There was a computer in our garage when I was growing up, and I'd go out there in winter and wrap myself in a blanket and write a story. Eleanor Catton blanketcomputergarage Change image and share on social
I can feel the public side of my life and the private side of my life sort of drifting away from one another. Eleanor Catton driftfeellife Change image and share on social
I highlight everything I find interesting, and then type out everything I've highlighted, and then print out everything I've typed, and reread these printed notes as often as possible. Eleanor Catton findhavehighlight Change image and share on social
I went to a state school in Christchurch, New Zealand, and then straight on to the University of Canterbury. But I worked part-time all the way through high school: first with a paper round, then at a fast-food outlet, a video store and a hardware store. Eleanor Catton canterburychristchurchfast share on social
I feel very strongly influenced by long-form box-set TV drama... I feel really excited that, at last, the novel has found its on-screen equivalent, because the emotional arcs and changes that you can follow are just so much more like a novel, and so many amazing shows recently have done as much as film can do to show the interior world. Eleanor Catton amazearcbox share on social
It is less fun to talk about what I am feeling rather than what I am thinking. Saying 'I feel awesome' isn't really interesting or enquiring. Eleanor Catton awesomeenquirefeel Change image and share on social
What I wanted to create with 'The Luminaries' is a book that had structural patterns built in that didn't matter, but if you cared about them, you could look into the book and see them. Eleanor Catton bookbuildcare Change image and share on social
To experience sublime natural beauty is to confront the total inadequacy of language to describe what you see. Words cannot convey the scale of a view that is so stunning it is felt. Eleanor Catton beautyconfrontconvey Change image and share on social
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. Eleanor Catton backdayhypnotic share on social
It seems pretentious to assume that we are not creatures of action. I think often it takes a situation of extreme absurdity, extreme action, to push us to the limits of what our character is, and to change us as people. Eleanor Catton absurdityactionassume share on social