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10th out of 77 books
—
28 voters
In the Heart of the Canyon
by
Elisabeth Hyde (Goodreads Author)
From the author of The Abortionist’s Daughter, a gripping new novel about a rafting trip through the Grand Canyon that changes the lives of everyone on board.
Meet Peter, twenty-seven, single, and looking for a quick hookup; Evelyn, a fifty-year-old Harvard professor; and Ruth and Lloyd, river veterans in their seventies. There’s Mitchell, an overeager history buff with no...more
Meet Peter, twenty-seven, single, and looking for a quick hookup; Evelyn, a fifty-year-old Harvard professor; and Ruth and Lloyd, river veterans in their seventies. There’s Mitchell, an overeager history buff with no...more
Hardcover, 336 pages
Published
July 14th 2009
by Knopf
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All books should start with a map. It helps the mind contextualise the journey. I am not so sure about books that start with a list of characters - maybe that suggests that they have too many or the writing is not good enough for you to keep track of them. There are certainly some characters that add nothing to this story.
The premise of this book is excellent. Take a group of stangers who are embarking on a kayaking holiday through colardo. Narrate the book from the viewpoint of the experienced,...more
The premise of this book is excellent. Take a group of stangers who are embarking on a kayaking holiday through colardo. Narrate the book from the viewpoint of the experienced,...more
Twelve people, three guides, and three rafts start an adventure on the Colorado River. The trip takes thirteen days and goes from the Glen Canyon Dam to Diamond Creek Takeout. The 220 mile trip holds both beauty and danger. The danger takes the form of rapids and the class 10 (highest degree of difficulty) Lava Falls, which culminates the trip.
It is up to trip leader, JT Mahoney, to see to the safety and well being of his group. JT is on his 125th trip but he has never been faced with a group li...more
It is up to trip leader, JT Mahoney, to see to the safety and well being of his group. JT is on his 125th trip but he has never been faced with a group li...more
I read this in one day--almost in one sitting--so yeah, I'm giving it five stars.
Would I love it as much if I didn't grown up in Arizona and later take a week-long rafting trip down the Grand Canyon? Maybe not. But anyone can appreciate this novel's mix of soapy page-turning and contemplative literary qualities. Not many books can truly capture what it's like to have a transformative experience in the great outdoors (particularly in one of the most beautiful places in the world), and Hyde does a...more
Would I love it as much if I didn't grown up in Arizona and later take a week-long rafting trip down the Grand Canyon? Maybe not. But anyone can appreciate this novel's mix of soapy page-turning and contemplative literary qualities. Not many books can truly capture what it's like to have a transformative experience in the great outdoors (particularly in one of the most beautiful places in the world), and Hyde does a...more
This novel, about a group of strangers on a white water rafting trip, is not full of heart-pounding action, so don't read it expecting to be thrilled. Instead, it is a probing character study, and not one that ends with any real answers or deep insights. In a way, it's kind of like one of those TV shows that you watch because you really just want to see what happens next in the characters' lives - you don't really care what it is that happens, you just want to see how they react to it. Like an e...more
This book was surely going to be a five star book when it was reading it, but upon finishing it, I took it down a notch or two. The book started out with a LOT of characters, so many in fact it needed a character guide, which came in handy as I read through it. The premise is that a group of mostly strangers is taking a trip through the Grand Canyons on the rapids. They range from an elderly couple, to a single 27 year old, to a heavy girl and her mom, along with some river guides. Some of the c...more
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Aug 01, 2009
Tattered Cover Book Store
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Linda says:
For those of us who can't afford a rafting trip down the Grand Canyon, or perhaps might have more qualms than a desire to do so, along comes "In the Heart of the Canyon" by Elisabeth Hyde. For 12 passengers and their 3 guides this rafting trip will become 13 days that they will never forget.
Elisabeth Hyde's characters are ones you know. They're not all strapping 20 somethings out on a lark, but rather regular folks who, for their own personal reasons, have decided to take this time t...more
For those of us who can't afford a rafting trip down the Grand Canyon, or perhaps might have more qualms than a desire to do so, along comes "In the Heart of the Canyon" by Elisabeth Hyde. For 12 passengers and their 3 guides this rafting trip will become 13 days that they will never forget.
