Melina Marchetta Quotes

In a kinder world," he whispered, "one I promise you I've seen, men and women flirt and dance and love with only the fear of what it would mean without the other in their lives. ~ Melina Marchetta

That she would never see the moments in my life that were full of neglect and fear and revulsion, moments I can never go back to because I know they will slow me down for the rest lf my life if I let myself remember them for one moment ~ Melina Marchetta

Sentimental, Arjuro? You of all people."
"Me of all people can be as sentimental as he pleases. ~ Melina Marchetta

Why question what Froi of Lumatere was doing here?' he asked.' When you should be questioning what would have happened to Charyn if he hadn't been here. Who else would have saved Gargarin of Abroi from the street lords? ... 'Who would have saved Quintana of Charyn from hanging? Who would have rescued her from Tariq of Lascow's compound? Who would have sent her to a safe place to birth the cursebreaker? Blah, blah, blah. I'm bored now,' Finnikin said, looking around. ~ Melina Marchetta

Because being part of him isn't just anything. It's kind of everything. ~ Melina Marchetta

It's shit punk.[..] That doesn't mean I think punk is shit [...] it means that when someone plays unk ina shit-like manner, it's excruciating. So either find yourself yourself a good punk band or move on, Tom. Because it kills me to say this, but you're actually a tiny bit gifted. ~ Melina Marchetta

Anabel shrugs. "Then take an earlier flight today so you get to see her at the airport, stupid."
Tom shakes his head. "I came to see both of you. To spend time with my womenfolk because I miss you like hell."
They're both smiling and he knows he has said and done the right thing and that's enough for him. Anabel reaches over and hugs him. "You're the best brother in the world, Tom."
When she pulls away from the hug, she slaps him on the cheek. "Are you over it now?" she snaps. "Let's go!" she says, grabbing their mother's keys out of her hands. "I'm sick and tired of you people living interstate and overseas from people you want to be with. You're ruining my life! All of you! ~ Melina Marchetta

Never,' he tells me in a tone full of ice, 'underestimate who or what I care for. ~ Melina Marchetta

One of Sir Topher's rules was to never indulge in sentimentality, never return for what was left behind. ~ Melina Marchetta

How is it that she spoke to you of such things?" Quintana asked.
"Oh, you know. She opened her mouth and words came out. ~ Melina Marchetta

I've wept enough in my life. I have no tears left. ~ Melina Marchetta

You do that all the time you know. you ask me questions when you know the answer will piss you off. ask me a question where the answer could be yes? ask me if you're worth the hard work? ask me if in the last seven years of my life i've woken up in a cold sweat knowing i lost the most important person in my life apart from this kid i'm holding? ask me if getting you pregnat has felt like the best thing that's happened to me since my son was born? ~ Melina Marchetta

It was that he knew that voice, had dreamed it over and over again in a lifetime of rot and misery, and Froi wanted to weep. For he knew he would break his bond to his queen not just with his body but also with his heart. ~ Melina Marchetta

Nothing worse than a weak man with ambition, who gains power because those before him died rather than because his ideals were grand. ~ Melina Marchetta

We were playing Rock, Paper, Scissors," she told him once. "I was paper and she was rock so I lived and she died. ~ Melina Marchetta

These people have history and I crave history. I crave someone knowing me so well that they can tell what I'm thinking. Jonah Griggs takes my hand under the table and links my fingers with his and I know that I would sacrifice almost anything just to keep this state of mind, for the rest of the week at least. ~ Melina Marchetta

Because people aren't interested in the truth, Dafar. They're interested in what keeps them safe. They're interested in being looked after. They're interested in a tale being spun. ~ Melina Marchetta

Is a person worth more because they have someone to grieve for them? ~ Melina Marchetta

He's gods' blessed. He can do more than one thing at once. Be an idiot and be responsible. He has these multiple skills."
"Much like women, but they're not called gods' blessed. They're just called women. ~ Melina Marchetta

I think that we vote, not to get the best party in, but to keep the worst party out. ~ Melina Marchetta

They drive back home to grab his backpack and as he bends and kisses his grandma Agnes, she scrunches a one-hundred-dollar bill in his hand. "Buy yourself some chocolates, Tom."
It's what she'd say to him as a kid with a twenty cent coin. ~ Melina Marchetta

