The novel alternates chapters between the titular characters, the siblings Greta and Valdin Vladisavljevic. We follow them trying to find love and fulfilling work and understand more about their close-knit family. Both siblings speak with a tone that is sarcastic and deadpan in their wit, but they also have incredibly soft, vulnerable hearts. Greta describes herself on her dating app as ‘Depressed and frigid’. Valdin goes to a post office to pick up a parcel and the cashier looking at you ‘like this is the dumbest fucking thing anyone’s ever said to her’. Valdin tells us ‘I loved him in a way I’ve never been able to love another person. When I was with him, it felt like nothing else mattered and I would be fine forever. That sounds stupid but it’s how I felt’. Greta looks at the woman she loves, thinking ‘I wonder if she remembers the time we lay on the floor of the PhD common room, after everyone else had gone home, listening to the same song over and over again’. It’s vibes based, we’re more interested in the voice than the plot – we’re just interested in seeing the world through their eyes.
A BROTHER. A SISTER. A LOT OF EMOTION IN ONE APARTMENT.
This is the story of Greta and Valdin: twenty-something brother and sister with a near-unpronounceable surname, a sprawling Maori-Russian-Catalonian family and questionable taste in partners.
While Valdin can't seem to get over his ex-boyfriend who fled the country, Greta has an unrequited crush on fellow English tutor Holly, who uses her for admin support. But all hope is not lost for these lovelorn siblings. Through the misadventures and mess of modern adulthood, at least they still have each other - unless drama gets in the way.
From bad dates to family feuds and embarrassing karaoke nights, this acclaimed bestseller from New Zealand is a fresh, heartwarming and hilarious story about the trials and tribulations of love in its many forms.
***SHORTLISTED FOR THE WATERSTONES DEBUT FICTION PRIZE 2024***
THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER
'Delightfully confident . . . a total pleasure' TIMES
'Warm, witty and utterly idiosyncratic' ALICE SLATER
'Hilarious, touching and hotly sublime' JULIA ARMFIELD
'Lovable and joyful' NEW YORK TIMES
Author
About Rebecca K. Reilly
Rebecca K Reilly (Ngaati Hine, Ngaati Rehua Ngaatiwai ki Aotea) 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.
