On the Calculation of Volume V

Tara Selter has become someone new.

It becomes clear just how ridiculous it is: life in progressive time. Or was. Before we came to a halt. How foolishly one can spend a life in a time that moves forward. The nonsense of the ceaseless grind.

Tara has returned to Thomas, but she is no longer the person he remembers. She has now spent twelve years in the eighteenth of November, while Thomas has endlessly repeated his identical day. He struggles to reconcile Tara as she is now with the Tara he loves. And so she rejoins her friends, with whom she finds companionship and understanding. They set off for Val Benot, where other time-stranded people have created a community built on curiosity, conversation and even optimism. As the eighteenth of November continues to expand, Tara's connection with those around her deepens, and a life beyond Thomas comes unexpectedly into view.