Are you a slave?" she asked harshly. "In Serker, only slaves are etched."
"With the names of the men that own them," he said, his eyes meeting her. It sickened him to think of Lirah being owned by anyone.
"I am a Serker, Lirah," he said softly. "My body is etched with the names of the three women that own me. My queen. My mother. My woman. ~ Melina Marchetta

Phaedra shook her head. If your people mean no offense, they should not speak their thoughts out loud in front of their children, Tesadora. Because it will be their children who come to slaughter us one day, all because of careless words passed down by their elders who meant no harm. ~ Melina Marchetta

I think I'm a bit in love with these girls. They make me feel giddy. Like I haven't a care in the world. Like I'm fearless.
Like I used to be. ~ Melina Marchetta

We're so different. You're an intellectual. I'm an idiot."
"Don't say that," I yelled. "You're not an idiot, you stupid idiot. ~ Melina Marchetta

When I turn around, he cups my face in his hands and he kisses me so deeply that I don't know who is breathing for who, but his mouth and tongue taste like warm honey. I don't know how long it lasts, but when I let go of him, I miss it already. ~ Melina Marchetta

You can know someone all your life, like your parents or family, but I'll tell you this, Ned. There's an expression on their face, or a tone in their voice, or a way they walk, that you've never ever seen before.
Like they've kept it hidden. Until their brother dies. Or their son. I remember those days and they were like these strangers and I wanted to say, Who are you people? ~ Melina Marchetta

She knows that feeling too. Of believing that each time someone says her name, it's to tell her that something bad has happened. ~ Melina Marchetta

And through all the misery, she said that some of us in this lifetime experience a moment of beauty beyond reckoning. I asked her what that was, and she said, If you're one of the lucky ones, you'll know it when you see it. You'll understand why the gods have made you suffer. Because that moment's reward will make your knees weak and everything you've suffered in life will pale in comparison. ~ Melina Marchetta

The pages aren't numbered, so I don't know whether I have the beginning or end or whether it's in sequence but these days I'm not really looking for continuity. All I'm after is something that makes sense to me. ~ Melina Marchetta

Sit back and get some sleep. Oh great. So if we have an accident and I'm asleep my resistance toward fighting death will be down and I'll wake up in a morgue. ~ Melina Marchetta

He watched as Finnikin swung onto the horse, his sleeve stained with blood. Froi liked the way Finnikin reached behind him and took Evanjalin's hand, placing it around his waist. It made everything seem normal because Finnikin always wanted to touch her. ~ Melina Marchetta

It's obvious which one you are,' Jimmy Hailler tells me as we walk through Hyde Park. 'If it's so obvious why can't I see it.' 'Because you live in your own world and can't see anything.' 'Then which one am I?' 'You're all four. You're constantly bitching things under your breath, you come across bloody stupid because you don't speak, on a particular angle in that uniform on an overcast day with your hair up, you've got that stocky butch thing happening, plus you're pashing other girl's boyfriends which makes you a slut. ~ Melina Marchetta

Have you ever seen The Last of the Mohicans?"
"I love it."
"Really?" I'm over the moon. We share a movie. Finally, we're on the same planet.
"Don't you love the part where he says, 'Stay alive. I will find you'?" I ask.
"I love that massacre scene," he says, like an excited little boy, "where they're walking down that path in the middle of nowhere and they're surrounded by the woods and you know the Indians are going to attack and it's so tense."
Things that make you go hmmm. ~ Melina Marchetta

Strange things happen when we stand face to face with our enemy, don't they, Phaedra of Alonso? ~ Melina Marchetta

So apart from writing letters home to your fantasy girlfriends,"Ben says, walking backwards, "what do you guys do out here without television and phones?"
"Men's business. Bit confidential," Griggs says patronisingly.
"Wow, wish I were you," Ben says, shaking his head with mock regret. "All I'll be doing tonight is hanging out in Taylor's bedroom, lying on her bed, sharing my earphones with her, hoping she won't hog all the room because it's such a tiny space. ~ Melina Marchetta

How would you like it if I said to you, 'It kills me to say this, but you're actually a tiny bit beautiful?" he had asked, pissed off.
She hadn't said anything then, which was rare for her.
"Would you have been lying?" She said after a long silence.
"Lying about what?"
More quiet.
"About me being a tiny bit beautiful."
"Shit, yeah."
-
But later that night, he had sent her a message on MSN.
Of course I was lying. The "tiny" bit part, anyway. ~ Melina Marchetta

