Greta and Valdin

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Reilly said: “It’s a very exciting opportunity for my book to gain a new readership outside my home country and not something I take lightly. I look forward to working with the team at Hutchinson Heinemann and seeing what happens next!” Writing cliques naturally develop around similar interests. Some graduates of MFA programmes like Vic’s IIML end up only publishing what amount to variations on a theme. Poetry larping Hera Lindsay Bird is abundant – the essayificationof the poem, the pop-cultural references, the autobiographical prose poems, the use of ellipses without meaning, the sparse layouts, etc. It is no exaggeration to say that Greta and Valdin is, at its core, a story about one of the most realistically depicted families many will find in literature. That isn’t to say every real family is like the Vladisavljevics, but the dynamics and relationships are written in a natural flowing manner that immediately welcomes the reader with open arms. Gallic read the book and loved it. Then my agent sold it to them. Beyond that I don’t know how it happened!

Rebecca K Reilly’s debut novel, Greta & Valdin, originally published in the author’s native New Zealand, is being brought to the UK by Hutchinson Heinemann. Siblings Greta and Valdin have, perhaps, too much in common. They're flatmates, beholden to the same near-unpronounceable surname, and both make questionable choices when it comes to love. Reilly makes modern romance exciting and compelling in a way that reminded me of Sally Rooney. . . . Greta and Valdin is an amusing and vivacious romantic drama led by two hilarious and engaging queer main characters, and I don't think you could ask for much more from a novel in 2021.'—Josie Shapiro, ReadClose Rebecca K. Reilly appears at WORD Christchurch 2022 in three sessions: Mana Wāhine: Influence and craft, Humans of New Zealand, and the Foundation Pop-up Festival. Rebecca K. Reilly (at right) appears with Chloe Lane (left) and Sue Orr (middle) in WORD event, Humans of New Zealand. (Image supplied) Further reading I laughed, I cried, I cheered with Greta and Valdin. This is a novel that tastes like life." —Margaux Vialleron, author of The Yellow Kitchen

Some would argue the novel requires a more adept suspension of disbelief—it’s somewhat utopian, so my critiques based in a material reality are moot—but Greta and Valdin’s world is unfortunately very real, I live in it, surrounded by bohemian layabouts, queer relatives working in media; the friends of mine who do have jobs don’t have ones I would describe as sensible or normal. Hysterical, smart, and gay. I loved these characters so much. Greta & Valdin is an engrossing and charming read peppered with humour and insight. I can’t wait to read more from Rebecca K Reilly." —Emily Austin, author of Everyone In This Room Will Someday Be Dead THIS BOOK IS INCREDIBLE! I can't remember the last time I read something that was so genuinely and uniquely funny. Thank YOU for sending this wonderful book my way. I look forward to talking about it with everyone I know!

And these are much more serious moral transgressions than disagreeing with a critic engaging in un-PC ad hominem – ie, last year’s case of Nicholas Reid’s poorly thought-out gripe with essa may ranapiri’s identity and use of they/them pronouns. Greta and Valdin follows the titular siblings, Greta and Valdin Vladisavljevic (yes I did misspell that many times even with the book open beside me) as they navigate social and personal issues which are all too relatable for the audience in a world deeply familiar to New Zealand readers. Meanwhile, Greta’s new girlfriend, Ell, feels guilty Greta invited her to meet her parents – she can’t reciprocate. Greta says she doesn’t want anything anymore. She’s reduced to a “beautiful husk filled with opinions about globalism and a strong desire to go out for dinner”.Yes, and no. Yes, because if a publisher gets excited about your book and can envision readers for it in their market then you feel like you must be doing something right. No, because if I need overseas validation to keep writing, I would question my reasons for writing. Having said that, I’m not a writer who would keep writing even if no one anywhere wanted to publish my work. I want readers, and I want to entertain my readers. If no one wanted to publish me anymore, I’d retrain as a DJ, and build an audience of middle-aged women who still want to dance it out to deep house beats. I believe that’s quite a large audience.

Most stories open with a clear beginning and close with a distinct ending which usually ties together as many narrative threads and plot points as the author chooses. Any events that took place before the events of the novel are related through varying states of exposition. Among the young audience is Eoin McGlynn, a Year 12 student at Wakatipu High School. Eoin loves reading and writing short fiction and poetry and is excited to be volunteering this weekend alongside his mum Kendall: "From the moment I heard about the Queenstown Writers Festival, I was filled with anticipation. An event with the sole purpose of creating a forum for local creatives to share their work and learn from others in the field is such a wonderful idea." Reilly makes modern romance exciting and compelling in a way that reminded me of Sally Rooney. . . . Greta and Valdinis an amusing and vivacious romantic drama led by two hilarious and engaging queer main characters, and I don't think you could ask for much more from a novel in 2021.'—Josie Shapiro, ReadClose It's okay, Greta. Someone further on in the book will say some rather lovely things to you. Just hang in there!

It's all rather messy. The original title of the novel was Vines (it was under this title that author Rebecca K. Reilly (Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Wai) won the 2019 Adam Foundation Prize in Creative Writing). I can see why - the lives of the central characters and their families and lovers become fairly well tangled by the end of things, twining about each other in a well-watered but unpruned kind of way. I blink, trying to remember why I might need to say something. 'Um, no, I don't think there was anything else?' Regardless, it doesn’t matter what identity grouping is boss because Perez’s gripe is really with literary output. He wrote, “Everything reads and sounds the same [. . .] You’ll never read a story about a pro-lifer or someone unvaccinated.” These topics aren’t the most marketable; a white man can see that too. It’s a shame this cultural trend prevents writers exploring broader topics but Perez is misplacing the blame. Neither Ellen or Perez are the first to complain of this homogeneity. Sit down, actually write and more importantly stop letting your anger overshadow the work; as Meghan Daum has argued, it’s not even “the marketplace that’s ruining literature. It’s the literary citizens themselves.” Heartbreaking, hilarious and completely beautiful; an unforgettable novel. Northern Hemisphere, you’re not ready for this!” —Nina Mingya Powles, author of Luminscent Greta & Valdin is hilarious, touching and hotly sublime. The kind of novel that simultaneously makes me wish I were funnier and absolves me from the need to try—I’ll never be as funny as Rebecca K Reilly (and that’s OK).” —Julia Armfield, author of Our Wives Under the Sea

The publisher says: “Reilly’s exploration of love, family, queerness, migration, karaoke, the generational reverberations of colonialism and the disturbing realisation that your parents have a past will have readers falling in love with Greta, Valdin, and all of the Vladisavljevics.” Sorry, I just have to fill this up," I say, standing up with my bottle, and everyone nods because it is an acceptable thing to want. It's transparent.The Vladisavljevic family can never remember “white people names,” Greta observing,“I know I can remember Sina, Min, Ashford and J-soek, but there’s no way I’m going to remember Kieran,” while her friend Elliot gets called “Greg” for a whole day. Racism, sexism and homophobia are all examined here in ways that make you think, sometimes cringe but mostly laugh, due to Reilly’s dry, acerbic tone which manages to also be warm and generous.