The Axeman’s Carnival by Catherine Chidgey, Europa Editions
The narrator of this haunting contemporary fable is a magpie whose sharp observation and witty mimicry proves vital in the precarious farming world of our protagonist, Marnie. While a talking bird may feel a little Dr Doolittle, author Catherine Chidgey presents such a fully rounded character in beady-eyed magpie Tama that we never doubt the bird’s reliable and sensitive judgement on what soon reveals itself to be a dangerous household.
Tama brings to mind Penguin, the real-life magpie that played a powerful healing role when Sydney’s Sam Bloom was paralysed in a devastating accident – that story made into a film starring Naomi Watts. And like Penguin, Tama is found after falling out of his nest and bonds with his rescuer, Marnie. Both are looking for friendship and security.
“I wanted to write a non-human narrator and was considering wolves … until I realised that the magpies were calling to me every morning when I opened my writing-room window,” Catherine tells The Weekly. “Later I remembered the pigeon that turned up at our place when I was a child; he stayed for a year and was hell-bent on getting inside and sleeping on my bed.”
Marnie is mourning a miscarriage and pours her maternal instincts into Tama, training the bird to live a fairly human existence, much to the horror of her husband, Rob. Lack of rain is crippling their farm and Rob, the eponymous axeman who enters woodcutting competitions, is becoming more and more morose. At night he takes his frustrations out on Marnie and through Tama we spy the blue and purple bruising hidden under her clothes.
When Tama starts to speak, copying phrases from the violent cop shows Rob watches, from radio adverts and also snatched conversations in the house, it’s pretty funny. Marnie puts her bird on social media and is shocked at the response. Behold Tama the influencer!
He also becomes a much-needed source of revenue, and a new dynamic unfolds in this bird/ human relationship. “Tama certainly has Marnie wrapped around his tiny claw, but you could argue she is exploiting him too,” says Catherine.
Her aim is to show “that brute strength can find its match in cleverness”, which is certainly achieved. She also brings us a tense human tale anchored in nature.