Steven Rowley does it again! A heartfelt read about friends who are family, the importance of being there for one another all with the quirkiness of Rowley's writing style

I loved this book. I'm a fan of Steven Rowley to begin with but this book blew me away. As I've described it to people while I was reading, I received a lot of comments about the morbidity and from the description, I can see how that may be what is taken away. However, I felt it was anything but. The emotions are captured so well as we move through the character's lives and friendship. They have such depth and relatability that it is hard not to love each of them as they develop along the way. I'd highly recommend this to anyone. I think it transcends all varieties of readers and provides an opportunity to really spur introspective reflection on our own lives and relationships.

A heart-warming story that celebrates each other and life. Another Steven Rowley that has such strong themes of found family. The friends could not be more different, but at the end of the day they were always there for each other. Their dysfunctional friendship was complicated, yet relatable, and gave readers a story full of heart and emotion.

Very character driven, this one was entertaining and I think many people will enjoy the themes on life and friendship.

𝚁𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: 4.25⭐️
𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: Contemporary fiction📚

𝙼𝚢 𝚃𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜:
An emotional and heartwarming read

𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎:
Found family
Heartfelt stories about friendship
Realistic characters
Unique storyline
The Guncle

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎𝚍:
The concept of living funerals
The ending!
LGBTQIA+ rep

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛:
I didnt really connect with any of the characters

Steven Rowley will forever be an autobuy author and while I enjoyed this one, I prefer his other works better.
I love his writing style and gift of words he shares with the world, but I wanted more of The Guncle style love, light, happiness and depth.

This was good and well written, I just was hoping for a different style.

This was heartwarming AND heartbreaking. Steven Rowley is a master at his craft and I will read anything he writes. The Celebrants has humor, love, and so much heart. I highly recommend this book, just be prepared for an emotional story dealing with grief and loss. I had to take quite a few breaks because I was so attached to every character.

The characters in this one became friends in college in the 90s, and – aside from two of them who married – didn’t talk again for almost 20 years. The book goes back and forth between the “present,” where we learn that one has terminal cancer, and the past few “living funerals” that took place before his. During these flashbacks, we get to know all five characters well.

Marielle, the hippie-ish one, was the first to trigger their college pact to throw each other funerals while still alive. She does so because her marriage has dissolved and her daughter – birthed not long after they had graduated – is leaving for college herself.

Naomi is the other woman in the group, and she has a biting personality. She is also the child of Japanese immigrants who expected a lot from her. Their deaths, and the idea that she will never be able to prove her worth to them, triggers her to invoke her “funeral.”

Craig is a straight male, but one who works in the world of art galleries and brokering the sales of high-priced paintings. When he inadvertently decides a painting is “real” that ends up being deemed a forgery, he faces jail time. Marielle invokes the pact on his behalf, making his the first “ambush” funeral.

The last two members of the pact are the Jordans. They share the same first name, and are romantic partners living in New York. They are usually differentiated in the book by one being called Jordan, and the other Jordy. (Although we later learn that he does not like the nickname.) Jordan found that he had cancer a few years back, prompting the longtime couple to finally marry. His cancer was in remission, but now it is back and things aren’t looking good. The five friends have reunited for what we – and they – assume is Jordan’s funeral. But we’ll leave the slight twist for people who want to read this one – because I hate giving away an ending.

There is some nostalgia in here, especially if you were alive in the 1990s. And an obvious comparison could be made to “The Big Chill.” It also features some gay characters, which is a Rowley staple by now. (Write what you know, I guess?) Overall, I found it an enjoyable read. Not exactly groundbreaking, but enjoyable.

Thank you to Putnam Books and Netgalley for an ARC of The Celebrants!

I was a big fan of The Guncle when I read it and I generally enjoy supporting my fellow Emerson alumni, so I was very much looking forward to this book. While I thought it was really nice and I liked it, it unfortunately didn’t fully live up to the hype for me. That being said, there was a lot that did work.

What I Enjoyed:

- Rowely’s writing, as always, is spectacular. His ruminations on life and friendship are just lovely

- This book was chock filled with heart and legitimately funny at times

- I really enjoyed the structure and how it not only juxtaposed the past and present, but how the past is told solely through each characters’ “funerals”

What Missed the Mark:

- Regarding the structure, on the other hand, because most of the characters are primarily in the past timeline, I don’t think we get enough depth from their relationships. I don’t really understand how each person ticks, and how they all work together in this group. I needed that to be explored a lot more

- it’s very slow, and you already kind of know how it’s going to end, so it feels like not a lot happens

- this is a personal issue, but I don’t like omnipotent narrators. Every time it changed between characters’ perspectives in the same paragraphs it took me out of the story. I understand why this stylistic choice was made, but it did not work for me

Like I said, it’s still a very lovely book and I would recommend it. It just didn’t blow me away as much as I had hoped.

