Romance to Stir the Soul
The Call of the Canyon is another of Zane Grey's "war novels" which is to say, it deals with the subject of the mistreatment of returning veterans from the first world war. But it is also the coming of age of a modern "sophisticated" woman who learns the real meaning of love, and what it means to love someone. The story has several scenes which take place in New York City as well as at Oak Creek Canyon in Arizona. For pure romance, this book can not be beat. Carly Birch is one of Zane Grey's finest female characters, and again I will say he often wrote from the woman's point of view which is why the vast majority of his work was published in the leading "women's" magazines of the day, and his readership was more than half women. So, ladies, please don't dismiss Zane Grey as a "western" writer; he was so much more than that.
