RaveIrish Times (IRE)Imaginative and well-executed ... Despite this feelgood premise, Chidgey’s fable has tragedy at its core. Disappointment, anxiety and trauma colour most relationships in the novel, human and non-human ... Minor quibbles ... Chidgey elegantly weaves together social commentary, magic realism, folklore and myth, and her treatment of serious themes is deft. The language is poetic without feeling overwrought. The Axeman’s Carnival is a deeply engaging novel with an original and remarkably charming star.
