done and said and didn't. Amazing story! Very deep, emotional, and engaging.
I hate having to return this book to the library. It is one to savor and treasure.
At less than 200 pages, Saying Uncle is a short story and a fast, gripping read. Andy DeMarco is a young man who returns home after many years to bury the uncle who was like a father to him. Uncle Paulie tried to do well by his family, but he was a man with dark secrets.
This is an intense and powerful coming-of-age story that explores family relationships, friendship, grief, loss, and the scars left by a brutal crime that happened in the past. It was dark, violent, heart wrenching and beautiful. It got me angry, moved me to tears, and made me feel like a helpless child all over again. It made me think about the father I hadn't spoken to in over 20 years, the two best friends I lost touch with, and the things I wish I had done and said and didn't. Amazing story! Very deep, emotional, and engaging.
I hate having to return this book to the library. It is one to savor and treasure.
December 13, 2020
"The truth. Everybody wants the truth. Problem is nobody ever knows what to do with it once they get it."I don’t mean to presume to know anything about author Greg Gifune personally, but out of the work that I’ve read from him, this full-length novel feels the most personal. Maybe it’s not autobiographical per se, but the writing here has a tragic familiarity that really struck me. Maybe that’s simply just a testament to how talented the guy truly is.
Telling parallel stories of a man returning to his childhood home after the death of an estranged uncle as well as the summer that changed his family forever in a wave of violence and tragedy, the book slowly reveals not only its secrets but also the heart on its sleeve, culminating in a resolution so mournful you can almost feel the tears on the page.
I am her child, her baby, and she is my mother, and yet, in this odd territory between reality and dreams, we're the same. The blind mice reaching desperately through darkness for some sense of the divine and all the promises such a destination surely holds.
Want to read
October 26, 2016This book is copy 121 of 150 copies printed and are signed and numbered by Greg F. Gifune.
October 26, 2012
Greg Gifune is a wonderful writer.
This is why it pains me to write a lukewarm review of one of his works.
This is a short (180-ish pages), story about Andy, our protagonist, his Uncle Paul, and what happened to Andy's sister when they were kids.
Gifune follows a good structure where each chapter splits between present day, and back to the events as they unfolded years ago.
There is much philosophical and theological musing, and I do love that when it's presented in an engaging manner, as it is here.
I finished the novel feeling rather cold as far as resolution and
destination goes. I'm sure this is his intent, and this will likely appeal to some readers, but it left me wanting. Granted, the fact that it is rather a novella size, makes this more conducive to a story like this.
So, I recommend it if you're a fan of the guy. This doesn't turn me off him because I know one of these days he's going to blow my socks off, so I will keep on reading him.
This is why it pains me to write a lukewarm review of one of his works.
This is a short (180-ish pages), story about Andy, our protagonist, his Uncle Paul, and what happened to Andy's sister when they were kids.
Gifune follows a good structure where each chapter splits between present day, and back to the events as they unfolded years ago.
There is much philosophical and theological musing, and I do love that when it's presented in an engaging manner, as it is here.
I finished the novel feeling rather cold as far as resolution and
destination goes. I'm sure this is his intent, and this will likely appeal to some readers, but it left me wanting. Granted, the fact that it is rather a novella size, makes this more conducive to a story like this.
So, I recommend it if you're a fan of the guy. This doesn't turn me off him because I know one of these days he's going to blow my socks off, so I will keep on reading him.
July 24, 2013
This is an utterly brilliant book. More noir suspense than horror -- but with distinct undertones. Yet with so much heart and such depth of feeling (and written with such eloquence) that it transcends all genre expectations.
This is a true work of literature, a gift to the discriminating reader. People are always saying that some "crime writer" gets the underworld just right or that another one really describes it perfectly. Gifune gives you the reality ... illuminated by genius. Isn't that what art is meant to do?
This is a true work of literature, a gift to the discriminating reader. People are always saying that some "crime writer" gets the underworld just right or that another one really describes it perfectly. Gifune gives you the reality ... illuminated by genius. Isn't that what art is meant to do?
September 27, 2018
A powerful coming of age tale about family, the ties that bind and the secrets that sever them.
April 2, 2012
For a short novel, this had a lot to say in how we come to grip with a tragedy in the family. How each deal with it, how some have a hard time with closure. The secrets of an Uncle, more like a father to two small kids, after their father left them. The nightmares of revenge, to facing your best friend as a kid, who feels you abandoned him...to dealing with the tragic event, that brings them all together again..A very well written haunting tale of grief, loyalty, and the dark side of family.
August 29, 2014
"Saying Uncle" is the first Gifune book that I have read that is not horror. It is a coming of age story that runs parallel to the story of the protagonist as an adult coming to terms with the tragedy that shattered his childhood and altered the lifelong relationships that he cherished.
