The Axemans Carnival

"Questions of knowing and refusing to know, seeing but not believing, scratch at us in Chidgeys pages. Perhaps never more effectively or entertainingly than in The Axemans Carnival." * Financial Times * "Do not be put off by the fact that The Axemans Carnival is narrated by a magpie; whimsy is entirely absent from this highly original, thrillingly dark and often very funny." * Peter Parker, The Spectator's Books of the Year 2024 * The Axemans Carnival is a compulsive read and flat-out brilliant. * Elizabeth Knox * Chidgey elegantly weaves together social commentary, magic realism, folklore and myth, and her treatment of serious themes is deft. A deeply engaging novel with an original and remarkably charming star. * Irish Times * "The Axemans Carnival offers a shrewd look at human foibles through the eyes of a talking magpie called Tama. This novel is an imaginative treat." * The Independent * "A precocious magpie takes a birds-eye view of patriarchy." * TLS * "Funny, dark, insightful and unique, this beautifully written novel is a story and a magpie you will NEVER forget." * Jennie Godfrey, author of The List of Suspicious Things * "I didnt think it was possible to fall in love with a magpie, but from the opening chapter, which is a masterclass in prose, to the final scene, I was spellbound by the foul-mouthed, wisecracking Tama and his quest to save gentle Marnie from unspeakable violence. Another tour de force from Catherine Chidgey." * Karen Powell, author of Fifteen Wild Decembers * "The Axemans Carnival" is both tense and disconcertingly charming. The story is filled with delightful moments but tightens with frightening inevitability to a shocking conclusion." * Lulu Allison, author of Salt Lick * "The Axemans Carnival's central conceit a magpie taken in by a farmers wife living on a remote sheep station learns to speak back a form of narrative that mirrors the events taking place in her marriage is thrilling, beautifully rendered and pitch perfect." * Newsrooom NZ * A remarkable and original writer, whose novels have the golden combination of being both riveting and superbly-written. * Lissa Evans * The work of a writer absolutely on top of her game, narrated with linguistic brio by a magpie chick, who tells the story of her human rescuer Marnies escape from a violent marriage. * John Mitchinson * The Axemans Carnival is remarkable, brilliant, a classic in the making. -- Rachael King * Newsroom * One of our very best novelists knocks it out of the park. * New Zealand Herald (Book of the Year) * Chidgeys writing is masterful, and the underlying sense of dread as the story unfolds is shot through with humour and humanity. The Axemans Carnival is unique: poetic, profound and a powerfully compelling read from start to finish. * Judges comments, Ockham NZ Book Awards 2023 * "The Axemans Carnival is a stunning and captivating story about the pressures of farming life and the meaning of family, and Chidgey is at the absolute top of her game." * Booklist * "Told in the voice of a magpie, with humour and wisdom, this unflinching portrait of nature picks at the thin veil between the elemental violence and drama of both human and animal worlds." * Shelf Awareness * "As unsettling as it is entertaining, the brilliantly written voice and antics of Tama, carry the story forward, poking fun and provoking an already tense situation, until its splintering, scorching conclusion. Highly Recommended." * Word by Word * Thrilling, beautifully rendered and pitch perfect. * Newsroom NZ *

Catherine Chidgeys novels have been published to international acclaim. Her first, In a Fishbone Church, won Best First Book at the New Zealand Book Awards and at the Commonwealth Writers Prize (South East Asia and South Pacific). In the UK it won the Betty Trask Award and was longlisted for the Orange Prize. Her second, Golden Deeds, was a Notable Book of the Year in The New York Times Book Review and a Best Book in the LA Times. Catherine has won the Prize in Modern Letters, the Katherine Mansfield Award, the Katherine Mansfield Fellowship, the Janet Frame Fiction Prize, and the Acorn Foundation Fiction Prize for The Wish Child. She lives in Ngruawhia and lectures in Creative Writing at the University of Waikato. Her novel Remote Sympathy was shortlisted for the Dublin Literary Award and longlisted for the Womens Prize for Fiction.