Publisher's Synopsis
Phil, a forty-six year old married novelist living in New York, visits the doctor when he feels something is wrong. He needs a biopsy on his throat, and the doctor is unsure if it is benign or malignant. Phil is fearful, because the lump is in a bad area, and he won't be able to go through radiation. Mostly, he is fearful, because he will only have about two or three months left to write. And what about his wife, and daughter? Where would that leave them? The doctor tells him that he must get a biopsy the very next day, as he is worried about the lump. Phil leaves the doctor's office in a particular slump. His mood doesn't brighten any, when the radio is talking about how Babe Ruth died of cancer. He begins to think about death, and how some people are mourned throughout the country, while others only get a tiny column in the newspaper. He might die soon. It is a sobering thought. He ponders that Einstein will die someday. Everyone will die eventually.Uneasy, and filled with jittery anxiety at the thought of his impending doom, Phil goes to one of his favourite places - the Knight's bar in the Astolat Hotel. He seats himself beside a beautiful young woman named Yvonne Prentiss, and realizes during his dinner, that she is reading the Kinsey report. This interests him, and they strike up a conversation. She begins to open up to him, revealing that she is reading the Kinsey report to understand her husband, who she has only recently discovered is gay. Their relationship blossoms, and they begin to see a lot more of each other during the heat wave that surrounds the city. Philip also has a few other romantic encounters during this time, sex workers who he has visited frequently. He gets the shock of his life when his young nephew breaks the news that he is dating a sex worker, and plans to marry her. Though his nephew is head over heels in love with her, Philip questions whether this relationship is good for him, or if it is doomed. Opus 21 is a well-written novel by esteemed author Philip Wylie, who has written countless novels, short stories, and screenplays. There are themes of communism, human rights, fears of atomic explosions, and explorations of human sexual experiences.
