What would you do if each morning, when you wake up, the day has reset, and you are forced to relive the 18^th of November again and again?  A seemingly endless time loop.  You confide in your partner, parents and friends but each new day, they forget the conversation and you need to start again. Trying to convince and explain that time is falling apart.  This is where Tara Selter finds herself in Solvej Balle’s On The Calculation of Volume.  A planned 7 book series from the acclaimed Danish author, and her first major release in nearly 30 years.  Volume 1 is currently in the shortlist for the International Booker Prize 2025 for translated fiction.  Five books in the epic septology have been published so far in Danish, with the first two volumes translated into English by Barbara J. Haveland and published on the 10^th April 2025 by Faber books. 

On The Calculation of Volume is an immersive and meditative experience.  It is a masterful character study of Tara Selter as she grapples with time, who she is and her place in the world.  Reading this, I was drawn to attempt to map some of Tara’s experiences through the lens of psychological formulation.  I have used a psychological approach, drawing on a “5 p’s formulation”, commonly used in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and psychological therapy generally, to explore Tara’s journey through the course of the novel.  Much of this formulation is constrained by Tara being stuck in time, so there is less of a focus on her past, and more of a snapshot of her attempts to survive and navigate through this rupture in time.  Tara’s psychological portrait may be one that will be interesting to revisit in future and develop as further volumes of the septology are released.

(Please note this psychological portrait contains spoilers for the book)

On The Calculation of Volume, books one and two are out now.  Thank you to Faber books for the advanced reading copy.