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Songs of No Provenance
A suspenseful, wildly engaging debut novel by the award-winning author of Rainbow Rainbow, following a musician spiraling in self-doubt and self-searching after a night—and a relationship—gone wrong
Songs of No Provenance tells the story of Joan Vole, an indie folk singer forever teetering on the edge of fame, who flees New York after committing a shocking sexual act onstage that she fears will doom her career. Joan seeks refuge at a writing camp for teenagers in rural Virginia, where she's forced to question her own toxic relationship to artmaking—and her complicated history with a friend and mentee—while finding new hope in her students and a deepening intimacy with a nonbinary artist and fellow camp staff member.
A propulsive character study of a flawed and fascinating artist, Songs of No Provenance explores issues of trans nonbinary identity, queer baiting and appropriation, kink, fame hunger, secrecy and survival, and the question of whether a work of art can exist separately from its artist.
Songs of No Provenance tells the story of Joan Vole, an indie folk singer forever teetering on the edge of fame, who flees New York after committing a shocking sexual act onstage that she fears will doom her career. Joan seeks refuge at a writing camp for teenagers in rural Virginia, where she's forced to question her own toxic relationship to artmaking—and her complicated history with a friend and mentee—while finding new hope in her students and a deepening intimacy with a nonbinary artist and fellow camp staff member.
A propulsive character study of a flawed and fascinating artist, Songs of No Provenance explores issues of trans nonbinary identity, queer baiting and appropriation, kink, fame hunger, secrecy and survival, and the question of whether a work of art can exist separately from its artist.
368 pages, Hardcover
First published June 3, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews
July 19, 2025
go piss girl
June 30, 2025
you sang and you received no song.
December 9, 2025
On today's episode of Uncomprehending Leads To Lethal Psychic Damage, more in weird gender. (Or, the book that convinced me that I'm labelling myself either very wrong or very right)
The only book I can think of that bears any remote resemblance to Songs of No Provenance is the fruity Andrea Lawlor masterwork Paul Takes The Form Of A Mortal Girl. Partially that's just me connecting the mind poisoning of their shared themes, even if the content of them is kind of perfect opposites. But they both approach Gender in a somewhat similar way, and they're both about neurotic New Yorkers run astray. Joan might also appreciate the praise of the piss-boner in Paul.
Songs doesn't say anywhere that it's a piss book, which is pretty funny because honestly it's a core part of Joan Vole's character. She's straight, she tells us so, but her true fixation, the guiding light of her sexuality, is pee. Pissing on people, covertly in public places, holding it in till it feels like her bladder will explode, just to press on it. It's not about power exchange, it's about pee. She doesn't get along with the local watersports crowd, which in my mind created a funny binary of "watersports enthusiasts" and "oromashi kinksters". She has a lot going on about it: on the one hand, she is single-mindedly determined and internally very free about her piss, like she sure isn't fuckin' repressing it. She is more ashamed of writing dyke songs while not being a dyke, than the pee stuff. On the other hand, though, she never sees anyone she pees on again, and it doesn't seem like she's ever safely introduced the concept to a relationship. She meets this kid when she's like 22, Paige, and while Joan gets her name from and mentors Paige, it's not really like that, so it's awkward when Paige tries to fuck her. Moreso because Paige seems to ardently ignore the pee exploits. When Joan fucks off at the outset, it's as much about this as any shame or sex crime or public indecency, I figure. It might help if she didn't refer to people she liked as "puppy" internally, but Joan is big on people being puppylike.
She does fuck off though, escapes, and falls ass-backwards into a job teaching songwriting at some sort of opt-in summer school in a college, in Virginia. That's where she is, and between flashbacks with Paige in New York, she navigates her way around teaching a tiny class to write the titular Songs of No Provenance, manages to look professional and hide her utter obsession with Sparrow.
