Census

Books

• A captivating novel by visionary young American author Jesse Ball about a father-and-son journey, inspired by Ball's late brother, who had Down syndrome • Ball felt compelled to write about his brother, Abram, who was 24 when he died in 1998. In the prologue he writes: 'I felt, and feel, that people with Down syndrome are not really understood. What is in my heart when I consider him and his life is something so tremendous, so full of light, that I thought I must write a book that helps people to see what it is like to know and love a Down syndrome boy or girl. It is not like what you would expect, and it is not like it is ordinarily portrayed and explained.' • In Census, when a widower learns that he doesn't have long to live, he is struck by the question of who will care for his adult son-a boy with Down syndrome. The widower signs up as a census taker for an unnamed government bureau, and he and his son leave town. • Text is interwoven with real photographs of Abram Ball throughout his childhood • ...