"Census" by Jesse Ball

This was probably the most unusual book I've read this year. It was a pick for my sci-fi and fantasy book club and I expected a dystopian story. However, this book is much more literary in nature and even though the novel appears to be set in some sort of dystopian world, I think it is just a literary device that the author chose to convey his message.

The most fascinating part of this book is the author's note in the beginning. Jesse Ball dedicates the book to his deceased brother who had Down syndrome. In the book we follow a widowed father who becomes a census taker and travels from place to place with his son who (we can surmise) has Down syndrome even though it is not explicitly stated so. The entire story can be viewed as an allegory of life: we all travel from A to Z (the beginning and the end) and meet lots of various people along the way: some are wonderful and nice, and some are much less so. Our life is also a set of memories: some are more vivid than others. It is also a tangle of emotions, hopes, fears and disappointments. All of these can be found in this story.

I believe the book is also about coming to terms with the fact that one day we all must leave this world and leave our loved ones behind. In this case, the main character knows he is terminally ill, and he has to leave his son in the world of the living and hope that he will be ok. The novel is also about parenting. In our achievement-driven world, a lot of parenting is about bragging about your children's successes to others. However, when you have a special needs child, you celebrate quiet moments together, little victories that are in fact huge. It is a more humbling experience which is precious and filled with incredible love. 

This is not an easy book to follow. I almost gave up on it numerous times and really struggled to get through it even though it is very short. Only once I decided to view it as an allegory, I was able to appreciate it more. I wish the author wrote this as a series of essays rather than a dystopian novel. 3 out of 5 stars.