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A review by arsa_charles
The Axeman's Carnival by Catherine Chidgey
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I really liked this. Seeing the world from the POV of a magpie was a really cool technique. The divide between the brutal magpie world and the complex human world was very interesting to see.
Marnie was a wonderful character, so developed and complex and human. You feel in her shoes the whole way
Rob is a monster.
The lives of Marnie, Rob and Tama as a strange screwed up family is well written but boy it is heavy. Rob is abusive and violent and Catherine Chidgey doesn’t hold back on details.
By the end I was speeding through just so I could find out if the story ends happily.
A masterwork in building and sustaining tension, 4.5 stars only because it was too bleak at points for me.
Marnie was a wonderful character, so developed and complex and human. You feel in her shoes the whole way
Rob is a monster.
The lives of Marnie, Rob and Tama as a strange screwed up family is well written but boy it is heavy. Rob is abusive and violent and Catherine Chidgey doesn’t hold back on details.
By the end I was speeding through just so I could find out if the story ends happily.
A masterwork in building and sustaining tension, 4.5 stars only because it was too bleak at points for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse