What seems to be the most accurate written statement I've come across about The Wayward Bus is the sort of secondary synopsis on the back of my aged paperback copy - "THE WAYWARD BUS is Steinbeck writing with honesty and passion of the raw, primal urges of men and women."

Yes, it's a character study. Yes, it examines aspects of society, values, dilemmas, etc. in post-WWII era America that still apply today. Yes, the people in the story are "mismatched" (as in, not likely to have much to do with one another, or at least so intimately as their numerous adventures lead them to be?). But what makes this book so refreshing and continues Steinbeck's tradition of not rehashing the same style, content, or desires repeatedly in his work (despite having such a distinctive voice) is that it's essentially about one thing: SEX. And not just people thinking about sex and their behaviour within potentially or actively sexual relationships, but a poignant examination of sexuality as somehow being simultaneously drawn from and responsible for every aspect of our feeling, being, and actions, whether we are aware of it or (usually) not. And instead of dropping a little hint of these ideas now and then, it's clearly the premise of the whole story and dealt with not just directly but nearly exclusively.

Whether in Steinbeck's trademark "character development" in his description of the biggest and smallest details of these characters' lives previous to their day-long encounter, our glimpses into their conscious thoughts and daydreams, or in the revelations Steinbeck must give us secondhand due to his character's inability to offer us the information themselves (such as his description of Mrs. Pritchard's sexual arousal upon eavesdropping in on a story of a young girl's manipulation of a man she ended up leaving in order to gain a full-length mink coat, then counter-balanced with Mrs. Pritchard's "own" horror at the vulgarity of the story as told in an imagined letter to a friend)), there is little if anything happening in this book without direct allusions to the character's sexuality as indeed a "primal" force, as in, number one!

The result is a daring and touching portrait of how sexuality is more than what goes on between the sheets, doing good and honest tribute to just how clearly it's plays the tune that we all dance to.

BUT he does it so well that people barely seem to notice it, even when a man virtually rapes his own wife in a cave, causing her to tear her fingernails down her own face until they draw blood. This is some pretty nutty stuff, but by the time we get there we've been so immersed in such savage underlaying sexual tension that when it comes to the surface, we're still later calling it another wonderful "character study!"

Which just goes to show we must be just as repressed and thoughtless as he thought we were. It should be telling that the only people who have real sex in this book are the most consistently aware of how badly and wonderfully they want genuine sexual release and the accompanying love, if only temporarily, with the people around them: this is more than reality, it's advice! A little book about a little day that proves what a big man this genius really was.

This sort of snotty snobbery is why one can't trust what one might call the Reviewer Community. Among them, Steinbeck has always suffered unjustly, mostly one now suspects, decades after the fact, because he wouldn't play their games. At his most lackluster, which is not the case in The Wayward Bus, he can be a bit of a disappointment. But at his best, whether his important best or his light and airy best, he is really great.
This book, while not up to the benchmark set by East of Eden, his greatest if not most "important" work, is a great read, a compelling story, told really well. For anyone who has read Tortilla Flat, Sweet Thursday and the rest of Steinbeck's smaller books, this is a good choice for moving ahead on the path to Eden.

I really enjoyed this book!
Among other things I like about Steinbeck, that all persons have faults as well, even the ones you like. And they are very interesting characters. And its very easy to read.

In a rundown bus on the back roads of California, a group of passengers bad their lives changed on the Wayward Bus named "Sweetheart". Authored by John Steinbeck, The Wayward Bus exhibits an understanding of the personal lives of these characters. While delving into lust and passion, these characters realized that they weren't simply on a bus ride, but that they were on a search for identity; this is what they all shared- an experience to help find themselves and to grow from.
As Juan Chicoy may have simply seemed like the normal bus driver, we saw that deeper problems brewed in the distance. Though not a religious man, The Virgin of Guadeloupe helped to provide him with guidance and in turn helped him make the decision to return back to the bus after having broken down.
The Pritchard Family provided the classic image of a wealthy family with discrepancies in happiness. As each member found their nature to be of some concern, these self-reflections provided the reader with understanding deeper than the material problems they displayed.
Though I am aware of the implications that each character plays on the story, Mr. Van Brunt's sickness at the end questioned me at first. I then came to realize that since he was depicted so harshly, he too needed a weakness (his secret strokes) to slow down in his search for identity.
I would most definitely recommend this book because more so in this sense, when the plot is more restricted, one dwells on the personas of the characters much more; this sets a better stage for reflection and philosophy to shine through without being engulfed by the plot.

In a style all his own John Steinbeck has written a classic story of the soul's search for meaning in The Wayward Bus. Following a group of travelers on their way through California, it details the lives of several characters and their hopes and dreams for what the future holds. As with any good character though, as he shows us rather well is that underneath all of their apparent differences, they are all human in their own flawed ways. One character that I remember really stood out was a night club dancer who gave off a very vivid picture in my mind of a very independent woman, who was also very sexy. A particular memory of her stripping and climbing into a giant martini glass was emblazoned on my mind, not only as being very erotic, (and tastefully done without being crude) but also was indicative of the kind of view of many people's taboos about sexuality during that time period. One thing that I thoroughly enjoyed in this book was the author's use of descriptions of the scenes passing by as the bus ride went along, and his transitions between character's thoughts flowed very nicely into one another. I'll have to read this one again!