The Celebrants was a highly anticipated book for me this year. Unfortunately, my hopes may have been a little too high. While I liked The Celebrants just fine, it just didn’t have nearly the charm and heart of The Guncle.

The Celebrants follows five college friends, now middle-aged, carrying out the pact they made decades earlier, when they were reeling from the death of their close friend, Alec. The friends committed to throwing each other living funerals, making clear what they mean to one another and leaving nothing left unsaid. The book flashes back and forth from present day to past funerals.

There things that I liked about this book. I liked the premise, the format of the flashbacks worked well for me, and I really enjoyed the Jordans, a gay couple who share a first name and a long-term relationship that felt authentic. However, some of the other friendships seemed less believable. I had a hard time imagining this group ever being such close friends and struggled to buy the deep meaning they professed in their eulogies, especially since they weren’t in close contact in the 25+ years since college.

I think if my expectations hadn’t been so high, I would have enjoyed The Celebrants more. This would make a good beach read to dip in and out of, especially if you like your summer reads to have some substance.

Big thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc for review.

Some of Steven Rowley's best work -- tender, hilarious, original, and touching, with a stellar cast of characters.

Big thanks to Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley for an advanced e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I'll start by saying that I was pretty disappointed in The Guncle when I read it a couple of years back- I mean, I was so excited about the book that I bought it new!!! And in hardcover!!! I had hoped it would be a light yet emotional novel about what it means to be human... and yet, it just never hit the mark for me. The Celebrants, on the other hand, very much did.

Jordy, Jordan, Craig, Naomi, and Marielle made a pact in college: each would have the opportunity to activate the pact for a live funeral. A time for them all to come together when one was in need to celebrate their life and remember that there are people who love them. Yes, it sounds a bit gimmicky. No, it probably wouldn't happen in real life. But, you know, that's what fiction books are for.

After the introduction of the main characters, both in the past and in the present, the majority of the book is composed of large chapters detailing the times that one of the members activated the pact and the preceding events.

What I loved most about The Celebrants is that each character really came to life. I really grew to love the Jordans, Marielle, Naomi, and Craig- especially Craig. If you're looking for a book that is both going to pull at your heart stings but feels light and humorous, I'd give this one a go.

i adored the guncle and couldn't wait to read the celebrants because of rowley's humor and excellent writing. however, the celebrants was like an entire inside joke i had no business knowing about. it was like little pieces of random conversations that never made sense. no one seemed to like each other during the living funeral scenes. i liked the present day story for the jordans the best.

After the sudden death of one of their college roommates at Berkeley, five friends create a pact to hold living funerals for each other, vowing to leave nothing unsaid. Throughout the ensuing decades, Jordan, Jordy, Naomi, Marielle, and Craig gather for these living funerals -- in the wake of Marielle's divorce, the death of Naomi's parents, and on the eve of Craig being sent to prison -- to celebrate the lives of their friends, while they are still around to appreciate it. And now, in their 50s, the friends have gathered again, not knowing that one of them is harboring a devastating secret.

One of my favorite lines from the great Mary Oliver is, "It is a serious thing just to be alive on this fresh morning in this broken world," and that's what kept running through my head as I was reading The Celebrants. Steven Rowley's new novel truly celebrates what a gift it is to be alive, even in moments that are hard and crushing and full of pain.

With his trademark vibrant, heartfelt, witty writing, Rowley explores the importance and value of lifelong friendships and found family through a group of characters who are relatable and sympathetic and devastatingly, beautifully human. Rowley crafts their friendship so lovingly, with references to internal rifts and inside jokes (I particularly loved the "Courtney Scale"). By the end of the book, we've laughed and cried with them so much, they feel like our friends too.

The Celebrants is a balm to the soul, a comforting hug in book form, a gentle and poignant reminder of our own mortality. This is a gift of a book from one of our most special writers, and I'm grateful to G.P. Putnam's Sons and NetGalley for the early reading opportunity.

I really wanted to love this because The Guncle is one of my all time favs. Its a book i recommend to everyone. This one just didnt do it for me. I didnt feel super invested in any of the characters and felt it dragged in parts.

