On the Calculation of Volume (I-III)
It’s not Groundhog Day…although the basic gist of the seven-volume On the Calculation of Volume — these slim novels by Solvej Balle and translated from Danish by Barbara J. Haveland, Sophia Hersi Smith, and Jennifer Russell — is that a woman named Tara Setler is stuck in a strange time loop where every day is November 18.
It’s not Yesteryear, the hot breakout featuring a trad wife influencer who finds herself in the 19th century (I just started, and ok, Back to the Future vibes?)…even though in a weird way, Tara is, in fact, time traveling (or, rather, not traveling?) and understanding her world and her relationships through a refined and hyper-aware lens.
And it’s definitely not some trite “will this relationship survive?” love story even though by Vol. II, the reader starts to understand that one big conundrum — among many — is that Tara’s husband is not experiencing time the way his spouse is.
No, these fascinating novels are more like The Wall (Marlen Haushofer), Orbital (Samantha Harvey), and The Faster I Walk, The Smaller I Am (Kjersti A. Skomsvold)…and this wannabe philosopher can’t wait to pick up Vol. IV at the library tomorrow.
{They’re as hard to write about in a limited Instagram caption as they are to photograph, but the genius content is just as absorbing and mesmerizing as the amorphous and stunning cover art they wear. Vol. VII likely won’t come out in the US until 2027, but when I finally read it, I’ll 100% be writing something long-form about this feat of fiction.}
originally published on instagram