The Wayward Bus (Twentieth Century Classics Series)

Rating:
Summary: Raising more than eyebrows in the 1940's!!!
Review: For many readers, it is natural to review the current releases, waiting for that gripping novel with brilliant social interpretations and charactors that are unforgettable. Well, I have one for you!

Take a small corner cafe, dependent on the intersection of two highways, one of which leads south to Los Angeles. It is post war, and times have not been easy with rationing, economic and personal stresses on everyone. The wayward bus links small town with big town, and therein lies the stage for a group of passengers, bus drivers, waitresses and mechanics that move the story forward with insightful urgency that only Steinbeck can pull off. The current paperback book cover portrays Joan Collins in the late 1950's as Alice, slumped forward over a glass of whiskey in the cafe table booth, despising herself and her life. On the bus are a group of people that are together only by chance and the luck of the draw. The story reveals what happens when this incompatible group of people are confronted with a broken down bus in a rain storm. They lust and hate each other. The use and abuse each other. They love and forget each other, but will they ever forgive what happens when fatigue and compromise break down all their defenses and expose themselves for the true persons they are?
The uniqueness of _The Wayward Bus_ is that this story reveals an intriguing denotation of the 1940's post war attitude and social beliefs from a cast of characters that will keep the pages turning. Amazingly, I found these characters to be just as relevant today as Steinbeck portrayed them in the 1940's. Not only can this author grasp the soul of characters and depict them for the reader, he has an ability to unite land and story.
I have been drawn to Steinbeck for years, and recently I have made efforts to read most of his work. This book was not really known to me, unlike many of his novels which are discussed frequently in reader's circles. This novel seemed so fresh to me, and with some imagination I can wonder of it's reception upon the initial publication. This is a novel that certainly raised more than a few eyebrows!

Rating:
Summary: Depressing character study
Review: I agree with the other reviewers when they say that this book works more as a character study than as a novel. And it really succeeds, through the reactions, thoughts and dialogue of each character. Steinbeck shows no compassion for his characters here, as all of them hide dark, deceptive motives for the way they behave. In the end the book works like a mirror on which we are reflected, and the image that we get is shocking and depressing.

The plot moves slowly, specially at the beginning, and then picks up as the bus starts its journey. I also thought that it would make a great play, its format seems to be more of a play than a novel.

Read this novel if you like a good, realistic character study, but don't expect much entertainment.

Rating:
Summary: The best work that Steinbeck ever produced
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Take A Trip on The Wayward Bus and Rediscover Steinbeck
Review: If "The Grapes of Wrath" is the only Steinbeck you've ever read, you are in for a more entertaining read with "The Wayward Bus." Although it doesn't have the epic sweep of his more famous work, this is a riveting character study of as diverse a group of people as ever assembled. They converge at a diner in the middle of nowhere and board a rickety bus to San Juan de la Cruz. Each has his or her own good points and bad points, secret shame and hopeful dream. Steinbeck bring each to life and has you empathize with them, hate them, love them, and most likely long remember them. Why? Because these people are universal. Their problems, hopes, and realities are just as prevalent in 2003 as they were when Steinbeck penned this one. From the sexually-charged Juan Chicoy to the acne-scarred Kit, from the promiscuous Camille to the dysfunctional Pritchard family, from the mean-spirited Van Brunt to the insecure waitress Norma and the soldier-turned-salesman Horton, these passengers will lead you on a most introspective trip into a world where everything and nothing changes.

I found it interesting that in his 1962 Nobel Prize acceptance speech Steinbeck said, "The ancient commission of the writer has not changed. He is charged with exposing our many grievous faults and failures, with dredging up to the light our dark and dangerous dreams for the purpose of improvement." Certainly, he lived up to this commission completely with "The Wayward Bus."

Rating:
Summary: Only stopped reading long enough to make coffee...
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Another great Steibeck work
Review: Steinbeck never ceases to amaze me. Before reading "The Wayward Bus", I read some of the the reviews for it. It was described as slow moving and the word "boring" was even used to describe it. Upon reading it, I am left with an entirely different view. It is another work by Steinbeck that does not just create characters and a story, but truly catches a landscape of the world at the time. Before writing this book, Steinbeck's plans were to create a bus of characters that transcended the characters themselves. He was able to accomplish that with ease. On a simple level, the characters are very deep, and one can connect with each one at least partly. There are no heroes in this story, only ordinary, average sinners. Because one can relate to each character, the story itself takes on a whole new level. I reccomend this book to anyone who wants to see what makes Steinbeck so great.

Rating:
Summary: An Exercise in Social Dynamics
Review: The Wayward Bus is a peculiar story in many ways. Most of the plot is not resolved by the book's end. What is most striking about the book is the realistic way Steinbeck paints the social dynamics of a bus trip and the diner scene that precedes it. In this novel, Steinbeck shows he has a startlingly real perception of humanity.

The main character Juan drives the bus in the operation he runs despite his apathy. His less than desirable wife Alice, Norma, and "Pimples" compose the remainder of the staff. When a treacherous storm approaches, Juan grows nervous about the upcoming trip. Pimples volunteers to go along with Juan as a vacation. Frustrated with Alice, Norma, quits her job and boards the bus. Also on the trip is a former exotic dancer Camille, the Pritchards, and Mr. Van Brunt. Each of these people serves as a manipulator or is manipulated. Camille manipulates both Pimples and Norma with her lies. Mr. Van Brunt tortures Juan with his complaints. Mrs. Pritchard had been lying to her husband about intense headaches and exploiting his generosity. Perhaps Mildred Pritchard is the heroine in that she only wants to love Juan but is never a liar or manipulative. The most telling chapter may be Chapter 15. In this chapter, Camille is explaining to Norma how to exploit a man. Hearing this conversation, Mrs. Pritchard thinks lowly of the two women despite exploiting her husband just the same. The only real sense of resolution is when Juan returns to the stranded bus, which he earlier abandon, to finish the trip. Perhaps it is being suggested that the cycle of manipulation of ongoing.

The Wayward Bus gives readers further insight to the talent of John Steinbeck. I have nearly completed reading all of Steinbeck's work. While I will admit this not one of my favorites, the skill and quality of storytelling make it an excellent read.

Rating:
Summary: Great Characters
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Great Characters
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: It's a good book
Review: Unlike some, I think The Wayward Bus did have a plot, and a fairly well defined plot. And unlike others, I think this was a good book, but not a great one. True, it is strong on character development, but good books usually are. And it followed the standard steps in fiction plot development: set the stage with what is happening and why, then begin to introduce the characters, establish the individual conflicts, and then carry them all to the climactic conflict followed by the resolution. Steinbeck does just that with The Wayward Bus and shows how we all are often caught up in our own little dramas while all around us another drama unfolds. Some of us are just a little more aware of the gestalt than others. And like life, Steinbeck has characters that have their good points and their bad points, and while as a reader I at times was angered or puzzled by the way a character behaved, I didn't hate them or wished them ill. And probably best of all, like any good novel, all of the characters changed by the end of the book. They learned something about themselves. Life had its impact, and the reader has the opportunity to witness it.

Again, it's a good book, and well worth reading.