Scan barcode
jelundberg's review against another edition
5.0
Four narrative strands, seemingly unrelated, sometimes told consecutively in the first person (so the reader has to figure out who's speaking), encompassing 50 years of Berlin history, the Nazi regime, the rise of communism, and the Manhattan Project. Somehow, it manages to not fall apart under its great ambition, and reveals moments of great empathy and emotion. And sex, lots of sex. Nothing is what it seems, and no one, and the stylistic prose is absolutely compelling through all 700 pages. Winner of the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize and the Flemish Culture Award for Fiction.
charleslambert's review against another edition
4.0
I’ve just finished reading Omega Minor by the Belgian novelist Paul Verhaeghen, a cognitive psychologist now working in the States. Originally published in Dutch, this enormous novel – 700 pages of closely-printed text - was translated into English by its author, winning the Independent Foreign Fiction prize in the process. The English, like the novel itself, is constantly inventive, and slightly quirky; Verhaeghen has stated that he decided to do the translation himself after seeing the lamentable job a professional translator had done of a section of the book, and I can well believe it. It isn’t a job I’d have taken on willingly, and certainly not at the rates a work this size inevitably attracts if it’s to exist at all. It’s a sprawling, superficially confused, engagingly unwieldy sort of book that resists unity of style, that resists, in many ways, any kind of unity at all, except that provided by its existence as an attractive, slightly austere, well-made physical artefact, for which we have, once more, the Dalkey Archive to thank.
The narrative arc of the novel covers much of the last century, with key events clustering around the opposing poles of the Second World War and the destruction of the Berlin wall. Geographically, its heart is Berlin, although long sections are set in New York and Los Alamos, and one short section in an improbably glamorous Bath, a place I suspect Verhaeghen has never seen. It’s a book that barely acknowledges a world beyond that defined by mid-twentieth century Europe and the post-war diaspora, except – in the case of Japan - as a target for the nuclear bomb. There’s no reason why it should. It has more than enough on its plate as it is.
You can read the rest of my review here.
The narrative arc of the novel covers much of the last century, with key events clustering around the opposing poles of the Second World War and the destruction of the Berlin wall. Geographically, its heart is Berlin, although long sections are set in New York and Los Alamos, and one short section in an improbably glamorous Bath, a place I suspect Verhaeghen has never seen. It’s a book that barely acknowledges a world beyond that defined by mid-twentieth century Europe and the post-war diaspora, except – in the case of Japan - as a target for the nuclear bomb. There’s no reason why it should. It has more than enough on its plate as it is.
You can read the rest of my review here.
ludwig44's review against another edition
4.0
Απολαυστικότατο. Μπορείς να το τοποθετήσεις κοντά στα αριστουργήματα του είδους (Υπόγειος κόσμος, Αούστερλιτς, κλπ) χωρίς όμως ποτέ να φτάνει τη "δωρικότητα" του ΝτεΛίλο ή τη μυσταγωγία του Ζέμπαλντ...Το τέλος ήταν λιγάκι αναπάντεχο, με μία δόση "Ντανμπραουνισμού" θα έλεγα, εν τέλει ολίγον απογοητευτικό...
Σε γενικές γραμμές αξιόλογο βιβλίο...
Σε γενικές γραμμές αξιόλογο βιβλίο...
risky_oak's review against another edition
Δείτε την κριτική στα Ελληνικά στις βιβλιοαλχημείες
After finishing the mammoth book [b:The Swarm|9960294|Το σμήνος|Frank Schätzing|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1472306353l/9960294._SY75_.jpg|66048] of 1021 pages, I was confident to start my new month (July 2019) with another big book: Omega Minor.
In 2018 upon finishing the incredible book by Jaume Cabré [b:Confiteor|30043676|Confiteor|Jaume Cabré|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1461771834l/30043676._SY75_.jpg|17492712] in a beautiful edition, in the marketing part at the end of the book I saw another book similar with it:
[b:Omega minor|21845351|Omega minor|Paul Verhaeghen|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1504786387l/21845351._SX50_.jpg|1740354] by Flemish author Paul Verhaeghen.