Well, I'm not sure what suspicious looks like. Sometimes when you come down the mountain and stand behind those trees, you look suspicious. ~ Melina Marchetta

I ran away one day. He was running in the same direction. ~ Melina Marchetta

If we forget who we lost, then we forget who we once were, and if we forget who we once were, we lose sight of who we are now. ~ Melina Marchetta

There's not much you need to know about the world. Except how to use a sword and trust very few. ~ Melina Marchetta

He bursts out laughing. It's short, as if he regretted allowing me to make him laugh, but the satisfaction's already mine. ~ Melina Marchetta

The grief hits her hard one day. the way it can't be controlled. The way that yesterday can be good and so can the day before, and so can the week and fortnight before that, but then today comes and she's back to zero. How she can't type words into her computer or even press the in-box for her mail. The effort it takes to walk. How words can't form in her mouth and how her blood feels paralyzed. ~ Melina Marchetta

I've been in that void,' she told me once. 'Don't you ever give in to it ~ Melina Marchetta

She was the most beautiful woman in the world. If she was alive I'd probably be a better person. ~ Melina Marchetta

You were never able to break her. She is the stone of this kingdom. ~ Melina Marchetta

And being that happy makes me feel guilty. Because I shouldn't be. Not while my mum is feeling the way she is. How I can dare to be happy is beyond me, and I hate my guts for it. ~ Melina Marchetta

What are you doing?" she asked, trying to raise herself.
"First, I thought I'd show you what a pity it would be if they cut off my wicked tongue. ~ Melina Marchetta

And when Finnikin grabbed her to him and buried his face in her neck and then bent down and placed his mouth on hers, the others pretended that there was something very interesting happening in the meadow. The priest-king even pointed at the nothing they were pretending to see. But Froi didn't. He just watched the way Finnikin's hands rested on Evanjalin's neck and he rubbed his thumb along her jaw and the way his tongue seemed to disappear inside her mouth as if he needed a part of her to breathe himself. And Froi wondered what Evanjalin was saying against Finnikin's lips when they stopped because whatever the words were it made them start all over again and this time their hunger for each other was so frightening to watch that it made Froi look away. ~ Melina Marchetta

Lucian's father had warned him to fear idle men. Without the pride gained from a good day's work, they were left to their vices and the doubts that crowded their head. Their hatred. Their envy. ~ Melina Marchetta

I trace his face with my fingers, 'Let me see. A guy tells me that he would have thrown himself in front of a train if it wasn't for me and then drives seven hours straight, without whingeing once, on a wild-goose chase in search of my mother with absolutely no clue where to start. He is, in all probability, going to get court-martialled because of me, has put up with my moodiness all day long, and knows exactly what to order me for breakfast. It doesn't get any more romantic than that, Jonah. ~ Melina Marchetta

It's Tolstoy, by the way," I say as I open the door.
He turns around. "What?"
Shut up, I tell myself. Shut up.
"The writer of Anna Karenina. Not Trotsky. Trotsky was a revolutionary who was stabbed with a
pickax in Mexico in 1940. But I can understand how the T thing could confuse you. ~ Melina Marchetta

Don't let them take away our little king, Froi. Not the Avanosh people or Bestiano. I'm begging you, Froi." That she had to speak the words broke something inside of him. "I will protect you," he whispered. "I will never let anything happen to you or our child. ~ Melina Marchetta

He's never asked about her depression in the past, just knew it was there like a big black blob over her head. In Year Eleven they thought it was a one-off because her mother had been sick, but he had seen it once or twice again. Francesca knew the signs and he could tell she fought it with everything she had inside of her. ~ Melina Marchetta

I've had it with this waiting business. I can cope with another woman, but I can't cope with being ignored when there's nothing in his way. ~ Melina Marchetta

I met this boy here who I knew as a kid and his mum left him with a pedophile for two weeks when he was eight years old and I'm presuming you know everything there is to know about Jonah's father, and that my father is dead, and my mother hasn't been around for years, and God knows Jessa's real story. So what I'm saying here, Sergeant, is that we're just a tad low on the reliable adult quota so you have no right to be all self-righteous about what Chaz did and if you're going to go around not talking to him when his only crime was wanting me to have what he has, then I think you're going to turn out to be a bit of a dud and you know something? I'm just a bit over life's little disappointments right now. Do you understand what I'm saying? ~ Melina Marchetta

