People who have read only The Bingo Palace will not realize the artistry with which Erdrich has concluded her tetralogy. Probably her most difficult task, aside from bringing in a cast of characters from the previous novels, is to summarize previous actions and indicate continuities. The novel could easy drown in exposition, but it does not.

Much summary is handled by alluding to previous actions by having a point of view character think about them. To work successfully, of course, action in the present cannot come to a halt.

The symbolic method that has been Erdrich's trademark is present again in The Bingo Palace. The late Nector Kashpaw's ceremonial pipe, a gift from Marie Kashpaw to Lipsha, is desired, and for a time, is in the possession of Lyman. This pipe becomes the stolen birthright of Isaac in the biblical story of Jacob and...