Few dates on the calendar get shorter shrift than poor old November 18. Bereft of major holidays, all but anonymous, and cold — but not even cold enough to snow (at least in a lot of the U.S.) — it makes a strong claim for the year's least notable day.

So spare a bit of pity for Tara Selter. When readers first met the narrator of Danish author Solvej Balle's ongoing septology, On the Calculation of Volume , Tara was already on her 121st November 18 in a row. That number now stands well north of 1,100 (and counting) as the third installment of this mesmerizing time loop gets its English translation Tuesday.

For better or worse, though, her condition isn't catching. Ordinary folks like us only get one swing at this half-digested hairball of a date each year, so we may as well seize the d

See Full Page