Sibling Snarkiness

A Review of Greta & Valdin by Rebecca K Reilly

I promised you last week that I wasn’t going to have another angry review for you and I’m delivering on that promise! This week we take a look at Greta & Valdin by Rebecca K Reilly - a book that did not make me angry, nor make me sob cry. Hurrah! This book did make me laugh out loud.

First up, let me say that I have a blatant bias toward books by kiwi authors. I think it’s very difficult to even write a book in the first place, let alone in a small country where funding for the arts is limited. I want to support these authors in any way that I can. You should too! Please buy this book!

Secondly, to give you a small bio of Reilly, she is of Ngāti Hine and Ngāti Rehua ki Ngātiwai descent, and this book, which is her debut novel, won the 2019 Adam Foundation Prize in Creative Writing. In 2022 this book won the Hubert Church Prize for Fiction and the Aotearoa Booksellers’ Choice Award. Reilly is in her early 30s.

Have I sold it to you yet? I’ll keep going..

I read Greta & Valdin in June 2023 (look at me being all current), and I LOVED it. This is a 5 star read for me.

This book is centred around a pair of siblings in Tamaki Makaurau/Auckland who are a part of a Māori–Russian–Catalonian family. The chapters alternate in perspectives between the siblings, G & V (as they are referred to in the book). A central theme is a longing for requited romantic love, while also being critical of monogamy. I just love this quote, and I think it gives you a tiny tidbit into the book, the writing style, and the humour.. This part of the book is talking about the institution of marriage: “That it is an “inherently queerphobic” institution. The only gay people exchanging vows were buying into the monotony of the straight agenda and its dull ideals: committing to one person, buying a house, and working 40 hours a week for one employer.”

There is a lot of self-deprecating humour throughout this book as well as relatable insights, and antics that make you laugh out loud. My husband was looking at me strangely as I sat giggling and reading. Some of the things I loved about this book - the amusing social commentary; the complicated connections between family members; the NZ setting (I love reading books when I have been to the locations mentioned - something about it just feels that much more relatable) and the type of humour. I loved the messy and relatable family interactions. I also enjoyed the very clever character development. I felt like I got to know Greta & Valdin as well as the supporting characters.

I am not sure if everyone would find this book to be their thing, but I loved the Kiwi-ness and the quirkiness. I can see why this book has won so many awards. Add this one to your TBR because life is too short to read bad books!

P.S Not that we are judging books by their cover, but I am partial to a mint and pink aesthetic. I thought this one was so cute!