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The Axeman's Carnival
The Axeman's Carnival | Catherine Chidgey
4 posts | 3 read | 8 to read
Everywhere, the birds: sparrows and skylarks and thrushes, starlings and bellbirds, fantails and pipits &– but above them all and louder, the magpies. We are here and this is our tree and we' re staying and it is ours and you need to leave and now. Tama is just a helpless chick when he is rescued by Marnie, and this is where his story might have ended. &‘ If it keeps me awake,' says Marnie' s husband Rob, a farmer, &‘ I' ll have to wring its neck.' But with Tama come new possibilities for the couple' s future. Tama can speak, and his fame is growing. Outside, in the pines, his father warns him of the wickedness wrought by humans. Indoors, Marnie confides in him about her violent marriage. The more Tama sees, the more the animal and the human worlds &– and all of the precarity, darkness and hope within them &– bleed into one another. Like a stock truck filled with live cargo, the story moves inexorably towards its dramatic conclusion: the annual Axeman' s Carnival. Part trickster, part surrogate child, part witness, Tama the magpie is the star of this story. Though what he says aloud to humans is often nonsensical (and hilarious with it), the tale he tells us weaves a disturbingly human sen
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Suet624
The Axeman's Carnival | Catherine Chidgey
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It‘s not my habit to buy new books because I get so many from the library and Lord only knows when I‘ll actually read these, but I‘m so happy to have them. Europa Editions rarely steers me wrong and I‘ve really liked Chidgey‘s work before so I‘m looking forward to it. And of course The God of the Woods has been getting lots of love lately. 💕💕💕

squirrelbrain Oh, I‘ll be interested to hear what you think of the Chidgey. 3mo
jlhammar Definitely interested in the Chidgey. Hope you enjoy God of the Woods as much as I did! 3mo
Suet624 @squirrelbrain knowing me it‘ll be a year from now! 😊 3mo
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Suet624 @jlhammar God of the Woods sounds like a winner, for sure. (edited) 3mo
squirrelbrain Of course, I wouldn‘t expect anything different! 🤣 3mo
Tamra I‘m curious about the Chidgey - I‘ve read good reviews. 3mo
BarbaraBB Super interested in the Chidgey! Unfortunately I was not so impressed by God of the Woods as everyone else. So in this case I hope we‘ll think differently 😉 3mo
Suet624 @BarbaraBB oh no!! 3mo
Suet624 @Tamra oh I‘m glad to hear. 3mo
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review
Megbert
The Axeman's Carnival | Catherine Chidgey
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Pickpick

Had a day sick in bed and this was the most uplifting, well-rounded & charming piece of fiction one could read. Huge applause to the the author for such wonderful character development of Tama the magpie (our story narrator) and perhaps humans might see these clever birds differently from now on. We love you #tama ! 🖤

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ClairesReads
The Axeman's Carnival | Catherine Chidgey
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Pickpick

Late to the party but wow was I glad to be here. This novel is every bit as good as every hyped-up review says it is. Chidgey does rural NZ gothic so well here; the narration perfectly creates that sense of creeping unease. It‘s a book that has so much to say about heavy things like domestic violence, and the challenges of rural living, but delivers this with the pitch perfect touch of humour. I

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