Elisabeth Hyde's characters are ones you know. They're not all strapping 20 somethings out on a lark, but rather regular folks who, for their own personal reasons, have decided to take this time t...more
I was drawn to this book because I am yearning for an outdoor adventure, but lack the travel budget. What could be better than an armchair adventure down the Colorado River? Elisabeth Hyde creates an assortment of characters, then has them run the river, with a few surprises along the way. The author does a pretty good job of putting you there, with selective detail. Still I was left wanting more. Even small explanations would have helped. For instance, how is it they're grilling steaks and drin...more
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1 like · like · see review
It's nearly impossible for me to summarize this book. For a few days, this was my own personal Colorado River adventure. The characters felt like my friends, and as each day passed in the book and the strangers felt closer to eachother, I felt closer to them. These people from all different walks of life - a Harvard professor, a mother and her overweight daughter, a family from Salt Lake City, an elderly couple - may have signed up for this two-week ride, but the relationships that develop and f...more
Like one of the twelve disparate people who signed up for this river trip through the canyon, I could tell before Hyde had even taken me over the first rapid that I was in the hands of a master storyteller. Heart of the Canyon is an apt title, resonating evocatively with the real aim of this novel, to sink us deep into the hearts of the rafters and their guides. I was amazed by Hyde’s ability to interweave the concerns and secret insecurities, dreams, and fears of so many different characters wi...more
Most outdoor enthusiasts believe that an adventure in nature will change you for the better, and that's essentially the premise of this book, which sends over a dozen folks down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon on a rafting trip. There's the single mom with her obese teenage daughter; the elderly couple who's done these trips for years - but now he's in the early stages of Alzheimer's; the know-it-all historian and the submissive wife; the Harvard professor who was just dumped by her...more
I loved this book! The Grand Canyon and the Colorado River have fascinated me for a long time, and I have been given an opportunity to go on a raft trip there this summer. So the book was of special interest to me. The author, Elisabeth Hyde, writes with compelling simplicity, and her characters cover a wide range of personalities and life-styles, which she describes with insight. The book is definitely an adventure tale with a dash of inspiration about how people overcome their fears and conque...more
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Aug 05, 2011
Connie
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I picked up this book as I anticipate my own trip to the Grand Canyon this year. By page five, I was worried. Scorpions, rattlesnakes, unremitting heat, infected wounds, obnoxious fellow campers, isolation and no creature comforts other than food, which is apparently a big deal on these raft excursions. However, as a story, it was entertaining, although not very believable. And I tell myself that my trip to the Grand Canyon will be better. I most related to the wife and mother of two boys (being...more
Better than average beach read due to the author's obvious passion for river riding. Instead of presenting a mystery, Hyde chooses wisely to make the plot contingent upon her well defined characters and the effect the experience has on their lives. The characters, including the trip leader, are all in transition and their reasons for taking this trip are as varied as they are. Although there are many characters present, only a few are given interior lives which tightens the action and makes the...more
I don't know if Elisabeth Hyde has a formula or not as this is the first of her novels that I've read. I hope there's no formula because as fresh and new as this style was to me, it would sadden me if I picked up Hyde's next book and found it predictable right from the beginning....
In the Heart of the Canyon is an engaging and quick read -- this was the first book I read in essentially one sitting in a really long time. A series of implausible events occurs to clients on a river guide's 125th tr...more
In the Heart of the Canyon is an engaging and quick read -- this was the first book I read in essentially one sitting in a really long time. A series of implausible events occurs to clients on a river guide's 125th tr...more
I wasn't sure what to expect from this book -- would it be an adventure story, or a character study. It turned out to be a little of both, although I think the character story is more pronounced than the adventure tale. The reason that I didn't rate this higher is that I was disappointed by the Amy storyline; I thought it was farfetched and didn't feel right; that took something away from my enjoyment of the book.
The three guides were the most real characters for me, although the travelers were...more
The three guides were the most real characters for me, although the travelers were...more
Highly recommended for armchair travel. Not as much if you're looking for literary fiction.