A very powerful story.
5 STARS
A very powerful story.
5 STARS
August 28, 2015
A lean, mean, and gripping suspense novel expertly crafted in an emotionally gripping tale told through the present and the past. A slight departure from Gifune's "horror" fiction, although one could make the case that it's even darker due its understated but prevalent true-life traumas its characters stare down for years, all of which begin with a single tragic event. SAYING UNCLE is more than a coming-of-age piece, more than a mobster story, more than a study of the spiritual and existential dilemmas we face every day. It is all of those things, and moreover one of Gifune's finest pieces of literature.
May 21, 2015
This may be my favorite Greg Gifune novel. Forgoing the supernatural this time, this is a crime/coming-of-age story that cycles across 20 years. Please read this if you missed it before like I did.
July 3, 2020
A rollercoaster of assumption, presumptions, expectations, confusion, emotions and disappointments.
Doesn't scratch the surface of what could have been if Greg had dug deeper, farther and bleaker. Each and every narrative trick, scene, development is suddenly broken, stopped from capturing your mind and cutting your breathing. Recurring themes can be repetitive but Greg should know how to let the reader forget them. Here, by not crossing the line of his unique imagination and writing talent, the story falls into the shallow hole while remaining flat staring down at the soft surface of the potential land.
Doesn't scratch the surface of what could have been if Greg had dug deeper, farther and bleaker. Each and every narrative trick, scene, development is suddenly broken, stopped from capturing your mind and cutting your breathing. Recurring themes can be repetitive but Greg should know how to let the reader forget them. Here, by not crossing the line of his unique imagination and writing talent, the story falls into the shallow hole while remaining flat staring down at the soft surface of the potential land.
November 1, 2012
Another terrific effort from Gifune, this story of familial bonds and secrets holds interest from beginning to end. Gifune knows how to tell a story and once again explores the concepts of good and evil with a deft touch. This is an author well worth checking out. Highly recommended.
January 30, 2013
Review shortly
December 11, 2018
A stellar short novel! This pulled at my heartstrings due to the complex relationships between the main character Andy and his family. I enjoyed the flow as it drifted from past to present and had multiple conflicts that kept me glued to every page. Read the synopsis and if...…...no, just read the novel
November 24, 2011
Nachdem ich „Blutiges Frühjahr“ und „Die Einsamkeit des Todbringers“ gelesen und geliebt habe, kam ich auch um „Sag Onkel“ keineswegs herum.
Greg F. Gifune ist sofort nach seinem ersten in Deutschland veröffentlichten Buch für mich ein besonderer Autor geworden, bei dem mir klar war, dass ich jedes Buch von ihm lesen will und werde.
Kleinstadtabenteuer scheinen Gifunes Vorliebe und Spezialität zu sein, denn auch „Sag Onkel“ lebt von den schrecklichen Geschehnissen „beim Nachbarn nebenan“. Seine Geschichte rund um Andy, dessen Schwester und ihrem verstorbenen Onkel ist so packend und erneut depressiv verstimmend, dass ich sie in einem Rutsch verschlungen habe. Gifune wechselt von der Gegenwart immer wieder in die Vergangenheit und der Leser bekommt so nach und nach all die Tragik von Andys zerstörter Kindheit mit. Wirklich nur seiner? Aber lest selbst...
Seine Charaktere hat Gifune wieder einmal wunderbar ausgearbeitet. Andy war mir von Beginn an total sympathisch. Wir als Leser erleben einen ganzen Tag in seinem Leben, einen Tag, der Andys Vergangenheit und verdrängte Erinnerungen wachrüttelt und wiederbelebt. Gifune beschreibt seine Gedanken und Handlungen so gefühlsecht und authentisch, dass einem beim Lesen eine Gänsehaut nach der anderen den Körper herunterjagt. Ich muss hier erneut seinen wundervollen Schreibstil loben! Er reißt einen mit, obwohl man gar nicht wirklich weiß, warum. Es liest sich so flüssig und mitreißend, dass ich von seinen Texten nicht mehr wegkomme.
Wie kein anderer, den ich zuvor gelesen habe, versteht er, sich besonders düster, anmutend, mitfühlend und rührend auszudrücken. Er nimmt einen quasi bei der Hand und mit auf eine Reise, auf der man als Leser sehr viel zum Nachdenken und Grübeln kommt.
Gifune kommt fast komplett ohne Blut aus, vielmehr schockiert er mit seinen Protagonisten, deren Gedanken und Taten, und so war „Sag Onkel“ ebenfalls wieder sehr makaber. Erwähnt werden muss, dass seine Charaktere keinesfalls durchgedrehte Freaks oder Wahnsinnige sind, nein, sie sind Menschen, wie du und ich, sodass all ihre Handlungen so verdammt realistisch und nachvollziehbar sind. Dies schockt viel mehr als blutige Beschreibungen eines Tatortes oder Mordes. Bei Gifune heißt es: Tatort Mensch. In jeglicher Hinsicht.