The other thing about Joan is that she's got Gender Trouble something fierce. "Like a jackal or a monster, but a lovely one?" It takes a while to get truly a the core of it, but Joan's other major "thing" is on display long before then; at first I thought it was fuckin' weird as fuck that she describes her sexuality as "male" so often, but that's a translation problem. My mind went automatically to a self-depreciating-trans-woman space about it, which is a beginner's mistake because Joan is not self-depreciating when she says that, when she pees on someone, or when her stream meets the earth. Which rocks. Eventually she outright describes her inner roiling sea as "It's gender stuff", which made me laugh happily at how direct it was. I think it's cool how her gender and sexuality--whatever label you might use for them--are so deeply tied, and to be real I kinda fuck with the way she's always describing herself as some slender, ragged coyote. Bit of a mood.
Sparrow is equally cool and interesting, when we get them. Sparrow's character is primarily about Gender; they do draw neat comics and stuff, they have friends among the college staff, but most of the substance for Sparrow is Gender. That they would have loved to experience "male puberty" but feel affected irrevocably by the upbringing they did have. It's kinda funny that they parse this as "And sure, yeah, I could be, like, this special, new kind of man. But I'm not that cool" because it's the polar opposite of whatever Hierarchy of Subversiveness shit you hear about. Cool. They're not super complicated, mostly due to the reader not getting much from their head, which is fine but sometimes left me feeling like Sparrow is an instrument for Joan to play about her gender. That's me being harsh, though; it's a book of Joan, and mostly Joan is drawn to Sparrow because they're alike, which again is refreshingly direct in contrast to Paul Polydoris' layers of ironypoisoning. Thinking about it for a second, it's pretty much t4t. Non-binary, and/or multigendered t4t. It's actually very beautiful, this way. "[...]as not sad, aging woman but a whole different category of beast". They are both of them lovely.
So, Songs is the story of what happens after Maria leaves her New York comfort zone, good future. Sorta. I guess New York just does this to people.
I have less to say about Paige; she's a huge figure in Joan's life, every flashback is dedicated to her, but their thing is kind of weird. She meets Paige as a streetkid (literally 16) with some kind of talent for songs, and they pretty much live together. Paige is mega gay for Joan, but Joan sees it more like mentorship, like she's a kid sister, so they just kind of simmer weirdly for like two decades. Paige is also seemingly better at the folk-punk-rock-whatever that they do though, so she gets record deals faster which causes a pretty weird rift. I squinted at this connection a lot, I think Joan is caught between desperately needing a friend and feeling trapped & fucked up about having to play lesbian for the privilege. Maybe that's her whole life, her career even. Damn, that's fucking harsh, I sincerely hate that for her and honestly for Paige too. On the whole, watching the ugly, uncomfortable past life Joan blasted away from unfold as the shiny possibilities of her new life in the present unfurl equally is cathartic, I think.
Both times of her life are heavily defined by the groups she's tenuously attached to; the other characters in the Gonewriters' collective she and Paige join, and the teachers at the college she and Sparrow teach at. So what do I think about the songwriterly aspects, the little fleshy bits of creation that Joan goes through with her students? Not a lot, given that I am perpetually fucked up about being incapable of creating or writing or doing anything. I do think it's fascinating, the titular authorless song thing, especially for someone as perpetually fucked up about status and kind of ego-centered as Joan. As if she knows what her deal is but can only try to fix it for other people, which I guess she near enough says at one point. The moment when it all approaches coming together is kinda beautiful, the students awed, the emotion of joy so unfamiliar in Joan's deeply tormented, utterly fetid mind palace.
I do think Joan is not the most reliable narrator. I mean, her perception of that last show before she books it outright tells us that she sees things a bit funny, but her mood and outlook tend to bounce violently between roses-and-sunshine and oh-shit-everything-is-fucked. She gives the impression of a beast hunted, never able to relax. Keeps bolting out of places and ~ situations ~, ever the skittish jackal. I kind of love her, I really do believe in the Joan that can be a good enough person for Sparrow. She works kinda hard at it. I don"t know if she does, though, and maybe she's right. I want badly for her to win, to keep what she has. But I guess if you drive all the way to fuckin' California or something, you either come back or New York comes for you.
