Lipsha is a young Chippewa man who falls in love with his
uncle’s girlfriend, Shawnee Ray. She has
a good head on her shoulders, and why she would put up with either of these men
is mystifying. Lipsha’s life is a mess
until he obtains through some magical means a stack of bingo cards that never
lose. However, Lipsha’s sudden financial
windfall does not seem to portend a better life for him or success in the
romance department. Shawnee Ray seems to
prefer Lipsha to his uncle, who is also Lipsha’s boss, but that’s a pretty low
bar. Almost all of the action in this
novel happens near the end. Until then,
Lipsha is on a mission to win Shawnee Ray’s heart through love medicine potions
or starvation-induced visions or whatever.
The fact that he and his uncle maintain a cordial relationship despite
their rivalry is the source of some humor in the novel, but the narrative drags
at times. Plus, keeping up with the
other characters and their familial relationships is somewhat of a
challenge. I get that the author wants
to give us an authentic glimpse of reservation life, as well as the spirit
world, but the side stories just confused me and detracted from the main plot. I stayed with it because I so wanted to see
Lipsha get his act together, with or without Shawnee Ray.
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