On the Calculation of Volume I

Part of Groundhog Day's charm is that its story works like an escape room, and Balle explores this as well. But it is not just questions about the mechanics of it all that keep the reader engaged. I sure am interested in what solution to the mind-body problem Balle will need, and if she'll need such a solution to begin with, or what she'll have eventually said about determinism by book 7, but so far this novel's main draw is Selter's psychological states throughout the story.

The book works both as a metaphor for various things -- the distance between lovers, consumer society, mindful attention to time and reality, the improbable nature of life, the ever-present possibility of unexpected radical change -- and as a quite literal examination of a human in a speculative, traumatic situation. Balle is never showy or preachy or aiming for spectacle, but somehow manages, through her crystal-clear prose, in an almost understated manner, to shed some light on human life. While obviously the novel has a fair bit of repetition, the pacing is great, the story remains unpredictable, and I was gripped and immersed from the start

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