On the Calculation of Volume (Book II)

Barbara J. Haveland, Solvej Balle

After returning home to see if family was grounding, Tara invests in believing that seasons are matters of projection and will rather than passive to the abstraction and metaphysics of calendars. Who is to say? I enjoyed most of this section in two sittings and was bummed when that era was exhausted and moved past, albeit with a bit of unexpected plot and a suspenseful crises left somewhat open ended, as with the encounter with the coin seller couple in Book I. I wondered if I was in on a Patricia Lockwood style joke after when Tara then returned to the roman coin from Book I and more-than-dwelled on thinkin’ about the Roman Empire, as one does, for a while. Probably not, but haha, what if? The cliffhanger has me looking forward to Book III but the meat of the story is simply engaging with the idea that there isn’t much space between those days when maybe a bit of petrichor or surprise plant growth makes you think out of time, of a day in a season opposite from the one you are in. Delightful.