Ich brauche keine ca. 50 Seiten, um in einen „Gifune“ rein zu finden, ich bin sofort drin! Suchtgefahr ist hoch und ich kann daher jedem Genussleser „Sag Onkel“ nur wärmstens ans Thrillerherz legen.
Solltet ihr das Buch in einer Buchhandlung sehen, greift zu und lest das Vorwort. Für mich drücken Tom Piccirilli Worte über Gifunes Bücher genau das aus, was ich während des Lesens empfand und worüber es mir schwer fiel, es hier in der Rezension zu beschreiben.
Greg F. Gifune ist sofort nach seinem ersten in Deutschland veröffentlichten Buch für mich ein besonderer Autor geworden, bei dem mir klar war, dass ich jedes Buch von ihm lesen will und werde.
Kleinstadtabenteuer scheinen Gifunes Vorliebe und Spezialität zu sein, denn auch „Sag Onkel“ lebt von den schrecklichen Geschehnissen „beim Nachbarn nebenan“. Seine Geschichte rund um Andy, dessen Schwester und ihrem verstorbenen Onkel ist so packend und erneut depressiv verstimmend, dass ich sie in einem Rutsch verschlungen habe. Gifune wechselt von der Gegenwart immer wieder in die Vergangenheit und der Leser bekommt so nach und nach all die Tragik von Andys zerstörter Kindheit mit. Wirklich nur seiner? Aber lest selbst...
Seine Charaktere hat Gifune wieder einmal wunderbar ausgearbeitet. Andy war mir von Beginn an total sympathisch. Wir als Leser erleben einen ganzen Tag in seinem Leben, einen Tag, der Andys Vergangenheit und verdrängte Erinnerungen wachrüttelt und wiederbelebt. Gifune beschreibt seine Gedanken und Handlungen so gefühlsecht und authentisch, dass einem beim Lesen eine Gänsehaut nach der anderen den Körper herunterjagt. Ich muss hier erneut seinen wundervollen Schreibstil loben! Er reißt einen mit, obwohl man gar nicht wirklich weiß, warum. Es liest sich so flüssig und mitreißend, dass ich von seinen Texten nicht mehr wegkomme.
Wie kein anderer, den ich zuvor gelesen habe, versteht er, sich besonders düster, anmutend, mitfühlend und rührend auszudrücken. Er nimmt einen quasi bei der Hand und mit auf eine Reise, auf der man als Leser sehr viel zum Nachdenken und Grübeln kommt.
Gifune kommt fast komplett ohne Blut aus, vielmehr schockiert er mit seinen Protagonisten, deren Gedanken und Taten, und so war „Sag Onkel“ ebenfalls wieder sehr makaber. Erwähnt werden muss, dass seine Charaktere keinesfalls durchgedrehte Freaks oder Wahnsinnige sind, nein, sie sind Menschen, wie du und ich, sodass all ihre Handlungen so verdammt realistisch und nachvollziehbar sind. Dies schockt viel mehr als blutige Beschreibungen eines Tatortes oder Mordes. Bei Gifune heißt es: Tatort Mensch. In jeglicher Hinsicht.
Ich brauche keine ca. 50 Seiten, um in einen „Gifune“ rein zu finden, ich bin sofort drin! Suchtgefahr ist hoch und ich kann daher jedem Genussleser „Sag Onkel“ nur wärmstens ans Thrillerherz legen.
Solltet ihr das Buch in einer Buchhandlung sehen, greift zu und lest das Vorwort. Für mich drücken Tom Piccirilli Worte über Gifunes Bücher genau das aus, was ich während des Lesens empfand und worüber es mir schwer fiel, es hier in der Rezension zu beschreiben.
October 2, 2013
One of the best coming of age novels I have read. Once again beautiful soulful writing by Gifune "I was fifteen when everything changed. The events that summer helped shape me as a human being and define me as an adult, but also tore a wound through the heart of our family that would never completely heal. For any of us." Andrew Demarco lives with his mum, sister Angela and Uncle Paulie and one summer an event occurred that altered everything that came after. This is a story about good and evil and the fact that "shit happens" and when that event occurs you just got to shake your head and get on with living..."But then you get older and you figure out there aren't any such things as heroes or villains. He turned his attention to the sky now. It had stopped snowing. There's only people who do heroic things and people who do villainous things. But either way they're still just people"....
July 29, 2014
SIMPLY amazing!
This was just an an amazing story, with characters so real and true. This is one that will stay with me for a long time. Rarely, have I been so moved by the emotion of characters in a book. Very highly recommended and I plan on reading every other book by Mr Gifune,that I can get my hands on!