Reading Songs of No Provenance was odd, it kept putting little cracks in my understanding until the wood splintered lengthwise, at which point I had to Learn And Understand. Rebuild the deck with new lumber. I felt humbled by it, utterly stupid by comparison even to someone as totally fucking dopey as Joan. I get humbled by stuff like this, like Paul, a lot, which in the long term is a good thing. I wonder slightly if the issue is taking all of the labels and terms at their prescriptive word, but who knows if the author has read the Gender Accelerationist, right? Maybe, though. They do seem pretty cool. A couple of times I thought it really would straight up kill me, emotional-sensory overload, but I was able to meet it on its level. It was well worth it. In the short term it kind of feels like my skull burst open to make room for the pristine and pliant white fungus growing from it, but I can deal. The skull is healthier for its expansion. Just look at those sinuate gills, beautiful. Now that's a fucking mushroom.
The only book I can think of that bears any remote resemblance to Songs of No Provenance is the fruity Andrea Lawlor masterwork Paul Takes The Form Of A Mortal Girl. Partially that's just me connecting the mind poisoning of their shared themes, even if the content of them is kind of perfect opposites. But they both approach Gender in a somewhat similar way, and they're both about neurotic New Yorkers run astray. Joan might also appreciate the praise of the piss-boner in Paul.
Songs doesn't say anywhere that it's a piss book, which is pretty funny because honestly it's a core part of Joan Vole's character. She's straight, she tells us so, but her true fixation, the guiding light of her sexuality, is pee. Pissing on people, covertly in public places, holding it in till it feels like her bladder will explode, just to press on it. It's not about power exchange, it's about pee. She doesn't get along with the local watersports crowd, which in my mind created a funny binary of "watersports enthusiasts" and "oromashi kinksters". She has a lot going on about it: on the one hand, she is single-mindedly determined and internally very free about her piss, like she sure isn't fuckin' repressing it. She is more ashamed of writing dyke songs while not being a dyke, than the pee stuff. On the other hand, though, she never sees anyone she pees on again, and it doesn't seem like she's ever safely introduced the concept to a relationship. She meets this kid when she's like 22, Paige, and while Joan gets her name from and mentors Paige, it's not really like that, so it's awkward when Paige tries to fuck her. Moreso because Paige seems to ardently ignore the pee exploits. When Joan fucks off at the outset, it's as much about this as any shame or sex crime or public indecency, I figure. It might help if she didn't refer to people she liked as "puppy" internally, but Joan is big on people being puppylike.
She does fuck off though, escapes, and falls ass-backwards into a job teaching songwriting at some sort of opt-in summer school in a college, in Virginia. That's where she is, and between flashbacks with Paige in New York, she navigates her way around teaching a tiny class to write the titular Songs of No Provenance, manages to look professional and hide her utter obsession with Sparrow.
The other thing about Joan is that she's got Gender Trouble something fierce. "Like a jackal or a monster, but a lovely one?" It takes a while to get truly a the core of it, but Joan's other major "thing" is on display long before then; at first I thought it was fuckin' weird as fuck that she describes her sexuality as "male" so often, but that's a translation problem. My mind went automatically to a self-depreciating-trans-woman space about it, which is a beginner's mistake because Joan is not self-depreciating when she says that, when she pees on someone, or when her stream meets the earth. Which rocks. Eventually she outright describes her inner roiling sea as "It's gender stuff", which made me laugh happily at how direct it was. I think it's cool how her gender and sexuality--whatever label you might use for them--are so deeply tied, and to be real I kinda fuck with the way she's always describing herself as some slender, ragged coyote. Bit of a mood.
Sparrow is equally cool and interesting, when we get them. Sparrow's character is primarily about Gender; they do draw neat comics and stuff, they have friends among the college staff, but most of the substance for Sparrow is Gender. That they would have loved to experience "male puberty" but feel affected irrevocably by the upbringing they did have. It's kinda funny that they parse this as "And sure, yeah, I could be, like, this special, new kind of man. But I'm not that cool" because it's the polar opposite of whatever Hierarchy of Subversiveness shit you hear about. Cool. They're not super complicated, mostly due to the reader not getting much from their head, which is fine but sometimes left me feeling like Sparrow is an instrument for Joan to play about her gender. That's me being harsh, though; it's a book of Joan, and mostly Joan is drawn to Sparrow because they're alike, which again is refreshingly direct in contrast to Paul Polydoris' layers of ironypoisoning. Thinking about it for a second, it's pretty much t4t. Non-binary, and/or multigendered t4t. It's actually very beautiful, this way. "[...]as not sad, aging woman but a whole different category of beast". They are both of them lovely.
