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Greta & Valdin

A Novel

by Rebecca K Reilly

Length 9 hours 28 minutes

Language English

Narrators Natalie Beran, Jackson Bliss, Eilidh Beaton, Nico Evers-Swindell & Gary Furlong

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Bookseller recommendation

“Hilarious and so full of love. Right from the start I fell for these characters, and felt like I'd known them my whole life--but as the story unfolded, I realized there was so much more to learn. That's what this book is about--realizing that you can love people with your whole heart, and still be surprised by them. I love this family, and this is a book I'll reread over and over. The narrators add so much to this story, and those ACCENTS! 😍”
— Frederick • Oblong Books

Bookseller recommendation

“A hilarious, tender book about siblings navigating life’s complexities. Valdin, recovering from a breakup, confronts his feelings when sent to Buenos Aires for work, where his ex resides. Meanwhile, Greta juggles unrequited love, academic struggles, and family drama. Set within a quirky, vibrant multiracial family, the novel blends humor and emotional depth as both siblings search for love and identity.”
— Erica • Author's Note

Bookseller recommendation

“Quite possibly my favorite book of the year. The audio narration is perfectly executed, which is no easy feat given the surprising breadth of accents this globally entangled Auckland-based family draws into their hearts. The narrators voice with wry deprecation and warm embodied confusion the unforgettable titular queer millenial siblings at the heart of this hilarious and deeply moving novel of family and love. Reilly's relatable protagonists' chronic anxiety is delivered with humor and insight that comes from such a smart and specific character-based perspective. Reilly is a genius of wielding specific detail to dramatic, insightful, and often deeply funny effect. This will join the few books I re-listen to, because the characters feel so real and their journeys are so human and full of wildly off-kilter, deeply relatable choices, without the weight of the tragedy that so often accompanies literary fiction about brown queer people. I love this book and I'll need it forever. ”
— Gretchen • A Room Of One's Own Bookstore

Bookseller recommendation

“I’m giggling at the funny, snappy dialogue in this fantastic contemporary story about two 20-something siblings and their cheerful, messy family full of drama. A story brimming with life and love, queerness and multi-cultural identity, we follow their struggles and insecurities in early adulthood. I loved this engaging novel. ”
— Anne • Newtonville Books

Bookseller recommendation

“Greta & Valdin is a wonderfully fresh, funny, diasporic queer family drama! Centered around a Maori-Russian sibling duo living in Aukland and their extended family and lovers, this book is filled with love, laughter, millenial meandering, and insightful depictions of anxiety and migration. The audio is so well done, especially considering the range of accents. ”
— Kat • Country Bookshelf

Summary
About the author

A TIME MUST-READ BOOK OF THE YEAR • A NEW YORK TIMES EDITORS’ CHOICE • AN NPR BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR • A KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR

“A heartfelt portrait of a complex family.” —People • “Laugh-out-loud-funny.” —Harper’s Bazaar • “Quintessential rom-com meets the delicious family sprawl of a Russian classic.” —Vanity Fair

The “brilliant” (Daily Mail, London) bestseller that follows a brother and sister as they navigate queerness, multiracial identity, and family drama, all while flailing their way to love—for fans of Schitt’s Creek and Sally Rooney’s Normal People.

It’s been a year since his ex-boyfriend dumped him and moved from Auckland to Buenos Aires, and Valdin is doing fine. He has a good flat with his sister Greta, a good career where his colleagues only occasionally remind him that he is the sole Maaori person in the office, and a good friend who he only sleeps with when he’s sad. But when work sends him to Argentina and he’s thrown back in his former lover’s orbit, Valdin is forced to confront the feelings he’s been trying to ignore—and the future he wants.

Greta is not letting her painfully unrequited crush (or her possibly pointless master’s thesis, or her pathetic academic salary...) get her down. She would love to focus on the charming fellow grad student she meets at a party and her friendships with a circle of similarly floundering twenty-somethings, but her chaotic family life won’t stop intruding: her mother is keeping secrets, her nephew is having a gay crisis, and her brother has suddenly flown to South America without a word.

Filled with “kernels of humor and truth” (Elle) and with an undeniable emotional momentum that builds to an exuberant conclusion, Greta & Valdin careens us through the siblings’ misadventures and the messy dramas of their sprawling, eccentric Maaori-Russian-Catalonian family. An acclaimed bestseller in New Zealand, Greta & Valdin is fresh, joyful, and alive with the possibility of love in its many mystifying forms.

Fiction LGBTQIA+ Fiction Fiction - Literary

Rebecca K Reilly (Ngaati Hine, Ngaati Rehua Ngaatiwai ki Aotea), born 1991, is a Maaori novelist from Waitaakere, New Zealand. She has a BA (hons) in German and European studies from the University of Auckland and an MA from the International Institute of Modern Letters at Victoria University of Wellington, where she won the Adam Foundation Prize in Creative Writing for 2019.