By Rebecca K Reilly
Paperback £9.99
This is a quirky, funny, easy-to-read novel about millennial siblings Greta and Valdin, living together in Auckland. Greta is a master’s student in comparative literature who is secretly in love with fellow tutor Holly. Valdin is a former astrophysicist who, after a breakdown, lost his boyfriend and became a travel tv show presenter. They are surrounded by a cast of dramatic Russian, Catalan and Maori relatives with no-less-dramatic backstories.
It is a lovely book about the oddness of human interactions, the gap between what we mean and what we end up saying, and about trying to love people as best you can and in the way they need to be loved. It deals with topics like parenthood, racism, and mental health, but it remains light throughout as you follow the shenanigans the siblings get into.
It had me laughing in public and by the end, I felt like part of the family. A joy!