“I’ve been looking at all the ordinary staples of flirting," says Julia, "like biting your lip and looking away just a second too late, and laughing a lot and finding every excuse to touch, light fingertips on a forearm or a thigh that emphasize and punctuate the laughter. I’ve been thinking about what a comfort these things are, these textbook methods, precisely because they need no decoding, no translation. Once, a long time ago, you could probably bite your lip and it would mean, I am almost overcome with desiring you. Now you bite your lip and it means, I want you to see that I am almost overcome with desiring you, so I am using the plainest and most universally accepted symbol I can think of to make you see. Now it means, Both of us know the implications of my biting my lip, and what I am trying to say. We are speaking a language, you and I together, a language that we did not invent, a language that is not unique to our uttering. We are speaking someone else’s lines. It’s a comfort.”
Quote by Eleanor Catton
Work
This book delves into the complexities of acting and the blurred lines between reality and performance, examining the impact of the theater on the lives of its participants. more
Author
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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