''Omega Minor'' is a 2004 novel by the Belgian writer

Paul Verhaeghen Paul Verhaeghen (born 1965) is a Belgian novelist, writing in his native Dutch language, Dutch. His novels include ''Lichtenberg'' (1996) and ''Omega Minor'' (2004). ''Omega Minor'' has been translated into German language, German (2006, Eichborn ...

. The narrative follows a number of European research students and their theories about the Omega density parameter and the nature of

dark matter Dark matter is a hypothetical form of matter thought to account for approximately 85% of the matter in the universe. Dark matter is called "dark" because it does not appear to interact with the electromagnetic field, which means it does not ab ...

, as well as ponders on the violence of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The book received the

Ferdinand Bordewijk Prize {{short description, Dutch literary award The Ferdinand Bordewijk Prize or F. Bordewijk-prijs is a literary award, presented annually by the Jan Campert Foundation to the author of the best Dutch prose book. The prize was established in 1948 as the ...

in 2005 and the

Independent Foreign Fiction Prize The ''Independent'' Foreign Fiction Prize (1990–2015) was a British literary award. It was inaugurated by British newspaper ''The Independent'' to honour contemporary fiction in translation in the United Kingdom. The award was first launched i ...

in 2008.

Reception

Matt Thorne Matthew "Matt" Thorne (born 1974) is an English novelist, writer, and journalist. Life and career Thorne grew up in Bristol, England, and was educated at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge. Thorne's first book, ''Tourist'', was published in 19 ...

reviewed the book for ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'': "Among authors of big novels that address science, technology and psychology, Verhaeghen is closer to William T Vollmann, Don DeLillo and the underrated British author James Flint than Thomas Pynchon or David Foster Wallace. He has almost no interest in popular culture and his conspiracy theories tend to focus on historical injustice rather than sinister cabals. Although it is always entertaining, and rarely heavy going, there is nothing whimsical about this book." Thorne continued: "''Omega Minor'' is undoubtedly a curate's egg, but few recent novels rival its richness. And there is something admirable about an author who challenges not just the structural limitations of the novel, but also the limitations of our understanding of the universe. For all its flaws, this is an uncommonly intellectually stretching -- and satisfying -- experience."

References

2004 Belgian novels Dutch-language novels {{2000s-novel-stub

Reception

See also

References