So, Songs is the story of what happens after Maria leaves her New York comfort zone, good future. Sorta. I guess New York just does this to people.
I have less to say about Paige; she's a huge figure in Joan's life, every flashback is dedicated to her, but their thing is kind of weird. She meets Paige as a streetkid (literally 16) with some kind of talent for songs, and they pretty much live together. Paige is mega gay for Joan, but Joan sees it more like mentorship, like she's a kid sister, so they just kind of simmer weirdly for like two decades. Paige is also seemingly better at the folk-punk-rock-whatever that they do though, so she gets record deals faster which causes a pretty weird rift. I squinted at this connection a lot, I think Joan is caught between desperately needing a friend and feeling trapped & fucked up about having to play lesbian for the privilege. Maybe that's her whole life, her career even. Damn, that's fucking harsh, I sincerely hate that for her and honestly for Paige too. On the whole, watching the ugly, uncomfortable past life Joan blasted away from unfold as the shiny possibilities of her new life in the present unfurl equally is cathartic, I think.
Both times of her life are heavily defined by the groups she's tenuously attached to; the other characters in the Gonewriters' collective she and Paige join, and the teachers at the college she and Sparrow teach at. So what do I think about the songwriterly aspects, the little fleshy bits of creation that Joan goes through with her students? Not a lot, given that I am perpetually fucked up about being incapable of creating or writing or doing anything. I do think it's fascinating, the titular authorless song thing, especially for someone as perpetually fucked up about status and kind of ego-centered as Joan. As if she knows what her deal is but can only try to fix it for other people, which I guess she near enough says at one point. The moment when it all approaches coming together is kinda beautiful, the students awed, the emotion of joy so unfamiliar in Joan's deeply tormented, utterly fetid mind palace.
I do think Joan is not the most reliable narrator. I mean, her perception of that last show before she books it outright tells us that she sees things a bit funny, but her mood and outlook tend to bounce violently between roses-and-sunshine and oh-shit-everything-is-fucked. She gives the impression of a beast hunted, never able to relax. Keeps bolting out of places and ~ situations ~, ever the skittish jackal. I kind of love her, I really do believe in the Joan that can be a good enough person for Sparrow. She works kinda hard at it. I don"t know if she does, though, and maybe she's right. I want badly for her to win, to keep what she has. But I guess if you drive all the way to fuckin' California or something, you either come back or New York comes for you.
Reading Songs of No Provenance was odd, it kept putting little cracks in my understanding until the wood splintered lengthwise, at which point I had to Learn And Understand. Rebuild the deck with new lumber. I felt humbled by it, utterly stupid by comparison even to someone as totally fucking dopey as Joan. I get humbled by stuff like this, like Paul, a lot, which in the long term is a good thing. I wonder slightly if the issue is taking all of the labels and terms at their prescriptive word, but who knows if the author has read the Gender Accelerationist, right? Maybe, though. They do seem pretty cool. A couple of times I thought it really would straight up kill me, emotional-sensory overload, but I was able to meet it on its level. It was well worth it. In the short term it kind of feels like my skull burst open to make room for the pristine and pliant white fungus growing from it, but I can deal. The skull is healthier for its expansion. Just look at those sinuate gills, beautiful. Now that's a fucking mushroom.
July 3, 2025
this was pretty weird but i think in a good way. probably one of the better grey main characters ive read in recent memory. lots of pee mentions
September 19, 2025
I believe in the alchemy of the right book at the right time for the right reader.
July 28, 2025
Interesting to read but very strange and also a lot of focus on a sexual assault by the main character?
April 22, 2025
Rare to encounter a novel that is so fun and so clever and so moving all at once. Joan Vole is a protagonist for the ages. She comes alive in the big, bold moments, but also in the different ways she interacts with every other character in the book. Cannot recommend enough!
June 15, 2025
honestly i did not like this as much as i hoped to. a little too much piss for a guy like me but i guess that is sort of the point. i appreciated the discussion of gender, as always, but beyond that not much in here reached me.
