Paul Verhaeghen's 'Oméga mineur' Translated by Claro

Claro has translated and published Paul Verhaeghen's monumental novel 'Oméga mineur' with Éditions Cherche-Midi in the 'Lot 49' collection. Originally written in Flemish and self-translated into English by Verhaeghen, a cognitive psychology professor in the United States, the novel is now available in French. The narrative interweaves three stories: that of Paul Andermans, a Flemish psychology student in Potsdam who is beaten by neo-Nazis while defending an Asian man in a Berlin subway; the testimony of Jozef de Heer, a Holocaust survivor and his hospital roommate; and the tale of Goldfarb, a Jewish scientist who emigrated to the US and worked on the atomic bomb. The novel explores themes of memory, trauma, and the nature of fiction, drawing comparisons to works by William Gass, Danielewski, Powers, and Pynchon. It was reviewed in artpress in July 2010.