Into the Heart of the Canyon by Elisabeth Hyde is a wild ride. It is a journey down the rapids of the Colorado River through the heart of the Grand Canyon. A dozen very different people are brought together for this 2 week rafting trip. Each character is well developed, interesting and believable, and the story unfolds as they journey down the river together, learning about each other and about themselves- with some interesting surprises at the end. The most powerful charcter in the novel seems to be the river itself, and I got a true sense of it while reading this book.

I have spent 8 days hiking through the Grand Canyon several years back and came across very few people. The river, the canyon, the magnificent colors of the rocks and the beauty of the place were indescribable. But I didn’t run the rapids, and this wonderful novel made me feel almost as if I did.

This is Hyde’s love song to the river, and it shows. I, for one, enjoyed the ride.

Note: I would also love to read Hyde’s earlier novel, The Abortionist’s Daughter which brings to mind, based on the title only, two other wonderful recent reads that I thought I’d mention: The Memory Keepers Daughter by Kim Edwards and The Calligrapher’s Daughter by Eugenia Kim. Both worth reading.