Tantric Coconuts

The author of A Dog Named Christmas and Christmas with Tucker takes a turn toward spiritual teaching in this new novel. Ted Day, a lonely and unfulfilled lawyer from a small town in Kansas decides to take a vacation in his grandfather's RV and is pulling into his first campsite when he hits the bookmobile driven by Angel Two Sparrow, an out-of-work Lakota Sioux who hit the road as a travelling spiritual consultant. After their collision, the two implausibly decide to get involved as teacher and student. Newly minted instructor Angel has a very specific course of study laid out and the reader follows along through her insights, many of which are contained in real-world texts that Kincaid frequently footnotes. Angel has a series of conveniently placed friends along the path of their quest; a Catholic priest, a Sufi Muslim, and a bicycle repairman well versed in Hinduism who all agree to act as advanced spiritual teachers for Ted. Although the bicycle repairman has his own footnote comparing him to a real spiritual author, the character also reads like a nod to Robert Pirsig's Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Readers in search of insights shared on a road trip would be well advised to pick up Pirsig's book instead. Agent: Jonathan Clements, Wheelhouse Literary. (July)