{"product_id":"this-census-taker-9781101967348","title":"This Census-Taker","description":"\u003cb\u003eFor readers of George Saunders, Kelly Link, David Mitchell, and Karen Russell, \u003ci\u003eThis Census-Taker\u003c\/i\u003e is a stunning, uncanny, and profoundly moving novella from multiple-award-winning and bestselling author China Mi ville.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eNAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e 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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e When at last a stranger knocks at his door, the boy senses that his days of isolation might be over. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e 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? \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Filled with beauty, terror, and strangeness, \u003ci\u003eThis Census-Taker\u003c\/i\u003e is a poignant and riveting exploration of memory and identity. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003ePraise for \u003ci\u003eThis Census-Taker\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"China Mi ville is a magician . . . who can both blow your mind with ideas as big as the universe and break your heart with language so precise and polished, it's like he's writing with diamonds.\"\u003cb\u003e--NPR\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \"The book haunts the reader; \u003ci\u003ewhat actually happened\u003c\/i\u003e seems always just out of reach, glimpsed in shadow as it rounds a corner ahead of our vision.\"\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e--Los Angeles Review of Books\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \" Mieville's] been compared to Karen Russell and George Saunders, and rightfully so.\"\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e--The Huffington Post\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \"Marvellous.\"\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e--The Guardian\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \"Lingers in the mind like an unsettling dream.\"\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eFinancial Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \"A thought-provoking fairy tale for adults . . .  \u003ci\u003eThis Census-Taker\u003c\/i\u003e] resembles the narrative style, quirkiness, and plotting found in the works of Karen Russell, Aimee Bender, or Steven Millhauser.\"\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \"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.\"\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Del Rey Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 01\/03\/2017\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781101967348\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 272\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.45lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.30h x 5.40w x 0.70d","brand":"China Mi\u0026#233;ville","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42917101666485,"sku":"9781101967348","price":12.75,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_2ae18822-d04d-4d7b-b3b9-6a3e2938a5e8.jpg?v=1687277613","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/this-census-taker-9781101967348","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}