The Wayward Bus

This usually doesn't come up as one of Steinbeck's best books but I loved it. The characters and dialogue are great and after reading it I know why it doesn't come up as one of his best but it's still worth the read IMO. I'm the type that appreciates the journey more than the destination and if you can relate you'll probably enjoy this book as I did.

This was my first Steinbeck novel. It was a joy, and quite the adventure. I did not expect such a dark turn torwards the end. As I finished this wonderful writing, little Paco lay in my lap. I kissed his little heed. I then immediately walked Boodah down the road, our usual walk. I needed to absorb this book and work it out aloud. The characters grew to such depths, I wish we could have spent more time with each of them, aside from Louie. I smoked a lot of grass with this book, man, what a journey...

Once again John Steinbeck has written a beautifully crafted novel in this tale of a Bus Trip to San Juan de la Cruz. The bus driver is Juan Chicoy who is seeking Redemption and Meaning in his life. Aboard the bus are an ensemble of characters . We are introduced to Camille Oaks, a former stripper who is bewildered by her sexual attractiveness to men and Mr. Pritchard and his wife who are perfect examples of rigid Upper Class American Society.Also on the bus are 17 years old "Pimples" Carson who is confused by his Raging Hormonal Desires and Norma , a shy girl who takes refuge in a fantasy world of celebrities that she admires.Along the way we see the lives of these characters altered forever. This book was first published in 1947 and yet the prose is so fresh and beautifully written that one could easily think that it was written yesterday. Such was the talented writing ability of John Steinbeck.

There is virtually no plot to this book. It does not matter. No one could capture the personalities of characters as well as Steinbeck and this is one of the best examples. He uses the breakdown of a bus and then an ill-fated bus trip to bring a disparate group together.There's a half Mexican driver/mechanic, his acne inflicted young helper, his wife the depressed cafe manager and the Hollywood dreamer waitress who populate the bus station-cafe where most of the book transpires.Added to these are a successful businessman, his frigid controlling wife and their college sexual daughter, a stripper, a salesman and a complaining curmudgeon.Only Steinbeck could flesh out their portraits so well and make their interactions so believable. Every character is a comment on a group or facet of America a few years after WWII. However, all the characters and their representative groups could be put into today's society. That is why this book ages so very well.The writing is a joy to read. The descriptions are so good you can see every character as if you were in the cafe or on the bus. I will also go so far as to say there is a little bit of every character - good and bad - in each of us, which makes them all so familiar.I strongly recommend this book. It is a wonderful piece of American writing and it portrays a truly realistic slice of Americana.

I know that the Grapes of Wrath is Steinbeck's most lauded work, but in my opinion The Wayward Bus is by far the superior writing. In this book, Steinbeck displays his understanding of the many types of personalities. The star-struck waitress, the dancer pulsating with sensuality, the repressed businessman, the proper but passionless wife. Grapes of Wrath may have dealt with more popular social issues - the repression of a whole class of people, but The Wayward Bus deals with universal issues - the hunger inside of us to be important. Several of the reviews stated that they didn't like the characters. If you show the complete picture of each and every one of us, we all have our flaws and strengths. I didn't dislike any of the characters. To me they were no better and no worse than the majority of people I meet. They were just real people. Steinbeck's power is in his ability to see reality rather than the idealized version of human nature which most of us accept. We do so because it is easier to make sense out of this world if we can readily define and segregate the good from the not-so good. Seeing people as a mixture of good and evil demands from us a much more complex picture of the purpose of life.

Once I began reading this book, I didn't stop until I was finished...it took me the day, but I was sucked in so immediately that I had no desire to do anything but get it finished, and I was sorry when it ended. I have loved John Steinbeck for a long time, but "The Wayward Bus" is probably one of my favorites. It is a perfect illustration of his amazing ability to craft characters so complete that they don't need to do anything daring or extreme to augment their existences. The novel does have a plot, although there aren't too many adventurous twists of fate. They're not necessary. Steinbeck proves once again that day-to-day life and the emotional dilemmas that everyday people deal with all the time ARE interesting- once we really get know the affected people. There is no doubt in my mind that each character in "The Wayward Bus" is one that we can each identify with, and by the end it's almost as though they are close friends or family members. It takes a rare talent to write like this. Read this one.