Both books were written in regional European languages (Confiteor in Catalan), (Omega Minor in Flemish).
Both books had to do with the Nazis, Auschwitz, the subject of memory, and Evil in our world.
I thought I was going to read a Flemish Confiteor, but I was wrong.
I read it in this boring English edition, but it was cheaper than the beautiful Greek one, and the translation was by the author himself which was something positive.
But I wasn't connected with the protagonist or any of the characters in this book as I was connected with Confiteor's.
In Confiteor besides Auschwitz, the Nazis, and the subject of memory we were also reading about the evil of Nazis, of Frankists, and of the Evil of the Holy Inquisition. And in addition, a violin's biography.
In Omega Minor we were limited into Nazis, Neonazis, and physics experiments, specifically experiments on atomic bombs, as well as to the memories of a supposed Holocaust survivor.
The writing was not as mellifluous as the one in Confiteor and I got really tired of the mechanised and dry style of the narration. Before reaching the middle part of the book I felt that the reading was a chore, but at l(e)ast I finished it.
If you like reading about the WWII, I recommend Confiteor.
If you have read it, and you LOVE WWII topics than read Omega Minor as well but don't say I didn't warn you.
nicka's review against another edition
5.0
Imagine my excitement when I was introduced to another doorstop tome previously off my radar. Put out by Dalkey. Grappling with the aftershocks of the holocaust. This had promise before I even opened the the cover.
Here are some thoughts, just riffing on things I thought about while reading Verhaeghen's novel:
From reading the other reviews on goodreads, it would seem I might be the only one to be reminded of Delillo's Underworld while reading Omega Minor. I almost omit this comparison, as I doubt the veracity of that likeness since no other reader has tied the two novels. But both are searing novels. Delillo focusing on America's joint addictions of consumption and entertainment; Verhaegen's excoriation of Germany before, during, and after the war. Both offer maximalist views from on high of a very specific time and place (though Omega Minor jumps around the globe and clock). Both are granular in their construction, juxtaposing multitudinous plot threads to weave a bigger whole.
I would have loved if Minor was pared down and ended 100 pgs before its conclusion. It seemed Verhaeghen struggled to tie the threads, closing the novel coherently. I was left questioning a major character's motivations, and confused of the ultimate fate of another protagonist.
All in all, Omega Minor is a success in the Holocaust Novel-vein, taking its rightful place alongside Levi, Weisel, and the laundry list of other name checked holocaust writers. I loved what Verhaeghen did with this novel, he managed to be resolutely impactful but also unpredictable in his construction.
Here are some thoughts, just riffing on things I thought about while reading Verhaeghen's novel:
From reading the other reviews on goodreads, it would seem I might be the only one to be reminded of Delillo's Underworld while reading Omega Minor. I almost omit this comparison, as I doubt the veracity of that likeness since no other reader has tied the two novels. But both are searing novels. Delillo focusing on America's joint addictions of consumption and entertainment; Verhaegen's excoriation of Germany before, during, and after the war. Both offer maximalist views from on high of a very specific time and place (though Omega Minor jumps around the globe and clock). Both are granular in their construction, juxtaposing multitudinous plot threads to weave a bigger whole.
I would have loved if Minor was pared down and ended 100 pgs before its conclusion. It seemed Verhaeghen struggled to tie the threads, closing the novel coherently. I was left questioning a major character's motivations, and confused of the ultimate fate of another protagonist.
All in all, Omega Minor is a success in the Holocaust Novel-vein, taking its rightful place alongside Levi, Weisel, and the laundry list of other name checked holocaust writers. I loved what Verhaeghen did with this novel, he managed to be resolutely impactful but also unpredictable in his construction.
More...