“ The Canyon features a narrator with exceptionally observant powers struggling to find his place in the world. . . . (A) lyrical and quietly compelling story.”—Foreword Reviews
“ The Canyon bridges youth and maturity, achieving a perspective that transcends both.”—The Rumpus
“A wonderful book, elegantly written.”—Ann Beattie
“ The Canyon quietly startles and enthralls as Stanley Crawford enters into the secret sensibility of a child who is very good at watching, listening, and noticing. Unsparing yet without judgment, passionate yet unsentimental, The Canyon is a work of sturdy delicacy where Memory itself is the central character. There is no finer stylist of American prose than Stanley Crawford.”—Michael Ventura, author of The Zoo Where You’re Fed to God: A Novel
“A wonderful portrait of the natural world and of the beginning of childhood’s end, written with simplicity, rich humor, poetic depth, and restraint. The writing is very evocative of the time period, with deeply accurate descriptions of everyday things that bespeak the late 1940s. You really believe you are there. Throughout, there is a tranquility to the prose that is hard to match. What is unsaid underneath this tranquility is very powerful. There is also a quiet but lovely humor throughout the book. You just don’t get books as well crafted and original as this very often.”—John Nichols, author of The Milagro Beanfield War
