Opus 21

by Philip Wylie

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Genres: Fiction

Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1949

About the author

Born in Beverly, Massachusetts, Philip Gordon Wylie was the son of Presbyterian minister Edmund Melville Wylie and the former Edna Edwards, a novelist, who died when Philip was five years old. His family moved to Montclair, New Jersey and he later attended Princeton University from 1920–1923. He married Sally Ondek, and had one child, Karen, an author who became the inventor of animal "clicker" training. After a divorcing his first wife, Philip Wylie married Frederica Ballard who was born and raised in Rushford, New York; they are both buried in Rushford.

A writer of fiction and nonfiction, his output included hundreds of short stories, articles, serials, syndicated newspaper columns, novels, and works of social criticism. He also wrote screenplays while in Hollywood, was an editor for Farrar & Rinehart, served on the Dade County, Florida Defense Council, was a director of the Lerner Marine Laboratory, and at one time was an adviser to the chairman of the Joint Congressional Committee for Atomic Energy which led to the creation of the Atomic Energy Commission. Most of his major writings contain critical, though often philosophical, views on man and society as a result of his studies and interest in psychology, biology, ethnology, and physics. Over nine movies were made from novels or stories by Wylie. He sold the rights for two others that were never produced.

Reviews

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good stuff here, however it was marred by a tendency to lecture at length and from an unfortunately right-wing, conservative, at times misogynistic/homophobic viewpoint. It is interesting to compare to Mano or Theroux, who do this sort of thing much more successfully (and with much more stylistic flair). When an author gives the main character his own name and own opinions (don't worry, I checked his interviews and other works to make sure I was not going off on an incorrect tangent!), and has him be an author with pretty much identical life and works to himself, and then not only makes him win every argument, even with the most intelligent of opponents, but also has beautiful women falling for him et cetera et cetera, perhaps it is safe to say his ego got the better of him.

[Kevin Findley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Every sacred cow of those days is skewered and roasted over a fire until they turn to ash. Wylie certainly deserves his reputation as a writer, satirist, and more, but this novel simply has not aged well.

If you want a very harsh view of the mores and hypocrisies of Wylie's time, then it is a very good read and needs to be on your shelf. If not, then it might be a pass for you.

Find it. Read it.

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is no reason for this book to be structured as fiction. That being said the

[Reevrb · Rating 3 out of 5]

DNF