Op Oloop - by Juan Filloy (Paperback)

About the Book

Mr. Optimus Oloop is a Finnish statistician living in Buenos Aires.

Book Synopsis

Mr. Optimus Oloop is a Finnish statistician living in Buenos Aires.

Review Quotes

Op Oloo

Humor is 'all pervading' or it's nothing at all, as Juan Filloy, Shakespeare, and Max Ernst always knew. --Julio Cortazar

We Argentinians have lost the last of our true comedians, Juan Filloy, philosopher of the soul: a man whose life managed to span three centuries, because he always knew how to live outside the current of the times. --Luisa Valenzuela

Chockablock with neologisms ("They'll never abelardize us!") and word play (he refers to France s three great clods: Bernard, Monet, and Debussy), this pre-Oulipoian (Oloopian?) romp is a must read for lovers of Perec, and a fine introduction to this dazzling writer.

His work is an infinite exercise in allusive realism, in constant irony, a species of human comedy . . .

Lately [Filloy] has been rediscovered by younger writers and critics, who have compared him with Jorge Luis Borges and even with Balzac . . . Freud liked [Op Oloop] so much that he sent Filloy a hand-written letter of congratulations.

Like the best satire it is an understated undermining of a lifestyle it illustrates in perfect, chiseled detail.

Occasionally ranting against the depravity of life unhinged from his beloved "method," Oloop's struggle is at turns pathetic and hilarious, though he persists to the very last.

One is left with the impression of a virtuosic, wildly passionate, and often hilarious writer writing primarily for his own aesthetic amusement.

Op Oloop is a strange, playful novel, as Filloy twists the story around the flights of fancy and philosophy that seem to be the main excuse for it. It is decidedly odd, but sparkles in its oddity. Well worthwhile.