--- product_id: 65559929 title: "Census Hardcover – 5 April 2018" brand: "jesse ball" price: "€ 32.05" currency: EUR in_stock: true reviews_count: 4 url: https://www.desertcart.be/products/65559929-census-hardcover-5-april-2018 store_origin: BE region: Belgium --- # Census Hardcover – 5 April 2018 **Brand:** jesse ball **Price:** € 32.05 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Census Hardcover – 5 April 2018 by jesse ball - **How much does it cost?** € 32.05 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.be](https://www.desertcart.be/products/65559929-census-hardcover-5-april-2018) ## Best For - jesse ball enthusiasts ## Why This Product - Trusted jesse ball brand quality - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Full description not available ## Images ![Census Hardcover – 5 April 2018 - Image 1](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41yPxNZgjFL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐ Difficult read with thoughtful reflection but a loosely connected story line. *by J***D on Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 6 July 2019* This book does n’t carry you along, you have to work at it. The chapters are a set of loosely connected short allegories. It is beautifully written and will repay those with time to reflect and perhaps reread sections. Its central themes seem to be that life is a mainly purposeless journey, that we waste time by setting goals rather than living in the moment, and that in the end life goes on without us and we cannot influence how it will go. The end is perhaps the most coherent part of the book, if you get bogged down in the middle at least read the last chapter. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Worth your time *by A***J on Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 5 April 2019* The most impressive aspect of this book is that the reader is challenged to fill in the gaps - the author stokes your appetite rather than force feeding you every nuance. If you sometimes despair of humanity Census will help restore your faith. Although very sad in places this is an ultimately uplifting read. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ a wonderfully moving tribute to an obviously loved sibling. *by C***R on Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 13 March 2018* 4.5★s“My wife and I always spoke of making a trip together to show our son the country, but it never came. For one reason or another, it never came, and so I felt when my wife passed, when the idea rose in me about the census, I felt finally it was time to take out the Stafford, to drive the roads north. In her death, I felt a sure beginning of my own end – I felt I could certainly not last much longer, and so, as life is vested in variety, so we, my son, myself, we had to prolong what life we had by seeing every last thing we could put our eyes upon.”Census is the seventh novel by American poet and author, Jesse Ball. In his introduction, he explains the dedication to his older brother, Abram Ball, who had Down syndrome and died, aged twenty-four, in 1998. The surgeon and his son travel north in their (unnamed) country from City A to the town of Z in their Stafford Carriagecar, taking the Census.In that role, they meet a large number of people, many of whom are welcoming and hospitable, whilst some others are quite the opposite. The surgeon asks his questions and hears many stories, some first-hand, others more removed. Most are kind to his son but: “It is easy for humans to be cruel, and they leap t it. They love to do it. It is an exercise of all their laughable powers.”The father notes that his son’s behaviour is not always easily explicable, but “I have never sought to change what is essentially to my eyes, a basic resourcefulness that finds at any moment something profound. My wife was of the same opinion, but surely we did suffer for it. The long apologies we would have to give to the legions of helpers. But strangely, no one was ever angry about it. People became fond of him very quickly, and that has always helped.”A couple with a now-deceased Down syndrome daughter told him: “There is a kind of understanding that can grow in a place, and then everyone, every last person can be a sort of protector for them. This is a thing she can confer on others – a kind of momentary vocation, and that is a real gift… Some people were cruel to her, but here, something grew. It was a fine place for her to live, and when she died, she was missed”There are no quotation marks for speech, which may annoy some readers, although any speech is usually apparent from the context. Similarly, for almost three quarters of the book, characters are not given names, and are distinguished only by descriptors: my wife, my son, a boy, the man, the doctor, an old man. In a way, it reflects on the anonymity of the census and is partly explained by the father’s musings on our desire to name things.Where Ball has the father saying “…we felt lucky to have had him, and lucky to become the ones who were continually with him, caring for him” it could not be clearer that this is what he and his family felt for his brother. This is a wonderfully moving tribute to an obviously loved sibling. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.be/products/65559929-census-hardcover-5-april-2018](https://www.desertcart.be/products/65559929-census-hardcover-5-april-2018) --- *Product available on Desertcart Belgium* *Store origin: BE* *Last updated: 2026-05-10*