Tara

Tara is the protagonist: an antique book dealer who becomes trapped in a time loop. Tara is presented at the start of the novel as an organized, sociable, and emotionally grounded person whose sense of self is closely tied to professional competence, interactions with colleagues, and her relationship with her husband Thomas. When the time loop begins, her initial responses are practical and outward facing. She gathers evidence, checks dates, compares objects, and seeks confirmation from others. Her first instinct is to explain what is happening to Thomas and to secure agreement. At this stage, Tara’s identity is still relational. She understands herself through being believed, supported, and accompanied.

As the loop continues, Tara undergoes a gradual internal transformation driven by repetition rather than forward progress. Because the external world resets each day, her development takes place through repetition and ritual rather than progression or forward momentum...