Author: John SteinbeckEdition: Bantam, the classic first-edition printing of most of Steinbeck's novels. (This particular copy was published in 1957, and judging by the cover price of 35 cents, I imagine it's probably out of print.)
Synopsis: A small-frame novelette examining the personalities and hidden motives of a group of bus passengers and how they interact, with unexpected results.
Length: quite manageable, at just over 100 pages.
Difficulty: easy
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"It was a small bus, an old bus. It traveled the back roads through the lush California countryside. Is driver was a man of the land -- lusty, warm, uninhibited.
"On the bus were a girl who danced at stag parties, a traveling salesman out strictly for laughs, a boy with the sweet sap of young manhood urgent in him, a college girl who had studied her body more than her books."
These words taken from the back cover hardly do the book credit. In fact, they're pretty unfair, because there's a lot more to the story.
However, one of the central themes is that of a young girl and her beauty. She views it as a curse at times, and also a blessing as she manipulates people -- especially men -- accordingly. With each chapter we see how she uses her looks to influence people, and how the attitudes of the other passengers in the bus shift as a result of her presence.
Length: quite manageable, at just over 100 pages.
Difficulty: easy
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"It was a small bus, an old bus. It traveled the back roads through the lush California countryside. Is driver was a man of the land -- lusty, warm, uninhibited.
"On the bus were a girl who danced at stag parties, a traveling salesman out strictly for laughs, a boy with the sweet sap of young manhood urgent in him, a college girl who had studied her body more than her books."
These words taken from the back cover hardly do the book credit. In fact, they're pretty unfair, because there's a lot more to the story.
However, one of the central themes is that of a young girl and her beauty. She views it as a curse at times, and also a blessing as she manipulates people -- especially men -- accordingly. With each chapter we see how she uses her looks to influence people, and how the attitudes of the other passengers in the bus shift as a result of her presence.
The first half of the novel introduces and develops the characters. There are the Chicoys, a down-to-earth Mexican couple; Pimples, the shy, lustful hired hand; three restless and attractive young women; as well as a light-hearted salesman, a jaded pessimist, and a sickly elderly man. In typical Steinbeck fashion, everything begins innocently enough, but soon the tension builds as everyone's personalities come to light. The second half of the book, which easily could have been scripted into a one-act play, pictures the characters all coming together for a long journey on a bus -- a space far too enclosing to avoid the threatening conflict that was already brewing from the outset.
The lone chapter devoted to Alice's story (Chapter 11) is remarkable. An intense look at a struggling alcoholic woman and her mental demise, it could stand alone as a gripping character study. I was hooked from the first page to the last. Watch also for the symbolism of the fly -- some of the most incredible imagery I've seen from this author.
The Wayward Bus is an obscure gem that any Steinbeck lover should read.
The Wayward Bus is an obscure gem that any Steinbeck lover should read.
