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Census
By Jesse Ball
Ecco Press,9780062676146, 2019, 272 pp.

The Short of It:

A quiet, complex story about the love between a father and his son.

The Rest of It:

A widower is told by his doctor that he doesn’t have long to live. As a doctor himself, he takes this information in but then immediately thinks about how his special-needs son will survive without him. Who will the boy live with? Who could take this responsibility on?

As the man ponders this, he sets himself up as a census taker. A door-to-door census taker. One who will travel from town to town and record its inhabitants. He believes this road trip is what he and his son needs. Time together, in the car, going door to door. One last trip.

Census has been called a dystopian sci-fi. If you dig deep, you can see it. A census taker, applying permanent tattoos on the citizens he encounters, nameless towns that are only represented by a letter of the alphabet. Strange people. Often quirky and then the way this man deals with his own impending death. There is a lot to take apart.

The author set out to write a story that would honor his brother who had Down Syndrome. A brother who passed away. Although the boy’s affliction in this story is not mentioned specifically, the reader is well aware that he is special needs. But did the author succeed in honoring the brother he lost? I think the author believes so. The way in which the boy is drawn, the interactions he has with strangers, and the bond he holds with his father speaks to something but not Down Syndrome specifically.

What I enjoyed while reading this book is how different it was from past reads. It was unique but not overly so. Really, a quiet story that moves you along slowly. Occasionally beautiful prose. Ball is a poet and you can sense that in his writing. I enjoyed the quiet moments that the father and son shared.

I didn’t agree with the ending, even though the story opens with the ending. It should not have been a surprise to me but it left me a little unsettled. That said, I am glad I read it and I would happily read another story by Ball. He’s written nine novels!

Source: Borrowed

Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

Honor
By Thrity Umrigar
Algonquin Books,9781643753300, 2022, 352 pp.

The Short of It:

Weighty.

The Rest of It:

In Honor, Indian American journalist Smita has returned to India to cover a story, but reluctantly: long ago she and her family left the country with no intention of ever coming back. As she follows the case of Meena–a Hindu woman attacked by members of her own village and her own family for marrying a Muslim man–Smita comes face to face with a society where tradition carries more weight than one’s own heart, and a story that threatens to unearth the painful secrets of Smita’s own past. ~Indiebound

I was immediately pulled into this story. Meena’s story of abuse at the hands of her own brothers, was intense in the telling. Permanently disfigured by fire and ridiculed by the entire village for falling in love and marrying a Muslim man, proved to be too much for her to overcome. As unwelcome as she is, her young daughter, Abra is what keeps her there. Forced to live with a MIL who hates her for what happened to her son, the only thing that grounds her are the ethereal visits of her husband Abdul as he makes his presence known through dreams.

Smita, a journalist, returns to India to assist a colleague who is having hip surgery. Her entire motivation for going is to just help her colleague during recovery. India is not a place she ever wanted to return to. Too many memories of when her family was forced to leave when she was a child. But when she arrives, she finds out that Shannon wants her to pick up Meena’s story. That her time in India will not be spent navigating recovery, but interviewing Meena, the MIL, the brothers that caused her so much pain. This was not in the cards, but how can such a story go untold?

Smita’s time in India is wrought with unpleasant memories, difficult people, and reluctant witnesses. Her only saving grace is the man who Shannon brought in to help navigate the language barrier. Mohan’s kindness, common sense and loyalty to Smita and Shannon prove to be invaluable.

This was an easy story to fall into given the weighty subject matter but the ending! No spoilers but I was not prepared for the ending. It was like a slap to the face! Overall, to say that I “enjoyed” this story would be a real stretch but I found myself taken by the characters and the difficulty presenting itself as Meena’s story is told. It was chosen for my book club and I think there will be plenty to discuss.

Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

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