“Marchetta Fever,” it would say.
“Symptoms include: pain, aching or burning in the chest region indicating a broken heart.
Uncontrollable weeping, both happy and sad, may occur frequently. More serious cases run the risk of having their mind blown.
This condition has no known cure.”
That’s me. That’s me with every single one of these books.
I went into my local bookstore to order me some Marchetta this year. Let me explain the community I live in. The largest shopping center has, I kid you not, FIVE lingerie stores. Stores entirely devoted to selling ladies underwear and such accessories. It has one tiny bookstore. A bookstore that is going out of business. A bookstore that had no fewer than ten copies of A Shore Thing and Confessions of a Guidette. Did they have any Marchetta or Laini Taylor? No. One paperback copy of Froi of the Exiles was tucked away somewhere. This is a travesty. This should be considered a Federal Crime. The Unicorn Squad needs to get on that shit and put someone away in the Candy Cane House of Pain for violating awesomeness.
Marchetta’s books are more than just readable, well-written, well-characterized novels of great spirit and imagination. There is a beauty to them, a magic to them which wafts through every sentence of every page. It’s not just finely crafted writing, though it is that too. It’s a living, beating heart and beautiful but broken soul.
Does it matter that this book was 600 pages long? Not to me. Not when every page was breath-takingly spectacular. The themes are almost always the same. Loss, pain, healing, family, loyalty. I love the complication and depth of her characterization.
Whatever it is that Marchetta does, it speaks to me. It touches me in parts of my heart that I had locked away and worked hard to forget. Sometimes it hurts but she always, always remembers to patch me up again when she’s finished.
So, if you’re feeling a little lacklustre about your reading selection, why don’t you try getting yourself a case of Marchetta fever? It just might be what cures you.
Linna
Oh my gosh, Melina Marchetta. Her books have destroyed me and I can`t even put how I feel after reading one of them into words because they are so good it actually causes physical pain (Marchetta Fever applies. SO. MUCH.)(Found one of your reviews randomly on Goodreads and now I`ve been reading your archives for an hour. I feel like I need to leave a comment somewhere, just to let you know how much I`ve enjoyed reading (coughstalkingcough) your reviews! :P)