The New York Times Book Review (Dec. 2, 2001) [R]igorous and inspired attention … skillful and often eerie … Parsons combines subtle sensory detail with sharp and often funny dialogue … [H]e has boldly taken on material outside his own experience when so many first novels have a memoirish feel, and what emerges by the end of “Leaving Disneyland” is the resonant idea that there is no home to return to except one’s self. Bookreporter.com (Dec. 2001) [A] steamroller of a first novel … Parsons’ depiction of life inside the prison is as frightening as it is compelling … Doc is as complex a character as you’re likely to find in fiction, at once likeable and frightening, driven alternately by the most admirable of human qualities and the darkest of passions. In telling Doc’s story, Parsons has achieved something remarkable, something so believable yet so strange, something painfully, poignantly human. Doc’s humanity transcends facile politics and easy sentimentality. What is left is fiction free of illusion, but warm-blooded and rich in the flawed, beautiful poetry of human existence. Los Angeles Times Sunday Book Review (Oct. 21, 2001) … Parsons has a flair for depicting life in the Big House: The prisoners’ potent argot, their hang-dog psychology and, most of all, the draconian laws of their insular society make for fascinating anthropology—and riveting storytelling. Kirkus Reviews (starred review, Aug. 2001) In this insightful, troubling debut, a convict struggles to stay alive in prison, to avoid going back after he gets out, and to rise above the label society has stamped on him…First-novelist Parsons leavens the grim story with jailbird humor, and he makes it easy to sympathize with Doc’s dilemma … an excellent attempt to portray criminality with the kind of sympathy and understanding Steinbeck brought to indigence.

American Way Magazine (Oct. 15, 2001) … Parsons’ promising first novel is a stirring look at what a man incarcerated for 16 years faces upon being released back into society. His writing is believable, even as it delves into territory that may leave the reader a little uneasy. A must-read for fall. Publisher’s Weekly (Sept. 2001) There’s a noirish feel to this novel … From the cadences of prison speech to the rituals of respect and disrespect that mean so much to men with so little to live for, all is vividly authentic. With no happy Hallmark card climax, this downbeat, low-key story has an ending to match its uncompromising mood. By keeping the action real and not going over the top, Parsons has produced the novelistic equivalent of a great B-movie, its modest goals expertly realized. Dallas Morning News (Nov. 9, 2002) Book ‘Em Texas authors receiving praise for novels with crime at the core By Jerome Weeks Albuquerque Journal North (Oct. 19, 2001) Former Santa Fean Sheds Light on Prison Life in Novel “Leaving Disneyland” reveals the struggles of a black prisoner, and the author hopes the story makes readers think By Michelle Pentz The Austin Chronicle (Oct. 12, 2001) Unchained Melody Alexander Parsons’ First Novel Escapes Into Prison By Shawn Badgley