Novella Review: Ferragost by Melina Marchetta (Salute Your Shorts, #1)

Salute Your Shorts is a weekly (ish) feature hosted by Heidi at Bunbury in the Stacks. It highlights and reviews short stories and novellas, both of which don't receive too much attention in the blogosphere. 

Salute Your Shorts is a feature I've enjoyed at Heidi's blog for a long time now and I figured with the new year - and a new-found love of short stories and novellas - I might as well join in! :)

Title: Ferragost (Lumatere Chronicles, #2.5)

Author: Melina Marchetta

Rating: 4 Stars

We Melina Marchetta fans, we need to start a petition, because I need a WHOLE book on Celie, and especially on her romance with Banyon. Seriously, one little short story just isn't enough! First of all, I have to admit that I didn't have very high hopes for Ferragost, simply because Marchetta's strength lies in her slow build-up and development of ideas, of extending them along the plot lines of her novels and creating something beautiful from them; something breathtaking. I wasn't sure if she could repeat that with a short story, but, as usual, Marchetta always exceeds my expectations.

Ferragost is a short murder mystery, taking place with Lady Celie spying for Lumatere in Belegonia. Needless to say, I loved it. Marchetta thrives off of intelligent conversation and this is so palpably felt in this novella more than ever. Celie, a heroine we rarely see or know much of, is given a distinct voice, purpose, and being, just as strong and sharp as that of Isaboe, Phaedra, or Quintana. Not only did she surprise me by being a protagonist I instantly liked, but she's witty and an extremely clever spy as well. Plus, admit it, who doesn't want a Melina Marchetta novel about a female spy? ;)

If all that weren't enough to recommend this, the mystery unfolds fantastically and the ultimate themes are all typically Marchetta, even with this. Furthermore, our romantic interest, Castellan Banyon is an enigmatic protector and obviously a sworn opposite of Celie as she is a spy. Yet, the sexual tension between them is electric and more than anything else, this left me wanting more of them and more of Celie. You see, despite Celie's obvious admiration for Isaboe and her yearning to be more like her, she's distinctly unique, possessing the best qualities Isaboe has, but only without the sharp edge that sometimes makes me dislike her. Celie is far more soft and also has less burdens on her mind, making her a more light-hearted character and someone I found compelling, despite the few pages through which I knew her.

Ferragost is, I'm sad to say, my last Marchetta novel...until she writes another one, at least. I put it off because I couldn't bear to say good-bye to her stories, but this has given me hope that she will revisit Lumatere someday. If not, I'll have to travel to Australia and hunt her down myself because I need a Celie love story just like I so desperately need a Jimmy Hailler book.

It goes without saying that Ferragost is a must-read, whether you're a fan of Melina Marchetta or not (how can anyone NOT be a fan of Melina Marchetta??) you won't regret reading this one.