This was just an an amazing story, with characters so real and true. This is one that will stay with me for a long time. Rarely, have I been so moved by the emotion of characters in a book. Very highly recommended and I plan on reading every other book by Mr Gifune,that I can get my hands on!
November 22, 2010
Gifune’s prose is lyrical and moving from beginning to end. He masterfully guides the reader through a family's grief over an act from the past, and one man's quest to find the truth. Gifune shows the ripple effect of violence and how there is never just one victim. Beautifully done.
December 9, 2012
I found this to be rather a character study than a thriller, furthermore a contemplation about arbitrary law. In the end I was a bit disappointed. Nevertheless this book can surely make you think.
May 13, 2019
(Emotion and Feeling) -
First thing for Angela - I love you my dear little Sister. I will protect you with all my might if it happen to come down to sacrifice my life so be it. But I will never let anything cruel or sick happen to you - It's my Vow, my Commitment to you & again I say I love you...
Greg F. Gifune -
I know why he is one of my most top favorite Author! Because he knows how to play with human emotions very well; there's no one (no offense) in a positive sense but him made you emotional in a way that you just can't sometime cop up with it...
1. "The difference between a boy and a man is that when a man gets knocked down he always gets up," he used to say. "That's what life is, Andy, getting knocked down and learning how to get back on your feet. There's no shame in going down, but never stay down. Get off your ass and fight back. It's not easy being a man, but what choice have we got? '
2. "Always bet the favorite," Uncle often said. "Underdogs are underdogs for a reason, Andy. They' re dreamers, and most dreamers are losers."
3. "The truth." He chuckled. "Everybody always wants the truth. Problem is nobody ever knows what the hell to do with it once they get it."
This one by the author got me very emotional and almost made me cry by heart. It's not the type of Horror Fiction that you usually trying to look and reading for. But obviously for me that was one of the best Greg F. Gifune read of all time. The book caught me from first page and after then I just couldn't help but kept going with it. The story has that kind of affection that I just couldn't shake off from my mind. At the moment I tried very hard not to broke off emotionally, yes it got that much seriousness to me. I never thought no offense again a story like that could be written in Horror Fiction genre...
I felt absolutely rage when I read the misfortune events that happened to little Angela's life. It was too much to bear you know. The way the author write the story it made the absolute emotion and the circumstances felt so real that I just couldn't help it with myself. I almost lost it and felt that if I happened to find myself in there I would cut off that Bas----ds head off or put bullet between his eyes and just be it. Hell it was really so emotional at that time while I was reading that part. Of course in a way I regret the character Andy (Big brother of Angela) about his action when that sick incident happened to his Sister. Of course he was at the time very little by age but reasoning the event I wish he did what his Uncle Pauline DeMacro told to do. But he couldn't make it. Shame on you man, just shame on you and of course I can't help it to saying this to you...
So the uncle Pauline DeMacro! The prime character of this book. Just looking at the book cover I fall in love at first sight with it and after reading it of course it totally worth my time. I can forget that book never, not a chance. I wish deep in my heart if I had a uncle like Pauline DeMacro. I think whoever read this book and finished it after; anyone would think the same thought that I was thinking. He was so protective to his two nephews, to his sister. He got no family & never had the chance to get married but only them. He would sacrifice his life for them, he is like a father to them as their father left them when the two of them were so little at age. But yes Uncle Pauline has some dark secret and he never want to reveal them to his family though of course his sister knew but kept mum about that too. I think you can a life and learn a lot by reading this one if you know what I mean. I missed on character to mention in here. Yes it was Andy's friend Desmond Boone. Man how I really enjoyed this character to the core of my heart I just can't tell you. I wish absolutely that I have a friend like him. The think is while reading that book I thought how little we know about life really. You just can't see the life in a single vision. There's lot of things happening out there in the real world that we can never imagine that's exactly the feeling I had when I was in this book deep in read. The life cycle of Boone made me think about it profoundly. Yes time change and at the time Andy made distance with his best friend Boone it was the time when (Andy) he was married and began his own life. But eventually like Boone had the faith that one day his only best friend would visit again him and met him did happens in the end. But it was too late to begin something new if you know what I mean. Boone's big brother was successful with his life when unfortunately Boone couldn't cop up with his own and beat down by reality. Even though it was not his fault but he'd been determined to come it over and begin a new start though of course it would be a difficult one but man I really loved that get together with Andy and him again. It was in way made me emotional again, I just love the innocence of Boone's character. It was because of that characteristic I drawn with this character. Of course what I read here was a real tragedy & I regret from the core of my heart about what happened to the Uncle Pauline DeMacro. I wish if I could I change that fate of him. There's nothing that I want to add more if I try I would spoil the story. But again repeating myself I don't think and I don't want to forget this book, Never - Ever...
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews