Songs of No Provenance

In the ebullient debut novel from Conklin (after the collection Rainbow Rainbow), a queer alt-folk singer embarks on a journey of self-discovery after a disastrous performance. Joan Vole is beloved in New York City’s underground music scene, and she gets off sexually on a crowd’s adoration. During a show at a punk club, she lets down her guard and satisfies her fetish by peeing on a fan on stage. After the show, she spirals from embarrassment, ducking her best friend Paige, a rising star in the underground scene, and flees the city to teach at a writing camp for teens in rural Virginia. There, Joan is revitalized by the free-spirited campers, who freely express their gender identity and sexuality, and by an intense connection with younger faculty member Sparrow, a cartoonist who is nonbinary and who has been following her work since they were a teen. The pair’s bond prompts Joan to reflect on her intense yearslong friendship with the beautiful and androgynous Paige, whose affection Joan wasn’t comfortable reciprocating. Conklin’s comedy of manners has a shrewd undercurrent, and much of the novel’s charm derives from the teens’ easy banter with one another, which helps Joan work through her hang-ups. It’s a winner. Agent: Samantha Shea, Georges Borchardt, Inc. (June)