by Jesse Ball
narrated by Chris Andrew Ciulla
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Just released: March 2018
Publisher: Ecco
Genre: Literary, Dystopia
Hardback: 272
Rating: 4
First sentence(s):
When a widower receives the devastating news that he doesn't have long to live, he is struck by the question of who will care for his adult son — a son whom he fiercely loves, a boy with Down syndrome.
When a widower receives notice from a doctor that he doesn’t have long left to live, he is struck by the question of who will care for his adult son—a son whom he fiercely loves, a boy with Down syndrome. With no recourse in mind, and with a desire to see the country on one last trip, the man signs up as a census taker for a mysterious governmental bureau and leaves town with his son.
Traveling into the country, through towns named only by ascending letters of the alphabet, the man and his son encounter a wide range of human experience. While some townspeople welcome them into their homes, others who bear the physical brand of past censuses on their ribs are wary of their presence. When they press toward the edges of civilization, the landscape grows wilder, and the towns grow farther apart and more blighted by industrial decay. As they approach “Z,” the man must confront a series of questions: What is the purpose of the census? Is he complicit in its mission? And just how will he learn to say good-bye to his son?
Mysterious and evocative, Census is a novel about free will, grief, the power of memory, and the ferocity of parental love, from one of our most captivating young writers.
My two-bits:
As with many road trips, this one provided a variety of experiences in a somewhat eerie futuristic setting. The encounters helped the protagonist reach solutions and solace.
* Listened to audiobook version.
* part of Rooster Summer Reading Challenge 2018 (here)
