On the Calculation of Volume IV by Solvej Balle

Tara Selter is one of many.

In 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.

Now the villa is full of people. As their community grows, their search for answers about the eighteenth of November becomes more urgent.

Shortlisted for the International Booker Prize and Winner of the Nordic Council Prize for Literature, On the Calculation of Volume IV is the fourth volume of the poetic, page-turning European masterpiece about one woman’s fall through the cracks of time.

‘Absolutely, absolutely incredible.’ Karl Ove Knausgard
‘A total explosion.’ Nicole Krauss
‘Unforgettable.’ Hernan Diaz
‘Breathtaking.’ Chetna Maroo
‘Brilliant.’ Jon McGregor
‘Absolutely marvellous.’ Lauren Groff

The International Booker-shortlisted masterpiece continues – a story about a woman lost in time.

About the Author: Solvej Balle was born in 1962 and made her debut in 1986 with Lyrefugl (Lyrebird.) She went on to write one of the 1990s’ most acclaimed works of Danish literature, Ifolge loven (1993) (‘According to the Law: Four Accounts of Mankind’, translated by Barbara Haveland.) On Calculation of Volume is Solvej Balle’s return to literary stardom after nearly 30 years.

Jennifer Russell and Sophia Hersi Smith are translators from the Danish based in Copenhagen. Their translations include My Work by Olga Ravn and There Lives a Young Girl In Me Who Will Not Die by Tove Ditlevsen. In 2020, they were awarded the American-Scandinavian Foundation’s Translation Prize. Their translations have appeared in the Paris Review, the New York Times, Granta, Asymptote, and on stage.

09 Apr 2026
 

On the Calculation of Volume IV: ‘Unquestionably one of the greatest works of 21st century literature so far.’ Herald by Solvej Balle ISBN 9780571397037