Eleanor Catton

I can feel the public side of my life and the private side of my life sort of drifting away from one another. ”

I believe really strongly in imitation, actually: I think it's the first place you need to go to if you're going to be able to understand how something works. True mimicry is actually quite difficult. ”

My sense of injustice about our family's 'weirdness' in not owning a car was amplified by the fact that we did not own a television, either - my parents were unapologetic about this and told me very cheerfully that I would thank them for it when I was older, which was quite true. ”

I think that writers of literary fiction would do well to read more books for children. ”

I'm the rogue Canadian in my family - I just happened to be born here while my parents were studying here. ”

Margaret Atwood was the author who took me out of children's literature and guided me towards adult literature. ”

I have always loved reading books for children and young adults, particularly when those books are mysteries. ”

I grew up on the South Island of New Zealand, in a city chosen and beloved by my parents for its proximity to the mountains - Christchurch is two hours distant from the worn saddle of Arthur's Pass, the mountain village that was and is my father's spiritual touchstone, his chapel and cathedral in the wild. ”

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. ”

I vote far-left. I am frequently angered by corporate greed and think education ought to be free and teachers paid well. ”