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A review by bookishwendy
The Bingo Palace by Louise Erdrich
5.0
I stumbled across this book at in independent book store in Medora, ND. They had a massive display right up front of Louise Erdrich books, and I couldn't resist an impulse purchase. Apparently this book and I were Meant to Be Together. What have the mysterious Fates wrought?
I didn't realize it at the time, but The Bingo Palace is a continuation of Erdrich's earlier book Love Medicine, which I've swiftly added to by TBR list. Clearly, reading this one first didn't dampen my feelings for it in the least. When I finally got around to cracking the cover, I felt somewhat dutiful about it, like I was gamely hefting some kind of educational, "nutritious" tome. After all, it's literary, lyrical fiction. The POVs are scattered and the timeline is more a loose weave than a single thread.
By the time Lipsha Morissey (whom I can't help but picture as Ed Chigliak from Northern Exposure) takes Shawnee on their first unfortunate date (and his foil-wrapped brick of fruitcake is mistaken for drugs at the Canadian border), I had fallen for this book and the characters about as hard as Lipsha awkwardly, inappropriately, and messily falls for Shawnee Ray.
I love how Erdrich straddles ancient myth and contemporary reservation life in this book. She doesn't judge her characters, they all feel like individuals, from bingo owner and Lipsha's rival Lyman, to straight-shooting Zelda, to the terrifying matriarch Fleur Pillager. I also really liked the pervading strange sense of humor that gives the often bleak surroundings a humanizing bent and steers far clear of stereotypes. At one point, Lipsha goes on a "traditional" spirit quest and...I laughed so loudly at how it turned out. The author turned the whole thing into near-irreverence...but it totally worked for me. There's a generous slathering of magical realism here, but the story continually felt rooted and contemporary. I can't wait to read more books featuring these characters.
I didn't realize it at the time, but The Bingo Palace is a continuation of Erdrich's earlier book Love Medicine, which I've swiftly added to by TBR list. Clearly, reading this one first didn't dampen my feelings for it in the least. When I finally got around to cracking the cover, I felt somewhat dutiful about it, like I was gamely hefting some kind of educational, "nutritious" tome. After all, it's literary, lyrical fiction. The POVs are scattered and the timeline is more a loose weave than a single thread.
By the time Lipsha Morissey (whom I can't help but picture as Ed Chigliak from Northern Exposure) takes Shawnee on their first unfortunate date (and his foil-wrapped brick of fruitcake is mistaken for drugs at the Canadian border), I had fallen for this book and the characters about as hard as Lipsha awkwardly, inappropriately, and messily falls for Shawnee Ray.
I love how Erdrich straddles ancient myth and contemporary reservation life in this book. She doesn't judge her characters, they all feel like individuals, from bingo owner and Lipsha's rival Lyman, to straight-shooting Zelda, to the terrifying matriarch Fleur Pillager. I also really liked the pervading strange sense of humor that gives the often bleak surroundings a humanizing bent and steers far clear of stereotypes. At one point, Lipsha goes on a "traditional" spirit quest and...I laughed so loudly at how it turned out. The author turned the whole thing into near-irreverence...but it totally worked for me. There's a generous slathering of magical realism here, but the story continually felt rooted and contemporary. I can't wait to read more books featuring these characters.