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Quote by Eleanor Catton

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The Luminaries

A richly detailed historical novel set during the 1860s New Zealand gold rush, weaving together a complex tapestry of characters and events. The story delves into themes of ambition, greed, and the human quest for fortune, all against the backdrop of a rapidly changing frontier society. more

Author

Eleanor Catton
Eleanor Catton

Eleanor Catton is a New Zealand author born on September 24, 1985, in Wellington. She gained international recognition when her second novel "The Luminaries" won the Man Booker Prize in 2013, making her one of the youngest winners in the prize's history at age 28. Known for her intricate narrative structures and historical settings, Catton's writing combines mystery, history, and literary experimentation, establishing her as one of contemporary literature's most innovative voices. more

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“It is perfectly serendipitous,' said the boy, descending the steps to the street. 'Fancy that—us meeting a second time! Of course I have wished for it, very much—but they were vain wishes; the kind one makes in twilight states, you know, idly. I remember just what you said, as we rounded the heads of the harbor—in the dawn light. "I should like to see him in a storm," you said. I have thought of it many times, since; it was the most delightfully original of speeches.' Anna blushed at this: not only had she never heard herself described as an original before, she had certainly never supposed that her utterances qualified as 'speeches.”

SerendipityEleanor CattonThe LuminariesSerendipitous
Book:The Luminaries
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“Cowell Devlin sighed. Yes, he understood Anna Wetherell at long last, but it was not a happy understanding. Devlin had known many women of poor prospects and limited means, whose only transport out of the miserable cage of their unhappy circumstance was the flight of the fantastic. Such fantasies were invariably magical—angelic patronage, invitations into paradise—and Anna's story, touching though it was, showed the same strain of the impossible. Why, it was painfully clear! The most eligible bachelor of Anna's acquaintance possessed a love so deep and pure that all respective differences between them were rendered immaterial? He was not dead—he was only missing? He was sending her 'messages' that proved the depth of his love—and these were messages that only she could hear? It was a fantasy, Devlin thought. It was a fantasy of the girl's own devising. The boy could only be dead.”

FantasyEscapismDaydreamsEleanor CattonThe Luminaries
Book:The Luminaries
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