On the Calculation of Volume (Book III)
On the Calculation of Volume (Book III)
On the Calculation of Volume (Book III)
Description
Description
In the marvelous third installment of Balle's "astonishing" (The Washington Post) septology, Tara's November 18th transforms when she discovers that she is no longer alone in her endless autumnal day. For she has met someone who remembers, and who knows as well as she does that "it is autumn, but that we're not heading into winter. That spring and summer will not follow. That the reds and yellows of the trees are here to stay. That yesterday doesn't mean the seventeenth of November, that tomorrow means the eighteenth, and that the nineteenth is a day we may never see." Where Book I and II focused on a single woman's involuntary journey away from her life and her loved ones and into the chasm of time, Book III brings us back into the realm of companionship, with all its thrills, odd quirks, and a sense of mutual bewilderment at having to relearn how to exist alongside others in a shared reality. And then of course, what of Tara's husband Thomas, still sitting alone day after day, entirely unawares, in their house in Clarion-sous-Bois, waiting for his wife to return? Blending poetry and philosophical inquiry with rich reflections on our discombobulating times, Balle's On the Calculation of Volume asks us to consider: What is a single person's responsibility to humanity and to the preservation of this world?
Critical Reviews
Critical Reviews
Solvej Balle is a prodigious writer who, miraculously, finds the subtlest, most fascinating differences in repetition. You have never read anything like On the Calculation of Volume. This unforgettable novel is a profound meditation on the lonely, untranslatable ways in which each one of us inhabits time--and the tenuous yet indelible traces we leave in the world. Day after day.--Hernan Diaz
On the Calculation of Volume is a thrilling example of what an author can do with narrative when time doesn't work in a traditional way. It's a tragic story with so many moments of hope.-- "The Maris Review"
For the reader the series' seductive qualities are only deepening. A brainy and beguiling meditation on time and purpose.-- "Kirkus"
Endlessly fascinating, supple, and tenderly human, Balle's masterpiece reaches new heights.-- "Publishers Weekly (starred)"
As engrossing as what preceded it.-- "Complete Review"
This novel of repetition reveals the remarkable richness of each moment. Balle's spare, attentive prose demonstrates the way careful attention can transform seemingly familiar silences into a lushly textured masterwork of sound.--Meghan Racklin "The Believer"
As Tara's circle expands, so does the world of the book. Small as it is, Tara's new society makes for a number of twists in Balle's narrative puzzle.--Emma Alpern "Vulture"
The effect of the time-loop device is propulsive yet lulling: the premise grabs us with its gimmickry, then it amplifies the motions and textures that we already know... If the series' conceit literalizes the mismatches in our intimate relationships, it also dramatizes a person grappling with her finitude.--Katy Waldman "The New Yorker"
Publishing Information
Publishing Information
Publisher:
New Directions Publishing Corporation
Pub date:
2025-11-18
Length:
144 pages
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