This Census-Taker: A Novel

This Census-Taker: A Novel

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 MiÃ©ville.
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In a remote house on a hilltop, a lonely boy witnesses a profoundly traumatic event. He triesâ€”and failsâ€”to flee. Left alone with his increasingly deranged parent, he dreams of safety, of joining the other children in the town below, of escape.
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When at last a stranger knocks at his door, the boy senses that his days of isolation might be over.
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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?
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Filled with beauty, terror, and strangeness, This Census-Taker is a poignant and riveting exploration of memory and identity.

Advance praise for This Census-Taker
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â€œA 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.â€â€”Booklist
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â€œBrief 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.â€â€”Kirkus Reviews

Praise for China MiÃ©ville
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â€œEven when he is orbiting somewhere in a galaxy too far away for normal human comprehension . . . MiÃ©ville is dazzling.â€â€”The New York Times
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â€œ[MiÃ©villeâ€™s] wit dazzles, his humour is lively, and the pure vitality of his imagination is astonishing.â€â€”Ursula K. Le Guin

From the Hardcover edition.
Country USA
Manufacturer Del Rey
Binding Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate 2016-01-12
Format Kindle eBook

Country	USA
Manufacturer	Del Rey
Binding	Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate	2016-01-12
Format	Kindle eBook

This Census-Taker: A Novel

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