Eleanor Catton
Eleanor Catton
Eleanor Catton MNZMis a Canadian-born New Zealand author. Her second novel, The Luminaries, won the 2013 Man Booker Prize. In January 2015, she created a short-lived media storm in New Zealand when she made comments in an interview in India in which she was critical of "neo-liberal, profit-obsessed, very shallow, very money-hungry politicians who do not care about culture."...
NationalityNew Zealander
ProfessionAuthor
Date of Birth24 September 1985
novels
When I was writing 'The Luminaries,' I read a lot of crime novels because I wanted to figure out which ones made me go, 'Ah! I didn't know that was coming!'
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There are a lot of people of my generation in New Zealand literature, young writers on their first or second books, that I'm just really excited about. There seems to be a big gap between the generation above and us; it seems to be quite radically different in terms of form and approach.
born canadian family happened parents rogue studying
I'm the rogue Canadian in my family - I just happened to be born here while my parents were studying here.
creative fiction problems solve trying
I think that's what fiction writing is actually all about. It's about trying to solve problems in creative ways.
writers
I think that writers of literary fiction would do well to read more books for children.
The zodiac is a system a person can play with and see meaning in.
defining humans
The ability of humans to read meaning into patterns is the most defining characteristic we have.
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My father is an expatriate American; he fell in love with New Zealand in his youth and never went home.
creating draw sharp
I would draw a really sharp distinction between creating and producing. I think that they're very different things.
books children loved reading
I have always loved reading books for children and young adults, particularly when those books are mysteries.
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There are so many ways of posturing that people associate with being a writer. They imagine you wearing a beret and drinking only red wine and being full of yourself, and so, for a long time, the way I felt about writing was too private. I felt it too important and didn't want to be teased about it. So I lied about it.
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The readership of Victorian novels, when they were published, was much less diverse. People were probably white, and had enough money to be literate. Very often, there are phrases in Italian, German and French that are left untranslated.
moods
Sometimes I'll read something on Twitter, and I'll just be in the darkest of moods for the rest of the day or the rest of the week sometimes.
again days hypnotic mirrors putting repeat sentence songs time
Often I listen to songs on repeat for days and days at a time. There's something hypnotic or meditative, and it mirrors the way that I am putting the sentence together, going back over the same phrases again and again.