Highlight on: Greta and Valdin
Everyone raves about Greta & Valdin. Read on to see if we think it’s worth all the hype.
Olivia says: As a bookseller, one of the hardest requests I get from a customer is when they ask for something funny, uplifting, and well-written because let’s be honest – there’s not a lot out there! Until now. Greta & Valdin is laugh-out-loud funny to the point where I wanted to turn to the nearest person and say ‘listen to this’. I could relate because - insert fist-pump here - the story is riddled with 100% self-deprecating kiwi humour (living in Auckland where the book is set means the jokes are even more relatable). Greta & Valdin is also uplifting. I often wished I could be hanging out on a sunny afternoon enjoying a cold lager with the cast of characters because they’re so quirky and honest and refreshing, and well, funny. But what really makes this novel sing is the writing. It’s insightful, there’s not a weak metaphor in sight, and it’s clever because while the author touches on some heavy issues, rather than being forced upon us, they’re dealt with carefully with deft and precision. Did I mention Greta & Valdin is also very funny?
Brea writes: Via alternating chapters between the brother and sister, we can relive our 20's - falling in love, being heartbroken and generally just questioning your existence. It's not heavy - it's funny and relatable. Like a Sally Rooney novel but it has quotation marks!!
Rachel’s thoughts: This isn’t something I would normally pick up; I don’t tend to read contemporary love stories or stories about family drama and relationships. I read a lot of crime, psychological thrillers, and YA fantasy so this was outside my comfort zone. And for the second time this year (the first being after I read Olivia’s book A Way Back to Happy) I find myself asking why I don’t read books like this more often. This was refreshing and funny, it had me laughing and dog-earring pages to save quotes I wanted to share with friends and family from the very beginning. I loved the Auckland setting as I could picture the streets they were walking so well and felt like I was closer to the characters and their experiences because of that. I did find that the end was tied up a bit too nicely in a bow but that’s what I imagine this “rom-com” genre to be all about - happy endings.
What did our bookclub think?
Everyone agreed it was laugh-out-loud funny. You can open to any page and find something hilariously relatable. A lot of our meeting was spent sharing the quotes that made us laugh. Living in NZ, we're surrounded by all these bestselling novels generally set in the US or the UK. Greta & Valdin made us feel like how we imagine people in New York or London feel when they're reading about characters gallivanting around their cities. Rebecca has an amazing eye for detail and her depictions of Auckland and even Wellington were absolutely spot on. We discussed how the book brings attention to a wide range of issues through it's comedy and agreed that she made it funny while still making her point. It’s not in-your-face or preachy, all the characters were relatable and multifaceted, and while we didn't all agree with the choices that the characters made, we felt they were their authentic selves.
Overall a very successful bookclub book - fun discussions and no one hated it (which is unusually rare for our club, lemme tell you). We chose the book before it was shortlisted for the 2022 Ockham NZ Fiction Awards - that was just a happy coincidence!
