On the Calculation of Volume I by Solvej Balle

 

On The Calculation Of Volume: 1

by Solvej Balle

Translated by Barbara J. Haveland

Disclaimer: I'm rather behind on my reviews, so they will be super brief until I get caught up again.

This is the first in a planned seven-part series from Danish author Solvej Balle (I think six have already been published in the original Danish). The premise is pretty much the same as Groundhog Day, a woman wakes up to find that instead of having moved into tomorrow, she is repeating yesterday again. And again. And again. 

This first installment of the story is a study in the mundane. The day (18th November) was not particularly exciting the first time round, as it gets repeated, the daily forward momentum of life drops away, and we are left looking at the details in a different light. It reminds me of lying in bed as a child, not being tired but compelled to just lie there and observe: the patterns the light makes on the wall, a patch of flaking paint, etc, etc. Details we never normally see, as we are too busy living our lives.

It will be interesting to see how the series moves forward with the subsequent volumes. At this point I am unsure why Balle has split the series into so many slender books. Is it to force a structure on the chronology? Or is it to encourage a gap between each episode? Like so many great books were serialised in times gone by.

The book lost a few points because there was not enough substance in this volume alone to give it more. 101/140: ★★★★☆.