On the Calculation of Volume (Book II): Life in the Loop Lane

I just finished the second volume of Solvej Balle's seven-volume On the Calculation of Volume time loop series (translated into English by Barbara J. Haveland).   It picked up where the first volume left off, but was noticeably different in its pace, emotional valence, and mode of story telling.

The first half was reminiscent of Canterbury Tales, as Tara travels around Europe, in pursuit of weather conditions and climates that mirror the seasons.  This is a good idea for someone who is trapped on a single single day, November 18, happening over and over.  But with the exception of a visit to her parents and a harrowing car ride in Finland, the stories Tara encounters and constructs are less than enthralling.

To be clear, the writing is sharp and evocative.  Tara on her travels meets someone named Jeanette. "I told her my name was Tara. She didn’t think that sounded French or Belgian.... I didn’t think her name sounded particularly Norwegian either, but I didn’t say that." It's fun to read piquant little observations like that amidst the huge distortion of time, but I yearned to see more of the constesting of those distortions we saw so vividly in the Book 1.

Tara settles down in the second part of the book, but with the exception of the theft of her bag, we get long internal disquisitions from Tara on the hopelessness of her situation -- at times, I thought I was reading Thomas Hardy's Jude the Obscure -- relieved at least partially by the realization the she has not been "betrayed, rejected, forsaken", she can go back to her husband Thomas any time, albeit on the time encased on November 18.

The final part of Book II finds Tara in pursuit of all the knowledge she can find about the Roman Empire and its decline.  In that pursuit, Balle has something in common with Asimov, who's Foundation series was jump-started by Edward Gibbon's The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.

There are five more novels in this series.  I would be reading them anyway, but the totally out of left-field development at the end of Book II makes it sure a sure thing I'll dive into Book III very soon. 

See also On the Calculation of Volume (Book I): The Irreducible Metaphysics of Time Loops

I Know This Much Is True: Much, True, and Worth Watching

My wife and I binged I Know This Much Is True, which ended its six-episode run last night on HBO.  Let me say this about the mini-series for starters:  If you thought Jude the Obscure was a grim narrative, wait until you see I Know This Much Is True.  But do see it.

This is the story of twins, Dominick and Thomas Birdsey.  Neither one is well adjusted.  They don't know who their father is, and their step-father is harsh and abusive.  Thomas, the difficult of the two boys, grows into a schizophrenic as a young man.   He's not a danger to others, but he is a serious danger to himself.

Dominick has to deal with this, after understandably not helping things at all when he was a boy.  In addition, he suffers a life-crushing experience that has nothing to do with Thomas.  This is what I mean about being in Jude the Obscure territory.   One soul-piercing experience is more than enough for most tragic dramas.   Two, unrelated to each other, is, well, over the top or at least a little hard to take.

And Mark Ruffalo's acting as both brothers is so powerfully effective that you have no problem believing all of this is happening.  He deserves an Emmy for best actor.  And speaking of Emmys, so does Rosie O'Donnell, as supporting actress playing social worker Lisa Sheffer.  O'Donnell brings just the right mix toughness and empathy to this role, and along with Ruffalo she'll bring tears to your eyes, if you have anything close to a beating heart.

So see I Know This Much Is True, expertly written and directed by Derek Cianfrance, based on the 1998 novel of the same name by Wally Lamb, which I haven't read and don't intend to because, well, no offence, but Thomas Hardy's 1895-1895 Jude the Obscure was more than enough.