Synopses & Reviews
For readers of George Saunders, Kelly Link, David Mitchell, and Karen Russell, This Census-Taker is a stunning, uncanny, and profoundly moving novella from multiple-award-winning and bestselling author China Miéville.
In a remote house on a hilltop, a lonely boy witnesses a profoundly
traumatic event. He tries — and fails — to flee. Left alone with his
increasingly deranged parent, he dreams of safety, of joining the other
children in the town below, of escape.
When at last a stranger knocks at his door, the boy senses that his days of isolation might be over.
But by what authority does this man keep the meticulous records he
carries? What is the purpose behind his questions? Is he friend? Enemy?
Or something else altogether?
Filled with beauty, terror, and strangeness, This Census-Taker is a poignant and riveting exploration of memory and identity.
Review
“A thought-provoking fairy tale for adults . . . [This Census-Taker]
resembles the narrative style, quirkiness, and plotting found in the
works of Karen Russell, Aimee Bender, or Steven Millhauser.” Booklist
Review
“Brief and dreamlike . . . a deceptively simple story whose plot could
be taken as a symbolic representation of an aspect of humanity as big as
an entire society and as small as a single soul.” Kirkus Reviews
About the Author
China Miéville is the author of numerous books, including Three Moments of an Explosion, The City & The City, Embassytown, Railsea, and Perdido Street Station.
His works have won the World Fantasy Award, the Hugo Award, and the
Arthur C. Clarke Award (three times). He lives and works in London.