January 18, 2026
A book I would only recommend to maybe one person I know, but one which affected me deeply nonetheless. Came for the morally grey protagonist, was terrified by the constant pissing, stayed for the gender talk, cried by the end!
Read
July 5, 2025dnf @ page 61. was not liking it at all. clapped the book shut with uretic relief 😉 when I got a notification that it was due back at the library.
August 2, 2025
I’m wiling to bet this is the most beautifully written book about piss
December 20, 2025
This is a weird one! Joan is a washed up singer whose life kind of falls apart (her own doing), and then she winds up teaching songwriting at a summer camp. She spends much of the book trying to protect a secret that might cost her everything, and we watch her, as this morally grey character, struggle to finally hit her breaking point & tell the truth. This book is interested in questions of consent, accountability, and gender—explored in all their murkiness. I thought it was particularly interesting to see Joan’s conception of gender (no language surrounding a lack of binary, but more freedom to explore & express gender) alongside Sparrow’s (more language around nonbinary identity but every diversion from one’s perceived gender is a choice), as a kind of show about how our discourse on gender identity has changed since the 90s (not always, it seems, for the better).
I loved the ideas of songs of no provenance, and how ego can stand in the way of art. You sang and received no song ??? Will be thinking about that line forever.
We have to talk about it: the piss kink. Wow, I was very tired of reading about pee by the end of this book! I felt like it was distracting and detracted from the rest of the novel for me. I think Joan’s interest in kink was a means of showing her that she could be accepted and loved even with transgressive desires, if she’s willing to communicate and find someone willing to engage in them with her. I also think it was a kind of metaphor for the way female sexuality is seen as this explosive, shocking, inconvenience. However, I will struggle to think about this book w/out hearing the phrase “go piss girl” in my mind. Bad book to read while you have a UTI, for sure.
I also kind of didn’t buy Joan’s teaching arc, the fact that she wouldn’t be down to go on a conservative podcast, and I think the end felt a little too “and here’s the moral of the story” in some ways. But I really enjoyed the messy, entangled middle of this book and how Conklin was able to tease out such complexity in her characters.
I loved the ideas of songs of no provenance, and how ego can stand in the way of art. You sang and received no song ??? Will be thinking about that line forever.
We have to talk about it: the piss kink. Wow, I was very tired of reading about pee by the end of this book! I felt like it was distracting and detracted from the rest of the novel for me. I think Joan’s interest in kink was a means of showing her that she could be accepted and loved even with transgressive desires, if she’s willing to communicate and find someone willing to engage in them with her. I also think it was a kind of metaphor for the way female sexuality is seen as this explosive, shocking, inconvenience. However, I will struggle to think about this book w/out hearing the phrase “go piss girl” in my mind. Bad book to read while you have a UTI, for sure.
I also kind of didn’t buy Joan’s teaching arc, the fact that she wouldn’t be down to go on a conservative podcast, and I think the end felt a little too “and here’s the moral of the story” in some ways. But I really enjoyed the messy, entangled middle of this book and how Conklin was able to tease out such complexity in her characters.
June 15, 2025
this wasn't for me.
August 24, 2025
i <3 sparrow
September 23, 2025
loved it
November 25, 2025
too much peeing, not enough character development. the good part is that it's partly about gender identity.
July 15, 2025
this book was a little disturbing for me and i hated it at first but the total immersion in a messed up character got to me in the end. i wouldn’t probably recommend this to most people but i feel transformed from having read it.
July 4, 2025
I wanted to like this book so much but to be honest, it felt very disjointed. I barely liked any of the characters, and although I don’t judge others for their kinks, there was just too much piss. I simply didn’t find myself rooting for Joan at all (and maybe that was the point)… The entire premise felt lost to me amongst what seemed like an unbelievable plot line. None of this would have shaken out how it did, it therefore felt completely unrealistic to me. For a book about songwriting and musicians, it seemed as though they were characteristics & themes used as a crutch for a much deeper story that didn’t land at all. Yes, the themes around gender was appreciated, (I wanted to see more of Sparrow on the page) but the overall message around the exploration of gender and sex felt buried under the weight of Joan’s ego. (Again, the music stuff as a whole was not practical whatsoever - maybe that’s because I’ve worked in the music industry for over 15 years and also taught. I’m not trying to be harsh, I just really struggled with this one - sorry Lydi).
