Terminal Vibrato is a hundred-page novella, followed by fifteen short stories. The novella is a lighthearted, laugh-a-minute--though finally, serious--romp through the pleasures and perils of the academic life; it is set, not on a college or university campus, but in a hospital. The stories are precisely crafted reflections on many different themes: love and loss ("Preface to Something Important," "Independence," "Crying"), exploration and discovery ("Voyage to a New World," "Homage to Swega Tagabodu"), failure of nerve ("Player in the Symphony"), racial tension ("Daylilies"), the willfulness of memory ("A New Life"), and impish curiosity ("Two Thieves"). Peter Glassgold, former Editor in Chief at New Directions, has said about the book: " T]urning these pages compulsively--and there is no other way to read them--where one encounters heartbreak, one also finds wisdom and quiet smiles."