Opus 21 Descriptive Music for the Lower Kinsey Epoch of the Atomic Age, a Concerto for a One-man Band, Six Arias for Soap Operas, Fugues, Anthems & Barrelhouse

A nervous patient sits in a fluorescent‑lit clinic, flipping through glossy magazines while a calm physician peers into the back of his throat with the precision of a laboratory microscope. The examination quickly slides from a routine check‑up into a surreal meditation on mortality, the quirks of modern medicine, and the lingering shadow of an age forged by atomic discovery. The narrator’s casual banter with his longtime friend‑doctor blurs the line between a simple health concern and a larger, oddly comic reckoning with time, age, and the ever‑present hum of technology.

The novel unfolds like a series of musical movements—scherzo, tarantella, andando—each chapter a riff on contemporary anxieties, family devotion, and the absurdity of everyday rituals. Its prose is bright, witty, and steeped in post‑war satire, inviting listeners to hear the strange symphony of a world that feels both familiar and oddly out of joint. The experience is a playful yet thoughtful soundscape that rewards those who enjoy clever, genre‑bending storytelling.