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cami19's review
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
alisonjfields's review
3.0
Dreamy, minimalist totalitarian state lit. Sometimes has the scent of Paul Auster around the edges but with a more self-concious attachment to formal experiment. It's told in fragments, which generally works for me, but I found some of the novel's individual shards and pieces greater than the sum of its parts.
bethtmorris's review
4.0
quick read--written as if a play. thought provoking and heartbreaking. i definitely want to read more by him.
viewtoakel's review
5.0
Jesse Ball could write a cookbook and I'd be riveted from cover to cover.
A haunting story that's told in such a creative way. Probably a bit more haunting given the current state of our nation.
This one might stick with me for a few days.
A haunting story that's told in such a creative way. Probably a bit more haunting given the current state of our nation.
This one might stick with me for a few days.
pearloz's review against another edition
4.0
What a beauty. What's it doing as a novel though? This is a really good short story...some good, dystopia fiction right here.
lisa_mc's review
4.0
Some books get described as “rich with detail.” “The Curfew” is not one of those — it’s the opposite. But that’s good. Jesse Ball has a gift for conveying the complexities of a scary new world in remarkably few words.
The story takes place on a single day in an unnamed city in a not-very-pleasant-sounding future, a police state of unwritten rules, violent deaths and abrupt disappearances. The curfew referred to in the title is vague, but menacingly real: “The government’s official word on the matter was nonexistent. There was no curfew. There was simply the declaration, GOOD CITIZENS PASS THEIR NIGHTS ABED.”
William Drysdale is an “epitaphorist,” (what a great job title — he helps families come up with just the right words for tombstones) since he can no longer be a violinist; music isn’t allowed.
He lives with his young daughter, Molly, who is mute, and keeps his head down to protect her. His wife, Louisa, disappeared some time earlier, and William’s only desire is to keep Molly’s life as normal and safe as possible.
But on this day, William runs into an old friend, who invites him to a meeting — a secret, subversive meeting — with the promise of information about what happened to his wife. He dithers briefly, but the pull is too strong. William leaves Molly with the neighbors and sets out, knowing that he might have to break the curfew.
Roughly the second half of the book follows Molly, entertained by the neighbors with a puppet show. This isn’t any puppet show, but the story of Molly’s parents, right up to the immediate present. Seeing William and Louisa’s history — and fate — through the eyes of a child makes it all the more vivid, and poignant.
Ball’s hauntingly spare prose gives his explorations of everyday life, philosophy, rebellion a stark beauty, almost dreamlike, that belies the horrors lurking just underneath the surface of this circumscribed society.
This coupled with the wildly imaginative — and yet not unimaginable — storyline left me both heartbroken and hopeful by the end.
As most good novels do.
The story takes place on a single day in an unnamed city in a not-very-pleasant-sounding future, a police state of unwritten rules, violent deaths and abrupt disappearances. The curfew referred to in the title is vague, but menacingly real: “The government’s official word on the matter was nonexistent. There was no curfew. There was simply the declaration, GOOD CITIZENS PASS THEIR NIGHTS ABED.”
William Drysdale is an “epitaphorist,” (what a great job title — he helps families come up with just the right words for tombstones) since he can no longer be a violinist; music isn’t allowed.
He lives with his young daughter, Molly, who is mute, and keeps his head down to protect her. His wife, Louisa, disappeared some time earlier, and William’s only desire is to keep Molly’s life as normal and safe as possible.
But on this day, William runs into an old friend, who invites him to a meeting — a secret, subversive meeting — with the promise of information about what happened to his wife. He dithers briefly, but the pull is too strong. William leaves Molly with the neighbors and sets out, knowing that he might have to break the curfew.
Roughly the second half of the book follows Molly, entertained by the neighbors with a puppet show. This isn’t any puppet show, but the story of Molly’s parents, right up to the immediate present. Seeing William and Louisa’s history — and fate — through the eyes of a child makes it all the more vivid, and poignant.
Ball’s hauntingly spare prose gives his explorations of everyday life, philosophy, rebellion a stark beauty, almost dreamlike, that belies the horrors lurking just underneath the surface of this circumscribed society.
This coupled with the wildly imaginative — and yet not unimaginable — storyline left me both heartbroken and hopeful by the end.
As most good novels do.
bloppenheim's review
4.0
The Curfew retains the off-kilter sense that Jesse Ball's other works tend to press upon the reader. Specifically [b:The Way Through Doors|4789658|The Way Through Doors|Jesse Ball|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320451694s/4789658.jpg|4854573] and [b:Silence Once Begun|17883918|Silence Once Begun|Jesse Ball|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1398325650s/17883918.jpg|25046995] have the ability to flow around and play with narrative structure while retaining a sort of magical quality. Those two books strike very closely to Calvino's [b:If on a Winter's Night a Traveler|374233|If on a Winter's Night a Traveler|Italo Calvino|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1355316130s/374233.jpg|1116802]. The Curfew is a little bit more linear, separated into short, discrete sections, not unlike another Ball + wife work [b:Vera & Linus|1020994|Vera & Linus|Jesse Ball|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1180293855s/1020994.jpg|1007121].
It exists in a (scarcely fleshed out) dystopic world, taking the book's title literally. Music no longer is welcome and there's an overwhelming sense of paranoia that seems to linger. The story follows the main character for approximately 3/4's of the book before shifting both character and tone entirely. Far from being linear, the last portion of the book takes place in a puppet show that features characters we have met throughout the book. This blends the reality (that is, the fictional setting of the book) with the stage. Names and identities are blended, characters are detached and both alive and not. This last part is a little bit more reminiscent of some of the stranger novels that Ball has done, playing with themes of Absurdism and Surrealism, giving us an almost Beckett-like play-within-a-novel. This quarter-book length act is rife with symbolism, but sometimes feels a little bit heavy handed, especially in contrast with the earlier portion of the book that comes across as relatively linear.
All in all, I think the project is a little less cohesive then some of his other works, even if it is a bit more linear. The characters are certainly engaging, and there's a good deal to think about paranoia.
It exists in a (scarcely fleshed out) dystopic world, taking the book's title literally. Music no longer is welcome and there's an overwhelming sense of paranoia that seems to linger. The story follows the main character for approximately 3/4's of the book before shifting both character and tone entirely. Far from being linear, the last portion of the book takes place in a puppet show that features characters we have met throughout the book. This blends the reality (that is, the fictional setting of the book) with the stage. Names and identities are blended, characters are detached and both alive and not. This last part is a little bit more reminiscent of some of the stranger novels that Ball has done, playing with themes of Absurdism and Surrealism, giving us an almost Beckett-like play-within-a-novel. This quarter-book length act is rife with symbolism, but sometimes feels a little bit heavy handed, especially in contrast with the earlier portion of the book that comes across as relatively linear.
All in all, I think the project is a little less cohesive then some of his other works, even if it is a bit more linear. The characters are certainly engaging, and there's a good deal to think about paranoia.
bettyvd's review against another edition
3.0
Mooi: hoe een grafschriftschrijver poëzie maakt. Minder geslaagd: het verhaal in het verhaal in het verhaal. Maar alle thema's die het werk van Jesse Ball zo bijzonder maken, zijn al aanwezig.
chelseamartinez's review
4.0
This book is pretty heartbreaking, and I think it's particularly effective in how quickly it moves and ho w you gradually pick up on the environmental/ political situation after you are already interested in the characters.
kiramke's review
4.0
Quite enjoyed the allegory and thought experiment. Keeping to reread in different circumstances.