Mama says that satisfaction isn't what I should search for. Respect is. Respect?
I detest that word. Probably because in this world you have to respect the wrong people for the wrong reasons. ~ Melina Marchetta

It's against the rules of humanity to believe there is nothing we can do. ~ Melina Marchetta

Then he holds her and for a moment I hear total silence; that totally silent part of a cry that announces that the most horrible grief is going to follow. And it does, and he's muffling it, but I can hear and I want someone to come over and jab her with a sedative because its pitch pierces my soul. ~ Melina Marchetta

She asked me what type of contraceptive I use.
Underwear. Keeping it on prevents pregnancy. ~ Melina Marchetta

So why would I want someone to be my everything when one day they might not be around? ~ Melina Marchetta

I can't believe I said it out loud. The truth doesn't set you free, you know. It makes you feel awkward and embarrassed and defenseless and red in the face and horrified and petrified and vulnerable. But free? I don't feel free. I feel like shit. ~ Melina Marchetta

I look over to the other side of the road and watch Griggs as he walks. It's a lazy walk but so full of confidence that you want to be standing behind him all the way. ~ Melina Marchetta

Left alone with the dial tone ... excuse me, operator, why is no one listening? ~ Melina Marchetta

People hate change and, more than anything, they hate those who try to change things. ~ Melina Marchetta

Don't let me die. Not now, he begged.
Why? she demanded to know.
Because I deserve to live.
A hand suddenly gripped his wrist.
He wondered if the hold came from the realms of the gods. But he didn't care. All he knew was what the Goddess was whispering to him, He'll never let you go. How could you have ever doubted him? ~ Melina Marchetta

I'm thinking that after last night you shouldn't have to spend your morning in a hospital finding out if my mother has tried to OD."
"And I'm thinking that after last night I want to be anywhere you are and if that means being in a hospital asking about your mother, then so be it. ~ Melina Marchetta

She's a dead loss. Has no idea what she wants to do with her life. She's so insipid, she's almost invisible. ~ Melina Marchetta

The girls would always tell me not to take things personally, but I never believed there was any other way of taking it. ~ Melina Marchetta

It's Thursday afternoon, and we have sports. These are the choices for the girls: watching an invitational cricket game; studying in one of the classrooms; or watching the senior rugby league. As you can imagine, I'm torn. ~ Melina Marchetta

Froi saw the foolishness of dreamers, and he decided he'd like to die so foolish. With a dream in his heart about the possibilities, rather than a chain of hopelessness. ~ Melina Marchetta

Brothers always. Balthazar is with us too. We make this work,' Finnikin said fiercely. 'We bring peace to these kingdoms. We deserve it. Our women do. All of us have lost too much, Froi. We've lost the joy of being children. Let's not take that from Jasmina and Tariq and those who come after them ~ Melina Marchetta

Oh God, Frankie, I breathe in rhythm with that man. You think that's not my flesh and blood after all these years? ~ Melina Marchetta

A kiss is the prize?' he asked sadly. 'Even more than giving me the rest of you? It should be the other way round, Princess. In the real world, it's called courting. You let a lad kiss you and then you offer him more.'

'Let me tell you something, Olivier,' she said with tears of sorrow in her eyes, 'this is my real world. ~ Melina Marchetta

This hand says you spend the rest of your life with me," he said, holding out his left hand, "and this one says I spend the rest of my life with you. Choose."
She bit her lip, tears welling in her eyes. She took both of his hands in hers and he shuddered. "I will die protecting you," he says.
There was a look of dismay on her face. "Just like a man of this kingdom, Finnikin. Talking of death, yours or mine, is not a good way to begin a-"
Isaboe gave a small gasp when he leaned forward, his lips an inch away from hers. "I will die for you," he whispered.
She cupped his face in her hands. "But promise me you'll live for me first, my love. Because nothing we are about to do is going to be easy and I need you by my side. ~ Melina Marchetta

I think you'll just have to wait for that Loser of the Month tiara a little while longer while I wear it, with pride, around my neighborhood. ~ Melina Marchetta

My mother, unlike yours, never exchanged sexual favors for a piece of silver," he said, addressing the first insult by banging the boy's head against the trunk of the tree. "And," he said with another resounding thump, "although I'm very familiar with that part of the female body, I take offense at being labeled one. ~ Melina Marchetta

Girls under the age of fourteen are the most frightening creatures I have ever come across. ~ Melina Marchetta

People with lost personalities will suffer a great deal more than those with lost virginities. ~ Melina Marchetta

