{"title":"Books by Solvej Balle","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9780571383405","title":"On the Calculation of Volume II","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e Winner of the Nordic Council Prize for Literature\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe second volume of the Booker-shortlisted masterpiece about one woman's fall through the cracks of time.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Absolutely, absolutely incredible.' \u003c\/b\u003eKarl Ove Knausgård\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'A total explosion.' \u003c\/b\u003eNicole Krauss\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Unforgettable.' \u003c\/b\u003eHernan Díaz\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Breathtaking.'\u003c\/b\u003e Chetna Maroo\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Brilliant.' \u003c\/b\u003eJon McGregor\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Absolutely marvellous.' \u003c\/b\u003eLauren Groff\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTara Selter is building her own year.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eIf I want seasons, I will have to build them myself. If I am to have a future, I will have to build it myself. I put the pieces together, little fragments of season and I write it all down.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTara has been stuck in the 18th of November for over a year's worth of days. She still wakes up to the same newspapers, and the same blank faces when she explains that she has seen this all before. Until one morning, she boards a train and finds herself in a new day. It is still the eighteenth of November, but the faces are different, the weather is colder.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eShe realises that she has found a way out of her endless autumn. By moving across Europe rather than through time, she can collect the ingredients for the seasons: the thin film of ice on puddles, the fresh spring breeze, the blazing summer sun. As she travels, she begins to hope for a new future, one that will run in parallel to the eighteenth of November, one that she must build for herself.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'How on earth did this book come into being? It's like it has always been here in this world with us, like one feels about the best art.' \u003c\/b\u003eSheila Heti\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55206011240821,"sku":"9780571383405","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780571383405_eac615a5-fe62-4d2d-a7cf-f9b6b757196a.jpg?v=1786015377"},{"product_id":"9780571383375","title":"On the Calculation of Volume I","description":"\u003cp\u003e** A \u003ci\u003eNEW YORKER, OBSERVER \u003c\/i\u003eAND \u003ci\u003ePARIS REVIEW \u003c\/i\u003eBOOK OF THE YEAR **\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Absolutely, absolutely incredible.' \u003c\/b\u003eKarl Ove Knausgård\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'A total explosion.' \u003c\/b\u003eNicole Krauss\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Unforgettable.' \u003c\/b\u003eHernan Díaz\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Breathtaking.'\u003c\/b\u003e Chetna Maroo\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Brilliant.' \u003c\/b\u003eJon McGregor\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Absolutely marvellous.' \u003c\/b\u003eLauren Groff\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eShortlisted for the International Booker Prize this is the first volume of the poetic, page-turning European masterpiece about one woman's fall through the cracks of time.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTara Selter has slipped out of time.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eIt was clear that the day always returned to its starting point, but that there were also variations. It was not mechanical, there was more to it. It was the same day which kept recurring, but it was not set in stone. \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEvery morning, she wakes up to the 18th of November. She no longer expects to wake up to the 19th of November, and she no longer remembers the 17th of November as if it were yesterday.\u003cbr\u003eShe comes to know the shape of the day like the back of her hand – the grey morning light in her Paris hotel; the moment a blackbird breaks into song; her husband’s surprise at seeing her return home unannounced. But for everyone around her, this day is lived for the first and only time. They do not remember the other 18ths of November, and they do not believe her when she tries to explain.\u003cbr\u003eAs Tara approaches her 365th 18th of November, she can’t shake the feeling that somewhere underneath the surface of this day, there’s a way to escape.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55206021366133,"sku":"9780571383375","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780571383375_af986ddb-5284-4f29-b36a-ebefd996739a.jpg?v=1786015376"},{"product_id":"9780571383429","title":"On the Calculation of Volume III","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe third volume of the Booker-shortlisted masterpiece about a woman lost in time. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWINNER OF THE NORDIC COUNCIL PRIZE\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Absolutely, absolutely incredible.' \u003cb\u003eKarl Ove Knausgård\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'A total explosion.' \u003cb\u003eNicole Krauss\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Extraordinary.' \u003cb\u003eDaisy Johnson\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Unforgettable.' \u003cb\u003eHernan Díaz\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Breathtaking.'\u003cb\u003e Chetna Maroo\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Absolutely marvellous.' \u003cb\u003eLauren Groff\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTara Selter is no longer alone.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eI have met someone who remembers. Yesterday. That is to say, I met him yesterday. But \u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003ehe remembers yesterday, too. He remembers that we met yesterday.