April 19, 2025
Got to read this one ahead of time, and to be honest I was delighted at the premise alone. I've read all of Conklin's output so far and their progression as a writer is fascinating to me -- I loved their short stories, but this feels like another register was achieved here. I love when writers are brave and write characters that are strange, disturbed, troubled, and behave badly. Who are (dare I say) problematic in some way. I believe that we all are, and that literature is at its best when it helps us to figure out our own messiness. Songs of No Provenance (SNP) deals with this head-on, situating us in the experience of Joan, an artist perhaps out of her time, who finds herself looking down the barrel of cancellation in the age of social media. But SNP is no critique of wokeness or taking responsibility -- far from it, it asks us to engage with personal responsibility, action, and the harm we do to others on a profound and nuanced level. In Joan, we find an illustration of the many and complex ways that desire, creativity, power, and lived experience can deform us, bless us, blind us, and awaken us. Joan's struggles with the meaning and value of her own art illuminate her struggles with who she is as a person, with what inside herself she is willing to tolerate. The pressure cooker of the closed environment she finds herself in, and the particular and unique personalities she must navigate there, push her into stages of self-discovery and realization. Conklin is a really deft writer of human psychology but I also love reading their writing about the body in all its messy, visceral, sometimes gorgeous erotic states. To some extent I feel that this is a novel for advanced readers in that its readers who can most handle nuance and complexity in the human character who will get the most out of it; then again, Conklin is as always a very funny writer, offering moments of empathy, grace, awkwardness and humour for any reader. I am so glad this novel has been written. I wish for more work like this, more novels that tackle difficult things and ask us questions about ourselves and the world that evade easy answers. I think this is the kind of novel that will lead to vigorous debate in book clubs and amongst friends, and that's the best kind, in my view. Joan is that best of literary inventions: it feels like she has always existed, that her fame is real and true, that she is fully alive. It was a delight reading this one and I really look forward to Conklin's next. Also, love a novel about fame and music, so it ticked all my boxes there.
January 14, 2026
I wouldn’t recommend this to most of my friends. I understand perfectly how someone could be too prudish or squeamish to pick this up! I likely wouldn’t have picked it up myself, if Lydi hadn’t been my teacher at Writer’s Workshop, but I am so so glad I did.
This is one of the most compassionate books I have ever read. I think, on some level, we all pick up fiction to walk in someone else’s shoes, to live through an experience we might never have in our own life. And here, Conklin doesn’t shy away. Joan, our protagonist, is utterly fucked up. She’s narcissistic, she’s afraid of connection and she keeps fucking up. Yet, I found that the novel treated her so tenderly that I always understood her and rooted for her. Even the lesser characters—an annoying coworker, a morally gray best friend, a group of awkward teenagers—are treated with this gentle curiosity. A narrative that could’ve crumbled in a lesser hand, becomes full of surprise and nuance in Conklin’s.
I also loved how much this captured the joys and pitfalls of art. Conklin understands so well the balance of ego and humility that is involved in art making and the transcendence that can result if the right balance is found. I found myself eager to read just to dip into the lovely creative world of the camp.
Conklin’s writing is also so lush! I found myself underlining lines just because I was struck by their beauty or precision. It was really a joy to read.
I feel lucky to have had Lydi as a teacher and to have stumbled upon this book. I would highly recommend for anyone who can get over a little (okay a lot…) of pee.
This is one of the most compassionate books I have ever read. I think, on some level, we all pick up fiction to walk in someone else’s shoes, to live through an experience we might never have in our own life. And here, Conklin doesn’t shy away. Joan, our protagonist, is utterly fucked up. She’s narcissistic, she’s afraid of connection and she keeps fucking up. Yet, I found that the novel treated her so tenderly that I always understood her and rooted for her. Even the lesser characters—an annoying coworker, a morally gray best friend, a group of awkward teenagers—are treated with this gentle curiosity. A narrative that could’ve crumbled in a lesser hand, becomes full of surprise and nuance in Conklin’s.