This book felt to gimmicky for me. I had a hard time believing that 50 year olds were getting together to have living funerals for their friends. It might have seemed like a good idea in their 20's but to continue it felt adolescent. I also had a hard time liking any of the characters. Overall, it was cringey.

Did I know The Celebrants was going to make me cry? Of course. Was I out-of-my-mind excited to read it anyways? You bet I was.

Steven Rowley has such a compelling way of exploring grief. I loved it in The Guncle, and I loved it just as much in The Celebrants. He shows us that there can be humor even in times of sadness--something my family knows well.

All of these characters were flawed and yet lovable in such a relatable way. There is certainly something to be said for a group of lifelong friends that can come together and pick up right where they left off, that you know will be there for you no matter what. Everyone needs a friend group like the characters in this book!

I don't need to say much more--if you loved The Guncle, you're going to love The Celebrants. If you haven't read either, change that asap.

4.5 stars

Right before graduating from Berkley, one member of a tightly-knit band of six dies. At his funeral, the remaining five friends form a pact - each of them can request a "living funeral," where they'll be told how much they're loved and what an impact they've had on the others while they're still here to hear it.

I loved the quirky family-owned Big Sur cabin, as it became a character in the book. I loved the flawed characters. And I loved that even in a book rife with themes of death and loss, Steven Rowley could still make me laugh out loud (like he did in The Guncle).

Being roughly the same age as the characters, I got a sense of nostalgia reading about their endeavors and living near Big Sur, I got a sense of space and time others who aren't familiar with the area might not. Having lost several close loved ones recently, books about death are pretty touchy for me, but I was able to embrace this premise of celebrating while we're here and honoring those we can while we can.

3.5/5 stars rounded up. This is my second Steven Rowley novel. The Guncle was a highlight for me in 2021. That book is equal parts love and laughter. The Celebrants, while not as light and airy, delivers on powerful message and ultimate power of friendship.

The story centers around a group of college besties who while mourning one of their 6, make a pact that they will hold “living” funerals for each other so that when they do die they will do so knowing how others felt about them. This is such a great concept. I’ve always thought it would be nice if the person being celebrated at a funeral could actually hear how people felt about them. We follow these five friends from their 20s to early 50s as each of them invoke the pact and they all meet up for these “funerals.”

While the idea is interesting and their reasons for needing their “funerals” are compelling, I personally found the characters a little off-putting. Had I really fallen in love with the them, this would have been a 5 star read. For the majority of the book they weren’t very nice to each other and argued like toddlers.

The final funeral finally drives home the point of the novel and Rowley delivers a very emotional and fulfilling ending.

Thank you PRHAudio and GP Putnam for the ALC/ARC.

After loving Steven Rowley’s previous book, The Guncle, I was very much looking forward to this one. Unfortunately, it just did not do it for me. I listened to about 20% before giving up; I just could not get into this storyline and quite frankly didn’t like the characters. With The Guncle, the main character was hilarious and relatable; in this book not so much.

I am only leaving feedback due to NetGalley’s requirement. DNF at 20%.

⁉️What’s your idea of a summer read?
I know some do lots of thrillers, others beach reads, a friend told me this week that she ramps up on celeb memoirs this time of year. Tbh, my reading used to change for summer, but I think it’s really just a mess of genres like the rest of the year now.

BOOK REVIEW
The Celebrants by @mrstevenrowley
Pub date: May 30, 2023
320 pages
@putnambooks @netgalley thanks for the E-ARC

The Guncle, by the same author, was a top three read of 2021 for me and remains a go to recommendation when anyone asks for one. The Celebrants is a totally different book, IMO, and shows Rowley’s range as an author.

Found family is a favorite trope of mine, at least in part, because I’m perpetually on the search for my own 🥴 in The Celebrants, we meet a handful of people in midlife who became close friends when they lived together in college. When one of them dies in their early twenties, the others make a pact to each have a living funeral dialing in the others at a time in their lives that calls for rebuilding.

The story starts saying goodbye to one of the friends, and we’re saying goodbye to the rest (in different ways) throughout. It sounds a little heavier than it felt reading it. I think Rowley really captured the bittersweetness of nostalgia for your younger days. They all are sort of unhinged at times, channeling their youth in ways you might not expect of people in middle age (an ouija board and psychedelics both make an appearance). Though, as someone in their late thirties, I could absolutely relate to wanting to get into some mischief. When you’re young this age feels very old, but now that I’m here it feels pretty young? 🥴😅

I’d have been more sold on the friendships and commitment to the pact had they all spent more time together in the decades between college and each of their funerals, but overall I liked this one!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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