Customer Reviews

The Canyon (New Windmills)

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This is a unique coming-of-age story, set in the Badlands well before the arrival of white settlers. Little Bear is a native American adolescent. He has won admiration for courage and skill in hunting, but his distaste for war against other tribes has made him somewhat of a misfit. As a rite of passage into adulthood, he must spend about two weeks alone in the wilds, eating only what he can kill or find. During this retreat, he falls in the dark into a canyon. The "two weeks" could be much shorter or longer, depending on whether he can survive or ever get out. I confess I am not reviewing the audio cassette, but the book which I read in 1958, then 1980, then 1994. I was spellbound when I first read it, and years later the magic was still there. The word pictures are superb. Little Bear's encounters with bison and a mountain lion become very suspenseful. I really hope this book can become available to the public in a more affordable format. It is nothing like SHANE, Schaefer's most famous story, which I found enjoyable though somewhat trite. But I found CANYON to be not only Schaefer's best, but one of the best by any author. This nontraditional Western would be cherished by those who love nature and nonviolence.