Hyde takes a cast of characters and puts them on a two-week rafting trip down the Grand Canyon, during which they go on their own personal internal journeys as they admire the scenery. The novel is a love song to the Grand Canyon and its river guides -- so much so that it has a list of rafting companies on the back page. The character development felt layered on to me, and secondary. But the story is stil...more
Hyde takes a cast of characters and puts them on a two-week rafting trip down the Grand Canyon, during which they go on their own personal internal journeys as they admire the scenery. The novel is a love song to the Grand Canyon and its river guides -- so much so that it has a list of rafting companies on the back page. The character development felt layered on to me, and secondary. But the story is stil...more
This was a little gem of fiction about a two week rafting trip down the Grand Canyon. The author did an excellent job describing the trip, the leaders, and the vacationers without bogging it down with too much detail. I felt like I was there with them. I was very interested in the characters and their relationships and was always happy to pick up this book and read. One fictional family on the trip was from SLC - a mormon dad and non-mormon mom. This book does not exist in our local libraries, s...more
I can honestly say that after reading this book I have no desire whatsoever to take a rafting trip. However, I really enjoyed the book. This is JT's 125 trip as a guide. He's 52 and loves his job. But this trip is going to be a challenge in every possible way. First, they find a dog. Dogs aren't allowed and this one shouldn't there. But there are two young teen boys and they keep the dog. And older couple in their mid-70s have made this trip often but Lloyd has Alzheimers and it's advancing. Rut...more
The descriptions of the the canyon, the rapids, tuning your mind and body into the physical demands of a 2-week white water rapid ride through the Grand Canyon while learning to accept the humanity of those around you on the trip (and, oh yeah, your own numerous individual frailties) made me fall in love with this book. At the end, I was ready to sign up for a trip- out of doors- for two weeks without hot showers, room service and high speed internet. Okay, I may have gotten carried away by Elis...more
I'm not usually drawn to outdoor-adventure type books, but it was impossible to put down! There were so many people on this rafting trip that I found it hard to keep track of who everyone was at times, but the author included a list at the beginning of the book, so I could go back and use that as a reference. I have to say I did see some of the plot points coming, even though it seemed they were designed to be surprises. Overall, though, 4 stars because I couldn't stop reading it.
Can I say I really enjoyed this book. Not what I was expecting at all. Thank you to a friend for suggesting this for me. ;) During points of this book I actually felt as if I was really in the Colorado River with them, unfortunately I remembered how stinkin' hot it is in AZ. Beautifully written, and a book I had a hard time putting down. As they say about the movies...I laughed, I cried, I got angry at characters, fell in and out of love with characters, and now I want a dog.
I listened to this and did enjoy it as it was a group guided adventure trip. I could relate to a group of different people and all the quirkinesses of each one. The story got a little far fetched thought I think - since the obese teenage girl didn't realize she was pregnant and had a baby on the trip. But a lot of good things about relationships, not judging people too swiftly - and patience with different people joined together in a group.
This book made me want to take a river trip! It also reminded me of the two weeks Dave and I spent hiking through the Grand Canyon as part of the Hayduke Trail. It's a special place that feels far removed from the world we know. From what I've heard from my friends who've spent a lot of time on canyon rafting trips (some for fun, many for research) it sounds like the author got a lot of the details right. A fun story that kept me from venturing far from the book for a few days!
I don't really know what to make of it. It was a decent book. I thoroughly enjoyed the way it was written. It was really easy to read and was faster paced then I thought it was originally going to be but the first half of the book was slow.. really slow. I definitely identified with Amy alot for the first half of the book... second half not so much (won't give away why). But overall when I got to the end I couldn't put it down.
2 1/2 stars. Nice summer read. Some annoying foul language. This idea had great potential for some fabulous character development as the company was going down the canyon rapids. And I'm sure many many people experience life-changing shifts in attitudes, but the soul-catching change was not there for me in this story. It was more a surface - basic storyline change. But still a nice story and good description of nature.
I enjoyed this book because it really took me on a rafting journey, I could imagine myself there with the group. I never did feel very connected with any of them however it was like I was an outsider looking in on what was going on, which is why I don't believe the ending had as strong an impact on me as it might otherwise have had. I also felt like I was left a bit dangling with the rest of the characters.
This book is about a group of strangers converging for a rafting trip down the Colorado River, whom all have various personal goals for taking the trip. I found the characters a bit to contrite, yet there are some well thought-out surprises in the book that kept it interesting enough to read. I was hoping for more of a Jon Krakauer (Into Thin Air, Into the Wild) adventure book and this was definitely not it.
This was the perfect read for our late August staycation. I had all the vicarious thrills of a rafting trip through the Grand Canyon, without any of the drawbacks of packing and getting there! It is chockful of interesting characters and situations and amazing scenery. The lead guide is a wise man of incredible patience and sympathy. If you need a mental vacation, you will find good company on this trip.
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