It's like geographical humor. You just don't get it unless you were there. ~ Melina Marchetta

The chorus of disapproval is like one of those formula songs that seem to hit number one all the time. You know the tune in a moment and it begins to bore you in two. ~ Melina Marchetta

Sir Topher finally looked up. "Because any hope beyond that, my boy, would be too much. I feared we would drown in it."
"Then I choose to drown," Finnikin said. "In hope. Rather than float into nothing. ~ Melina Marchetta

The music department is going to do a musical next year," he tells me, rolling his eyes like I would.
Justine is running toward me, and I can tell by the look on her face that she's found out about the musical, too.
I sigh, shaking my head. "I have to give Justine a lesson in holding back," I tell him. "She's just way too enthusiastic".
She grabs my arms in excitement. "We're doing Les Mis."
I scream hysterically, clutching her as we jump up and down. ~ Melina Marchetta

That someone can want something out of another person who gives absolutely nothing in return astounds me. ~ Melina Marchetta

Tom made her watch all three movies one afternoon," Justine says. "I wonder if Tara's ever forgiven you."
The phone beeps again and she reads, "I want those ten hours of my life back. ~ Melina Marchetta

But in ten years, no one had ever asked what he was thinking. And he knew that the novice Evanjalin was asking for more than just his thoughts. She wanted the part of him he fought to keep hidden. The part that held his foolish hopes and aching memories. ~ Melina Marchetta

In the end, the sum of my vices is all me. ~ Melina Marchetta

This is war," he say quietly.
"Well thank God you're dressed for it, Griggs. ~ Melina Marchetta

Do you love me?' he asked instead. 'Because if you don't, I'd wait until you did. I'd wait weeks and months and years. ~ Melina Marchetta

I look at him.
"It's odious," he says.
"Detention?" I ask, confused.
"Huh?"
We have no idea what the other is talking about.
"What's odious?" I ask.
"O.D.S," he says, pointing to his discman and obviously referring to some dropkick band.
Like I really care. ~ Melina Marchetta

Tell me about the farm," she pleaded as drops of blood began to appear on her hand.
"The farm?"
"The farm that Finnikin the peasant would have lived on with his bride."
"Evanjalin. That was her name. Did I mention that?"
She laughed through a sob. "No, you didn't."
"They would plant rows upon rows of wheat and barley, and each night they would sit under the stars to admire what they owned. Oh, and they would argue. She believes the money made would be better spent on a horse, and he believes they need a new barn. But then later they would forget all their anger and he would hold her fiercely and never let her go."
"And he'd place marigolds in her hair?" she asked.
He clasped her hands against his and watched her blood seep through the lines of his skin. "And he would love her until the day he died," he said. ~ Melina Marchetta

Don't believe in God. Love the world just the way it is. ~ Melina Marchetta

See them together and you will feel a force that will take your breath away. ~ Melina Marchetta

And it hurts to be feeling this much ~ Melina Marchetta

She's tired and leans her head on his shoulder, which is the resting place for all their heads, but when Justine and Siobhan and Francesca use his body so shamelessly he doesn't feel the need to turn his head and press his mouth against their hair. ~ Melina Marchetta

Mercy', Finnikin said, grinning from ear to ear. 'We're going to have a bed full of children and I'll have to holler out to my wife, Hello there! It's been a long time since we last spoke! ~ Melina Marchetta

For a moment I can't help thinking how decent he is - that there's some hope for him beyond the obnoxious image he displays. Maybe deep down he is a sensitive guy, who sees us as real people with real issues. I want to say something nice. Some kind of thanks. I stand there, rehearsing it in my mind.
"Oh my God," he says, "did you see that girl's tits?"
Maybe not today. ~ Melina Marchetta

I see the look on her face that says nothing can happen to her if she's holding on to her dad. It kills me to hate them so much for having that. ~ Melina Marchetta

Scatter?' Tate said. 'Why? We stay here. Why go anywhere else?'
'Because we'll never know how great this place is until we leave it,' Narnie said. ~ Melina Marchetta

Back in Georgie's attic, he yanks the phone out of the socket and begins scrolling down the names under dialed calls, praying to anyone who will listen. God. Baby Jesus. Saint Thomas the doubter. Saint Whoever, patron saint of losers. Praying, Please, please, don't let it be true.
The first name shatters him.
The second makes his head spin. ~ Melina Marchetta