Solvej Balle wrote her character named Tara Selter, in her series of books based “On The Calculation Of Volume” Tara explains how she meditates and reflects on her weird situation; which is having to live through #122 times of going through a same day. Tara has lived through her November 18, 122 times, when the book opens with her story.
Tara and her husband Thomas stay in separate bedrooms. When it is very quiet, she listens to the sounds made by Thomas. It is as if she depends on his sounds as the reliable consistency in her day. Sounds made by Thomas are regular, consistent, and predictable. She reflects and meditates on these sounds in the environment. The sounds are like the anchor which she attaches herself to. She waits until he turns on loud music, to walk out of their house, to run errands. She does not want to attract his attention. She is not ready to talk to him. She uses her mindful listening to avoid him. Tara and Thomas do their shopping individually and almost lead separate existences in parallel worlds in their house.
She does not want to bump into her husband and talk, because she has been living through November 18 so many times. She has been trying to figure out what is going on, and how to break this spell of repetitive days. She has explained to Thomas what she experiences every day, but he forgets when every November 18 ends and he wakes up with no memory of the previous day’s November 18.
After Tara spends around 27 days of November 18, she loses confidence and hope in Thomas. She decides to stay in the guestroom, to spend her days away from Thomas, to figure out how to get out of her rut. Thomas believes Tara is in Paris for every November 18 he experiences. That is why Tara does not make any sounds that would alert Thomas of her presence in their home. Instead, she listens to his sounds, to understand what he is doing, to avoid him.
Do you listen to familiar sounds in your environment? Are you more comfortable with familiar sounds than strange and new ones? If you can go with the flow of sounds and are not upset to call them noise, then you have meditated in your environment. You are at peace with sound stimuli.
On The Calculation Of Volume Book 1 by Solvej Balle. If you buy from this link, I may earn a small commission.
Related posts – More reviews and photos about the book at the link https://booksreviewsandmore.com/on-the-calculation-of-volume-series-by-solvej-balle-book-reviews/