I also loved how much this captured the joys and pitfalls of art. Conklin understands so well the balance of ego and humility that is involved in art making and the transcendence that can result if the right balance is found. I found myself eager to read just to dip into the lovely creative world of the camp.
Conklin’s writing is also so lush! I found myself underlining lines just because I was struck by their beauty or precision. It was really a joy to read.
I feel lucky to have had Lydi as a teacher and to have stumbled upon this book. I would highly recommend for anyone who can get over a little (okay a lot…) of pee.
June 3, 2025
This book is such a powerhouse. The story of Joan Vole, an indie singer-songwriter who is famous only in small circles (I was picturing Ani DiFranco but that may not be the most perfect 1:1), and how a meltdown on stage leads her to discover what she actually wants out of life. I adored the book because it is about creative process, something we all need to be reading about and taking seriously right now in the age of AI. I was also pleasantly surprised when Joan shows up at a school to hide away for the summer and it eerily reminded me of my own college in central VA, only to find out the author wrote some of this book at the artist residency across the street!
This book is all at once moving, funny, surprising, and warm. I didn't know what to expect going in and that was an unexpected joy. Conklin creates unforgettable characters and if you are a fun of indie music, especially punk and the weird stuff, this is a must-read. It is also a truly interesting book about identity and trans characters, with themes I hadn't encountered in fiction before. I think this is going to be a sleeper hit of the summer, get on board now!
This book is all at once moving, funny, surprising, and warm. I didn't know what to expect going in and that was an unexpected joy. Conklin creates unforgettable characters and if you are a fun of indie music, especially punk and the weird stuff, this is a must-read. It is also a truly interesting book about identity and trans characters, with themes I hadn't encountered in fiction before. I think this is going to be a sleeper hit of the summer, get on board now!
April 20, 2025
I loved this book because it was strange, surprising, funny and, most of all, deeply engaged with fascinating questions around art, ownership, desire and identity. How do ego and ownership interfere with the dream of a "pure" creative process? How do creative and erotic passion blur into and inform one another? What do artists owe their fans? And is it possible to write a great folk song about being watched by a raccoon while losing your virginity? (Spoiler alert: the answer to that last one seems to be yes.)
I also really admired this book as an entry into the discourse around "cancellation," which at this point can feel exhausting (or exhausted). "Songs of No Provenance" has the guts to be truly subversive in its compassionate portrayal of a protagonist who takes us beyond this discourse into the real world of messy, human complexity. It was a privilege to be inside Joan Vole's head. I definitely recommend this book!
I also really admired this book as an entry into the discourse around "cancellation," which at this point can feel exhausting (or exhausted). "Songs of No Provenance" has the guts to be truly subversive in its compassionate portrayal of a protagonist who takes us beyond this discourse into the real world of messy, human complexity. It was a privilege to be inside Joan Vole's head. I definitely recommend this book!
April 23, 2025
Joan was surprisingly relatable to me, especially because we're probably the same age and share a similar tech aversion. Growing up, shock rock performances were the stuff of legend—mythical stories passed along through word of mouth. Without the constant presence of smartphones and social media, we had to use our imaginations to create just how shocking those performances were. In today's world, however, every misstep on stage is captured and shared instantly. Joan represents a type of artist who will fade away in the wake of this digital age.
I also really enjoyed the shift from the city to the rural art school. The contrast between the chaotic, public world of the city and the retreat of the art school spoke to a deeper truth about the tension many artists experience—caught between the drive for recognition and the need for introspection and solitude to nurture their craft. I also really liked Conklin’s book of short stories, Rainbow Rainbow.
I also really enjoyed the shift from the city to the rural art school. The contrast between the chaotic, public world of the city and the retreat of the art school spoke to a deeper truth about the tension many artists experience—caught between the drive for recognition and the need for introspection and solitude to nurture their craft. I also really liked Conklin’s book of short stories, Rainbow Rainbow.
July 9, 2025
This is a marvelous book. Conklin's command of language is thrilling, her characters are complex and interesting, and the story is fascinating. I loved following Joan Vole's journey, and I learned a lot about what it might mean to be non-binary in a binary world, or to have sexual desires that are very far from mainstream (though not illegal or dangerous, I hasten to add). And the story is beautifully written; Conklin has a near perfect control of language and her words kept me wanting to turn the page even when the character or events might otherwise have pushed me away. Having said that, don't read this book if you are unwilling to engage with characters who are exploring their gender, their sexuality, and their place in this world. But don't worry: Songs of No Provenance is not a textbook, it's a novel, and a very good one at that.
