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teumessians 's review for:
Greta & Valdin
by Rebecca K Reilly
let me start by saying that despite giving it three stars (which, because of gr inflation, feels rather low) i WOULD recommend it. it's fun and has delightful characters and scenes! it's chic! there is catalan in it!
i loved the first half and then it became a bit too loose in some parts and too twee in others. the set up and humour worked wonderfully, but it just didnt hit emotionally, it rushed by. it missed opportunities with the older characters in a way that felt a bit immature, and the tendency to sum up emotional knots after the fact instead of digging in didn't help. above all i missed a more thorough exploration of the greta-and-valdin relationship (it's the TITULAR ROLE!). i think it could have clawed deeper while maintaining the tone!
when i read "fashionable" novels of the twenties and thirties that are said to capture their time, i'm often left with a "huh" sensation (boo, vile bodies, boo!). this feels like a very mid-2020s novel, and i wonder how it will be read after a few decades. it HAS captured something, maybe more in style than in substance. so hey, maybe this is a note from the past.
i loved the first half and then it became a bit too loose in some parts and too twee in others. the set up and humour worked wonderfully, but it just didnt hit emotionally, it rushed by. it missed opportunities with the older characters in a way that felt a bit immature, and the tendency to sum up emotional knots after the fact instead of digging in didn't help. above all i missed a more thorough exploration of the greta-and-valdin relationship (it's the TITULAR ROLE!). i think it could have clawed deeper while maintaining the tone!
when i read "fashionable" novels of the twenties and thirties that are said to capture their time, i'm often left with a "huh" sensation (boo, vile bodies, boo!). this feels like a very mid-2020s novel, and i wonder how it will be read after a few decades. it HAS captured something, maybe more in style than in substance. so hey, maybe this is a note from the past.