Andrew Upton debuts with a disfigured chicken allegory
Andrew Upton, the Australian playwright, producer, and director, has released his debut novel, Krank Fuss, a fantastical fable about a disfigured chicken. The book, an allegory in the spirit of Animal Farm, is set on a farm in Nazi Germany and explores themes of power, violence, and survival.
Upton, who lives in East Sussex with his wife Cate Blanchett and their four children, says the idea for the novel came from observing chickens at a pullet breeder two years ago. “There was this young lad who was catching them from the bigger flock and dumping them into my box. And I thought, what are they [the chickens] thinking? How do they make sense of this?” he told the Guardian.
The story within a story
The novel is framed as a manuscript written by a World War I veteran, Rudi, for his unborn daughter, discovered after her death. The fable follows Krank Fuss, a chicken with a disfigured foot, as she arrives in a box and learns about the hierarchy and brutality of the other anthropomorphised animals, while the human violence of World War II looms.
Upton describes the book as “funny” but also “a bit bleak and black.” It includes moments of literary savagery, such as a predatory cat meeting a gruesome end and a rapist rooster being killed. “There are a number of levels depending on how astute the reader is,” Upton explains.
Inspiration from personal history
Upton lives under Biggin Hill airfield, and the sound of planes reminded him of his father, John, who served as a navigator in the RAF during World War I. “The planes above my head, feeding the chickens and gathering the eggs” combined with anxiety about wars in Europe to inspire the novel.
He wrote the first draft as a 10-page story, then put it aside, but the chicken character stayed with him. He eventually expanded it into a full novel, writing early in the morning, often at 5am, especially when Blanchett does the school run.
First readers and feedback
Upton’s first reader was his wife, Cate Blanchett, who read it “as soon as it is turned out.” He also shared it with Australian writer and director Kip Williams and his eldest son Dashiell. All three told him to “stop telling people it’s weird,” despite his warnings.
Upton, who previously served as co-artistic director of the Sydney Theatre Company with Blanchett, adapted works by Chekhov and Ibsen. He says those writers influenced his fiction: “Getting to know Chekhov’s worldview, so very rich and beautiful but very layered and complicated.”
Publication and reception
Krank Fuss is published by Puncher & Wattmann. Upton says the novel has opened a new creative door for him. “I don’t know where my writing will lead me to now, but it has led me to this, and I am thrilled,” he said.
