The premise of Miéville's story is interesting but the stranger that arrives only does so in the last few pages. At random moments there are cryptic mentions of men who live by the water and that the father's wife came from a similar region. Nothing is ever confirmed or denied. People randomly come and go and there seems to be no point to any of it.

Overall, there are too many ideas for a novella and none of the threads are tied up neatly.

Is the boy, the storyteller, a man telling us his past or is he still a boy and the reader is a viewer as events unfold?

Where does the story take place? Is it a modern country but one of poverty and class warfare or is it another world entirely?

Why is the strange disappearance of the mother not investigated?

Why is the father allowed to continue his life without seeming to face any censure?

Why does no one think it strange he  makes keys out of random junk?

Why is there a group of kids running around, again, ignored by the adu,its of the town?

Why does the stranger appear, seemingly at random, investigate a deep pit and then convince him to with him to God knows where?

Did anyone else read this as a half thought out commentary on society, misogyny, domestic abuse and kidnapping?

Compare this to Parris's novella and it's painfully obvious just how under prepared Miéville's work is. In The Secret Dead the reader is presented with a neat and precise, start, middle and end. The story, all 52 pages of it is perfectly crafted. It gives the reader a complete story. All the threads are tied up and the only question the reader is left with is, when can I start reading the rest of the series.

I know Miéville didn't set out to write a bad book as that's never the intention of a writer but This Census-Taker is a flawed piece of work that simply doesn't work. I couldn't recommend it to anyone.