Eleanor Catton quotes

I see disappointment as something small and aggregate rather than something unified or great. With a little effort, every failure can be turned into something good. (Eleanor Catton)
Astrologys a moving system that depends on where youre looking at it from on Earth. My horoscope here in London would be completely different to down in New Zealand. View quote
Eleanor Catton
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. View quote
Eleanor Catton
I often feel intellectually frustrated when I'm in a position where I'm not moving forward; when I'm not enquiring about something. View quote
Eleanor Catton
I vote far-left. I am frequently angered by corporate greed and think education ought to be free and teachers paid well. View quote
Eleanor Catton
The way that I see astrology is as a repository of thought and psychology. A system we've created as a culture as way to make things mean things. View quote
Eleanor Catton
I think that's what fiction writing is actually all about. It's about trying to solve problems in creative ways. View quote
Eleanor Catton
Love cannot be reduced to a catalogue of reasons why, and a catalogue of reasons cannot be put together into love. View quote
Eleanor Catton
Never underestimate how extraordinarily difficult it is to understand a situation from another person's point of view. View quote
Eleanor Catton
Solitude is a condition best enjoyed in company. View quote
Eleanor Catton
Reason is no match for desire: when desire is purely and powerfully felt, it becomes a kind of reason of its own. (Eleanor Catton)
Remember that anybody who is clever enough to set you free is clever enough to enslave you. View quote
Eleanor Catton
It is a feature of human nature to give what we most wish to receive. View quote
Eleanor Catton
I really wanted to write an adventure story, a murder-mystery that was set during the gold-rush years in New Zealand. View quote
Eleanor Catton
The proper way to understand any social system was to view it from above. View quote
Eleanor Catton
Writing is exhilarating, but reading reviews is not. I've been really devastated by 'good' reviews because they misunderstand the project of the book. It can be strangely galvanising to get a 'bad' one. View quote
Eleanor Catton
I would draw a really sharp distinction between creating and producing. I think that they're very different things. View quote
Eleanor Catton
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. View quote
Eleanor Catton
I think the adverb is a much-maligned part of speech. It's always accused of being oppressive, even tyrannical, when in fact it's so supple and sly. View quote
Eleanor Catton
The ability of humans to read meaning into patterns is the most defining characteristic we have. View quote
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. (Eleanor Catton)
Money doesn't transform a person - the only thing that can is love. View quote
Eleanor Catton
I have always loved reading books for children and young adults, particularly when those books are mysteries. View quote
Eleanor Catton
The nice thing about the zodiac as a system is it is quite comprehensive as a range of impulses and psychological states it can speak about. View quote
Eleanor Catton