Book Review: The Axeman’s Carnival by Catherine Chidgey

About:

The Axeman’s Carnival by Catherine Chidgey is an award-winning novel about a poor farming couple in New Zealand told from a unique point of view. Ms. Chidgey is an award-winning novelist and short story writer from Wellington, New Zealand.

• 336 pages
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Europa Editions
  
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 888966022D

My rating for The Axeman’s Carnival – 4
Buy The Axeman’s Carnival from Amazon.com*
More Books by Catherine Chidgey*

Thoughts:

I heard a lot of good things about The Axeman’s Carnival by Catherine Chidgey but when I started reading it I didn’t know what to make of it. A story told from the viewpoint of a magpie (what is that?)… that can talk… and learn words… and mimic, and has its own family dynamics with its bird family?

Books from animal perspectives aren’t new, but they never sounded interesting to me. Jack London’s White Fang was a childhood favorite, and I also enjoyed the book as an adult.

I appreciate Ms. Chidgey’s talent of being able to tell a story from a bird’s point of view and keep it interesting. She keeps the bird’s point of view as an involved, yet distanced observer of a strange culture.

While the novel tackles serious issues, the story is often funny. Tama just interprets and does not judge. A breath of fresh air to Marnie who is being judged all the time, especially by her jealous husband and her mean mother.

While many people see farming with rose-colored glasses, it is a hard life. This novel does not shy away from that fact. Rob and Marnie deal with the challenges of farming, bad weather, ruined crops, being cash-poor, theft, and loneliness.

This is a fine book, well-written and a pleasure to read. I feel, however, that I missed many things not being a New Zealander, or familiar with the country’s culture which is too bad, it’s my loss because I’m sure the context of those would have elevated the book to another level

Synopsis:

Tama, a magpie, is rescued by Marnie, a farmer’s wife. Marnie nurses Tama to health and discovers it has an amazing ability to mimic and learn new words. Marnie’s abusive husband, Rob, a champion axeman who is training for his tenth championship, resents Tama and his wife’s adoration of the bird.

Marnie starts posting videos of Tama dressed in funny outfits and talking on the Internet, and they quickly go viral. However, the new income stream becomes just another barrier between the couple.

Buy The Axeman’s Carnival from Amazon.com*
More Books by Catherine Chidgey*

Zohar — Man of la Book
Dis­claimer: I got this book for free
*Ama­zon links point to an affil­i­ate account, the money is usually spent on books