Axeman's Carnival

WINNER OF THE JANN MEDLICOTT ACORN PRIZE FOR FICTION AT THE 2023 OCKHAM NEW ZEALAND BOOK AWARDSA dazzling portrayal of humanity and the natural world that perfectly balances violence and humorTama 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 Marnies husband Rob, a farmer, Ill have to wring its neck. But with Tama come new possibilities for the couples 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 worldsand all the precarity, darkness and hope within thembleed into one another. Like a stock truck filled with live cargo, the story moves inexorably towards its dramatic conclusion: the annual Axemans 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), the tale he tells us weaves a disturbingly human sense. The Axemans Carnival is Catherine Chidgey at her finestcomic, profound, poetic and true.A writer of formidable resources, a deft stylist possessed of uncanny imaginative acuity.The Guardian