Man Booker Prize winner Eleanor Catton has spoken out about her problems with New Zealand, Stuff reports.
She said that like Australia and Canada, New Zealand was controlled by “neo-liberal, profit-obsessed, very shallow, very money-hungry politicians who do not care about culture."
“They care about short-term gains. They would destroy the planet in order to be able to have the life they want. I feel very angry with my government, she said.”
The comments were made at the Jaipur Literary Festival and reported by Indian news site Live Mint. Prime Minister John Key responded saying he was disappointed but not surprised by the comments.
“She has been aligned with the Green Party, and that probably summarises the Green Party view of this Government.
"I don't think that reflects what most New Zealanders perceive of the Government. If it was, they probably wouldn't have voted for us in such large numbers.”
Catton also said that she feels she’s in “an extraordinary position”, but has struggled with her identity as a New Zealand writer.
“I feel uncomfortable being an ambassador for my country when my country is not doing as much as it could, especially for the intellectual world. It’s sort of a complicated position to be in.”
She went on to talk about cultural embarrassment and growing up with the belief that local writers weren’t as great as writers from Britain and America.
“Because we were some colonial backwater, we weren’t discovered, which I’m hoping will change. The matter of having this kind of cultural embarrassment about your place in the world, we really need to actively resist that and be brave. I don’t think good literature can come about without bravery.”
