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Solvej Balle was born in 1962, made her debut in 1986 with Lyrefugl, and went on to write According to the Law: Four Accounts of Mankind. She’s also published a book on art theory, a political memoir, and two books of short prose. More about this author >
Sophia Hersi Smith lives in Copenhagen, where she translates alongside Jennifer Russell. Together, they have translated fiction and poetry by Danish writers such as Tove Ditlevsen, Marianne Larsen, and Rakel Haslund-Gjerrild. More about this author >
Jennifer Russell lives in Copenhagen, where she translates alongside Sophia Hersi Smith. Together, they have translated fiction and poetry by Danish writers such as Tove Ditlevsen, Marianne Larsen, and Rakel Haslund-Gjerrild. More about this author >
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In the third installment of Balle’s 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.” 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?
In Solvej Balle’s impressive On the Calculation of Volume (Book III), readers are swept along with protagonist Tara Selter into the eddies of an ever- repeating November 18. Sophia Hersi Smith and Jennifer Russell’s skillful translation juxtaposes Balle’s profound reflections with elegantly unadorned language. Both heady and mundane, grappling with the unknown as it roots readers in the ordinary world, this novel contemplates our essential need for connection and the impact of humanity’s anthropocentric mindset.
Jennifer Russell for Solvej Balle and Sophia Hersi Smith: 2025 National Book Awards Finalist Reading
