This Census-Taker

Author: China Mieville

Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945)

Published on 30 April 2026 by PAN MACMILLAN (Macmillan) in the United Kingdom.

Paperback | 160 pages, none
197 x 130 | 0g

In a remote house on a hilltop, a lonely boy witnesses a 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.

When at last a stranger knocks at his door, the boy senses that his days of isolation might be over.

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?A novella filled with beauty, terror and strangeness, This Census-Taker is a poignant and riveting exploration of memory and meaning.