Every so often, an author in translation with a hit novel series in their home country or region arrives to the U.S. and becomes a fresh phenomenon in the States.
Recent examples include Elena Ferrante with her quartet of Neapolitan novels tracing the decades of friendship between Lenu and Lila, and Karl Ove Knausgaard’s six-volume “My Struggle” series, in which the Norwegian master indeed struggles in great detail and depth with existential questions of death, love and what we owe to others and the world.
The next contender for this status has arrived from Denmark. Her name is Solvej Balle, and the book is “On the Calculation of Volume.”
Whenever I tell someone about the premise of “On the Calculation of Volume” — a woman named Tara Selter, who co-owns an antiquarian bookseller with her husband Thomas, finds herself repeating the same day (Nov. 18) over and over — the immediate response is “Oh, like ‘Groundhog Day.’”
Yes, but also, very much no.
“On the Calculation of Volume” opens on Tara’s 121st instance of Nov. 18. She is sharing the house she lives in with Thomas, but is ensconced in a guest room, listening for the sounds of his morning routine that have become so familiar: the click of the gas stovetop igniting, the rustle of tea leaves in paper. Thomas thinks Tara is away on an overnight trip to secure special books for some clients, so she cannot reveal herself to him.
Unlike “Groundhog Day,” where Bill Murray’s character is resurrected in the same place every morning, no matter the events of the previous day, Tara can move through the world, waking up in the same place she laid her head, alongside whatever objects she’s kept near her.
The dilemma is immediate and rich. Tara takes us back to her first inklings of something gone wrong, seeing a piece of bread fall to the floor in the same way at the hotel breakfast multiple days in a row, and the friends with whom she shared a drink having no memory of the events, or a burn she acquired on her hand, a wound that remains, even as the day repeats for the rest of the world.
For many of the previous 120 days, Tara tells Thomas what is happening to her, and convinces him of her situation through her apparent clairvoyance. They puzzle over the dilemma, try staying up all night together, remaining in each other’s arms, and yet Thomas cannot hold on to the story, waking up surprised to see his wife, who is supposed to be away.
As the novel opens, Tara has decided that she cannot bear to deliver fresh distress to her husband over and over and has been hiding, moving only when she will not be detected.
The conceit creates a compelling combination of story suspense and a sense of suspension, as Tara cannot break free from this day. My mind whirled, wondering what I would do in her shoes, while also being ensorcelled by Balle’s close parsing of the moment-to-moment experience of living.
“On the Calculation of Human Volume” is seven books long, the first three currently available in English through the wonderful publisher, New Directions. If you are like me, you will find it impossible not to want to read Vol. 2 (and then Vol. 3) after completing the first, but I also recommend taking a bit of time between books.
One of the pleasures of life is our capacity to slow down, to notice, and as compelling as this story is, we should resist taking great gulps.
John Warner is the author of books including “More Than Words: How to Think About Writing in the Age of AI.” You can find him at biblioracle.com.
Book recommendations from the Biblioracle
John Warner tells you what to read based on the last five books you’ve read.
1. “Glory Days” by Simon Rich
2. “Black Sun” by Rebecca Roanhorse
3. “Good Material” by Dolly Alderton
4. “Jade Legacy” by Fonda Lee
5. “107 Days” by Kamala Harris
— Mike G., Springfield
I want to give Mike something with a humorous vein, which brings to mind “Big Swiss” by Jen Beagin.
1. “Red Rabbit” by Alex Grecian
2. “By the Fire We Carry” by Rebecca Nagle
3. “King of Ashes” by S.A. Cosby
4. “Bad Law: Ten Popular Laws That Are Ruining America” by Elie Mystal
5. “Deliver Me from Nowhere: The Making of Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska” by Warren Zanes
— Dave C., Lombard
I’m hoping that J. Robert Lennon’s “Hard Girls” introduces Dave to a noir/thriller series that he will read with pleasure beyond that first installment.
1. “The Book Club for Troublesome Women” by Marie Bostwick
2. “The Lost Passenger” by Frances Quinn
3. “The Elephant Whisperer” by Lawrence Anthony
4. “The Elements” by John Boyne
5. “Oil and Marble” by Stephanie Storey
— Jenny G., Lake Bluff
For Jenny, a nice, juicy historical novel, one of my favorites of recent years, “Mercury Pictures Presents” by Anthony Marra.
Get a reading from the Biblioracle
Send a list of the last five books you’ve read and your hometown to biblioracle@gmail.com.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/10/biblioracle-solvej-balle/