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTara Selter has lived the eighteenth of November 1,143 times when she notices a break in the pattern: a man has changed his shirt. The man is Henry Dale, and he remembers all the days that have come before. He knows that time has fallen out of joint. Now they are two of a kind – trapped in the eighteenth of November, but no longer alone.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTogether they learn to share their present; their voices grow hoarse recounting their small battles against it and their bewilderment at the disintegrating world. Henry sees things differently to Tara: he does not think that time will put itself back together and he does not think that the future will come around. But he makes her realise that she is no longer the same person she was before this fault in time. And he makes her believe that there may be others to find within it.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e notable book of 2025\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55896495948149,"sku":"9780571383429","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780571383429_c3090662-10bf-41fa-bd36-e2790bce0dde.jpg?v=1786015378"},{"product_id":"on-the-calculation-of-volume-iv","title":"On the Calculation of Volume IV","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eIt feels as though we have each been walking along our own path in the same forest. And now, we have found our way to a clearing and suddenly we see that we share not only the clearing but the forest too. You think it begins when you meet, but in fact, our stories were already entwined.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Our century's answer to Proust'\u003c\/b\u003e \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Astonishing' \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eLondon Review of Books \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Unforgettable' \u003c\/b\u003eHernan Díaz\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'A speculative masterwork'\u003c\/b\u003e \u003ci\u003eThe Cut\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe fourth volume of the poetic, page-turning and International Booker shortlisted masterpiece about a woman's fall through the cracks of time.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTara Selter has found a new home. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn a sprawling villa on the outskirts of Bremen, Tara Selter is starting to settle into a new kind of eighteenth of November. Her days with Henry, Ralf and Olga revolve around the daily routines of practical chores: gathering provisions, splitting firewood. But one morning, there are five new arrivals at their wrought-iron gate.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAs more people continue to arrive, their home fills with movement, voices fill the air; a flurry of people asking questions, sharing their eighteenths of November. Slowly, they settle into a new routine and Tara begins to breathe a little easier. Could they create a new world inside the eighteenth of November?\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57481516515701,"sku":"9780571397037","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780571397037.jpg?v=1786089783"},{"product_id":"on-the-calculation-of-volume-v","title":"On the Calculation of Volume V","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e** AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER NOW ** \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTara Selter has become someone new.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eIt becomes clear just how ridiculous it is: life in progressive time. Or was. Before we came to a halt. How foolishly one can spend a life in a time that moves forward. The nonsense of the ceaseless grind.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTara has returned to Thomas, but she is no longer the person he remembers. She has now spent twelve years in the eighteenth of November, while Thomas has endlessly repeated his identical day. He struggles to reconcile Tara as she is now with the Tara he loves. And so she rejoins her friends, with whom she finds companionship and understanding. They set off for Val Benoît, where other time-stranded people have created a community built on curiosity, conversation and even optimism. As the eighteenth of November continues to expand, Tara’s connection with those around her deepens, and a life beyond Thomas comes unexpectedly into view.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘I was smitten.’ \u003cb\u003eRichard Flanagan\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘Hypnotic . . . a philosophical experiment illuminated by a novelist’s sensuous and humane way of looking.’ \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘A storm of brilliance.’ \u003cb\u003eDaisy Johnson\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'The greatest literary work of the 21st century so far . . . these books will be seen by future scholars as the work which best captured the soul of our times.' \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Herald\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57499280048501,"sku":"9780571397099","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780571397099.jpg?v=1786694595"},{"product_id":"on-the-calculation-of-volume-book-v","title":"On the Calculation of Volume (Book V)","description":"\u003cp\u003eIt's been a while since Tara Selter was all alone in her repeating November day. It's been even longer since she was one half of a unit called T\u0026amp;T Selter, an antiquarian book dealership she ran with her beloved husband Thomas. Her hazy days of confusion are behind her, and so are her desperate and doomed attempts to reattach herself to linear time. Tara has begun to settle into a new life, with new habits, and new people, and so have the many other time-trapped individuals who have joined her along the way. And yet we can't help but wonder whether she and her fellow travelers will ever find their way out of a trap so inexplicable and profound-and will they even still want to? In Balle's hands the time loop becomes a parable of loss, longing, marital loneliness, and our own mortality. 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