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The Axeman's Carnival by Catherine Chidgey

Catherine Chidgey author of The Axeman's Carnival

Catherine Chidgey author of The Axeman's Carnival Photo: Helen Mayall /

COMING SEPTEMBER 15TH

Winner of the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction at the 2023 Ockham NZ Book Awards.

 

Tama 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 Marnie’s husband Rob, a farmer, ‘I’ll have to wring its neck.’ But with Tama come new possibilities for the couple’s 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 worlds – and all of the precarity, darkness and hope within them – bleed into one another. Like a stock truck filled with live cargo, the story moves inexorably towards its dramatic conclusion: the annual Axeman’s Carnival.

Written by Catherine Chidgey

Adapted by Carol Dee

Recording and sound design by Phil Benge

Produced by Duncan Smith

  • The Axeman's Carnival - Ep 1

    5:00 AM.Marnie finds an unfleged magpie chick and despite her husbands firm disapproval sets to caring for the helpless creature. Audio

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  • The Axeman's Carnival - Ep 2

    5:00 AM.Despite opposition from her husband and mother Marnie determines to keep Tama in the house. Audio

    This audio is not downloadable due to copyright restrictions.

  • The Axeman's Carnival - Ep 3

    5:00 AM.Marnie keeps putting pics of Tama on the internet and he proves to be very popular. Audio

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  • The Axeman's Carnival - Ep 4

    5:00 AM.Rob is struggling with a failing farm and looking for something or someone to blame and take his frustrations out on. Audio

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  • The Axeman's Carnival - Ep 5

    5:00 AM.Suspicion and jealousy runs deep in Rob while Tama's popularity saws bringing visitors to the farm on Wilderness Rd. Audio

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  • The Axeman's Carnival - Ep 6

    5:00 AM.Marnie and Ange are prepping their song and dance number in secret while cameras are set up all over the house. Audio

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  • The Axeman's Carnival - Ep 7

    5:00 AM.Tama, and his "happy" family are proving to be an internet sensation and the money is rolling in. Audio

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  • The Axeman's Carnival - Ep 8

    5:00 AM.With the Axeman's Carnival fast approaching Rob is in full training while the perils of live streaming come home to roost. Audio

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  • The Axeman's Carnival - Ep 9

    5:00 AM.The big day arrives, Rob's axe is honed, his muscles primed. Audio

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  • The Axeman's Carnival - Ep 10

    5:00 AM.Marnie and Ange perform their "sexy cowgirls" number while Rob contests the "hard hitting" event. Audio

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  • The Axeman's Carnival - Ep 11

    5:00 AM.Time for all the "Magpies" to "come home to roost" as our story careers towards a shattering climax in the reading tonight. Audio

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  • The Axeman's Carnival - Ep 12

    5:00 AM.What will become of Marnie and Tama and the other inhabitants of the farm on Wilderness Rd? Audio

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