The Curfew

Be prepared for the most elaborate puppet show of your life, The Curfew by Jesse Ball has broken into my top 5 favorite novels of all time. I plan to seek out more of Ball's writing as soon as I can clear a few other books from my queue. This is a very quick read. Without the significant page and line breaks, and unusual dialog structure, I wouldn't be surprised if this story slimmed down to a novella. Not that this makes any difference to it's power; just felt the need to encourage those looking for an amazing quickie read.

The prose is poetic. There's just something about the daddy-daughter relationship that is so striking. Their communication is endearing. I had the need to squeal at the note Molly left for her father: "I am an elephant today. I will need to have lots of room and also a bowl of water on the floor" (37, Ball). **SQUEAL!** Not only because of the elephant reference (if you knew me, you'd understand my delight,) but the metaphorical imprint it leaves in me. It's a weight everyone feels sometimes: please leave me my space, but don't ignore me.

The Curfew isn't about any specific town at at, but that just makes this novel an excellent companion to any historical fiction (or nonfiction) referencing the act. I would recommend this to any social science and history classroom dabbling into the subject. It's something I can only vaguely recall discussing during high school assignments regarding The Holocaust. Really, anyone and everyone: go for this novel. Moving and lovely all rolled into one. 5/5 Stars.