July 31, 2025
Reading this book after having the incredible opportunity to work with Lydi and learn from them in workshop was extremely satisfying! What a glittering window into a brain. The humor, the freakitude, the queerness, the breakneck speed and obsession and struggle to find alternate pathways to creating art and living life. I’m very impressed with Joan Vole as a character as well, I find it rare to read a fairly insufferable antihero character and not be at all bothered by the insufferable-ness. I think that’s because Joan truly does experience a lot of character development, even as she remains consistent in some ways and recognizes her own limitations. And she’s such a particular person, it’s hard not to be fascinated by her.
Piss really did play a far more significant role in the plot than I would have ever expected. load-bearing (plot-bearing?) piss. Heehee
Piss really did play a far more significant role in the plot than I would have ever expected. load-bearing (plot-bearing?) piss. Heehee
December 24, 2025
I really loved this book, although interestingly enough I feel very different about the characters than the author wanted me to feel. Joan Vole is one of my all-time favorite protagonists and the only likable character in the book for me besides Georgina, her boss. Everyone else pissed me off, no pun intended.
There’s a lot more I could say about this book but I’m keeping it short. Joan has a piss fetish so this might not be a book for you if you’re grossed out by that. It didn’t bother me. I was actually bothered by all the descriptions of people’s unbelievable body odor. (Why would someone naturally smell like pine or hay? Huh?) And the constant mention of everyone’s breath. I didn’t understand why that was included and wish it wasn’t but no book is perfect.
These characters were very real and the content quite provocative. This will be a book I return to again and again.
There’s a lot more I could say about this book but I’m keeping it short. Joan has a piss fetish so this might not be a book for you if you’re grossed out by that. It didn’t bother me. I was actually bothered by all the descriptions of people’s unbelievable body odor. (Why would someone naturally smell like pine or hay? Huh?) And the constant mention of everyone’s breath. I didn’t understand why that was included and wish it wasn’t but no book is perfect.
These characters were very real and the content quite provocative. This will be a book I return to again and again.
July 25, 2025
It's compulsively readable (if overwritten at times).
The author has a lot to say about toxic shame, reevaluating the actions of our past, and what people will do to achieve fame. The MC is a deeply troubled person who is trying to square up past harms with how she wants to move forward.
Great stuff there.
But at times I felt like I was being treated to the author's barely disguised piss fetish. The psychology of it, the bodily and emotional feelings, the minute details.
It was a LOT. Like whatever consenting adults want to do is cool, but this was just... a lot. The act of pissing very lovingly described in agonizing detail. It was a lot more piss than I was prepared for.
The author has a lot to say about toxic shame, reevaluating the actions of our past, and what people will do to achieve fame. The MC is a deeply troubled person who is trying to square up past harms with how she wants to move forward.
Great stuff there.
But at times I felt like I was being treated to the author's barely disguised piss fetish. The psychology of it, the bodily and emotional feelings, the minute details.
It was a LOT. Like whatever consenting adults want to do is cool, but this was just... a lot. The act of pissing very lovingly described in agonizing detail. It was a lot more piss than I was prepared for.
January 16, 2026
Promising start with the stakes set up: an artist running from ignominy; exhausted by doing it 'for the art'. Then it just spins its wheels for 300 pages. Joan, the protagonist and antihero, is constantly 'found out' only for it to have no consequences. Every watershed moment changes everything without changing anything. More frustrating is how contrived these supposed bombshells are; the changing scale about how known this unknown artist is. Or how despite her assaultive, rancorous nature every just goes gooey at the thought of her, forgiving everything.
August 31, 2025
just awful… only finished out of curiousity.. how is the main character 46 and acting like a child 0 self reflection … writing trying to be flowery and just ends up being filler and repetitive, story makes no sense, no real stakes , how famous is she even in the indie world if the fans know eachother but not enough to make money?? how did she even have these relationships with people?? this girl has no redeemable qualities as a main character .
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