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A review by jessiewolf
Greta and Valdin by Rebecca K Reilly
5.0
I love Greta and I love Valdin. This book, set in New Zealand, follows two siblings who are just trying to make life work in their twenties. They live together in Aukland and see their parents frequently. Their father works at the university where Greta studies and where Valdin dropped out of his career in physics to work in tv and film. Greta and Valdin both have good relationships with their parents and their extended family including their uncle and grandfather, perhaps prompting the Schitt's Creek comps in early promos for the US release of the novel.
Valdin is still recovering from his breakup with his ex-boyfriend Xabi who has left the country and moved to Argentina in an attempt to not make Valdin so sad. Xabi is significantly older than Valdin--he's actually the brother of Valdin's uncle's husband. This age difference doesn't stop either from loving one another though, and when Valdin is sent to Argentina for work, he can't help but reconnect with Xabi. For a long period of time, Valdin wasn't able to speak when he was anywhere but home, but his time with Xabi somehow changed that and he was able to find his voice--so much so that he now hosts a travel show on tv and is at times pushed to use his voice to explain Maori customs and culture to his viewers and coworkers as he is the only Maori person on staff. When he reconnects with Xabi, he is surprised to find out that Xabi is pursuing fatherhood on his own via adoption in Colombia. This revelation prompts Valdin to question what he wants from the rest of his life, including family making, and he goes to Colombia with Xabi to continue thinking about it. Getting back together with Xabi would mean co-parenting the child that Xabi is in the process of adopting--a child who also has trouble speaking to others.
Meanwhile back in Auckland, Greta is...wondering where Valdin is. He didn't return from Argentina as planned (Greta even made him a welcome home cake with the last of the money in her grad student salary bank account!), and he didn't bother to inform Greta where he was going or how long he would be gone. She is also struggling with a crush on a fellow TA who...is maybe just taking advantage of Greta for administrative help. Greta just wants to feel lovable and loved, and the people around her are not helping! In one of Greta's chapters, she reflects on all of the mediocre things people are saying to her: "I wonder if people are having beautiful things said to them all the time, and I've just gone wrong somewhere." Greta!! When she meets a new girl who has eyes only for Greta, you'll melt along with her as beautiful things are indeed said to her.
This book is just so queer. Obviously both siblings are pursuing queer relationships, but even Greta's and Valdin's seemingly straight parents open up about their well, openness, in their marriage. Their mother's deep love for their father isn't compromised by her affection for another man, and everything is just truly okay.
The tone of the dual narration shared by Greta and Valdin is deeply millennial and thus reminiscent of Sally Rooney or Elif Batuman, but it is also just....nice. The book is deeply generous--its characters are flawed but they're trying and you're cheering them on even as you're unsure if they're making the best decisions. Even when one of them doesn't take the care another deserves, there is still kindness underlying all of their interactions. It's truly a delight to read!
Meanwhile back in Auckland, Greta is...wondering where Valdin is. He didn't return from Argentina as planned (Greta even made him a welcome home cake with the last of the money in her grad student salary bank account!), and he didn't bother to inform Greta where he was going or how long he would be gone. She is also struggling with a crush on a fellow TA who...is maybe just taking advantage of Greta for administrative help. Greta just wants to feel lovable and loved, and the people around her are not helping! In one of Greta's chapters, she reflects on all of the mediocre things people are saying to her: "I wonder if people are having beautiful things said to them all the time, and I've just gone wrong somewhere." Greta!! When she meets a new girl who has eyes only for Greta, you'll melt along with her as beautiful things are indeed said to her.
This book is just so queer. Obviously both siblings are pursuing queer relationships, but even Greta's and Valdin's seemingly straight parents open up about their well, openness, in their marriage. Their mother's deep love for their father isn't compromised by her affection for another man, and everything is just truly okay.
The tone of the dual narration shared by Greta and Valdin is deeply millennial and thus reminiscent of Sally Rooney or Elif Batuman, but it is also just....nice. The book is deeply generous--its characters are flawed but they're trying and you're cheering them on even as you're unsure if they're making the best decisions. Even when one of them doesn't take the care another deserves, there is still kindness underlying all of their interactions. It's truly a delight to read!