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
