The Curfew (Vintage Contemporaries)

What can you say about Jesse Ball? Fans of his can recognize his laconic prose from twenty paces. It's as distinctive as a fingerprint. With that said:The value of Jesse Ball's "The Curfew" lies not in what it sates for readers, but what it frustrates. Like his previous "Samedi the Deafness," Ball sets "The Curfew" in an acid climate of domestic terrorism, but he never really looks that terrorism in the face. His is not a political bent. We don't know why the citizens in the city of C have a curfew. or what time it starts, or even if it is government-enforced. Only one thing is certain; someone enforces that curfew, whether it's the police or frightened citizens or some other entity, and if you're out at night, you're likely to forfeit your life.Eight year-old Molly's father has just ventured out into the night and left her in danger of becoming an orphan by morning. She stays with her neighbors, who help her put on a puppet show to occupy her through his absence. The puppet show becomes a nesting-doll story within the larger account of Molly and her father, but unlike how these box-within-a-box stories usually go, when the puppet show ends, the entire novel ends. Ball doesn't give his protagonists any space to close the novel's circuits.Therein lies the frustration Ball offers readers in "The Curfew", and also the story's strength. Our questions and speculation are all we have left by the final page, and they flood out of the book at large. Eventually, Ball's refusal to give a more satisfying end for the protagonists draws us back to the beginning of the novel. The puppet epic, which started off as a sub-file in the larger folder of the novel, actually overtakes it, and the two stories shift from their initial hierarchical relationship to being like two snakes eating one another's tails.Bottom line; if you liked reading the other novels of Jesse Ball, you will enjoy reading "The Curfew", although it may not be your favorite of his books so far. This author certainly has his own voice. His language remains stark, his ability to describe the uncanny in a handful of words remains tantalizing. It's a book that should be decanted, to be sure. It reads green at first. You'll want to read it a couple of times to let the words reach their full potential for your ears. You're likely to come away wishing for another five or ten pages at first, but the more "The Curfew" sinks in, the more Ball's ending will seem inevitable, even hopeful.

This is a dystopian novel with some new ideas. The characters are likable and relatable. The story is short and moves smoothly and the writing is easy but poetic.I wish, especially because this was so short, that it had been better developed. The groundwork for it is great and I like that it's dreamlike, but some of the characters and the scene are a little spare.The puppet scene at the end is remarkable.

I finished The Curfew a few days ago and I am still thinking about Molly, her father, and the puppet show.The Curfew was short and lovely but maintained throughout it a sense of sadness and paranoia.It was certainly an enjoyable read, not because of the sense of sadness and paranoia alone. There is a sense of wonder throughout as well.

This book had an emotional impact that sat just beyond reach but was always present. It makes one appreciate how much we have and forces us to consider how easily we could lose it.

Characters and premise are interesting.