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The Wayward Bus

By: John Steinbeck, Gary Schamhorst - introduction
Narrated by: Richard Poe
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Publisher's summary

In his first novel to follow the publication of his enormous success The Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck's vision comes wonderfully to life in this imaginative and unsentimental chronicle of a bus traveling California's back roads, transporting the lost and the lonely, the good and the greedy, the stupid and the scheming, the beautiful and the vicious away from their shattered dreams and, possibly, toward the promise of the future. This edition features an introduction by Gary Scharnhorst.

©1947 John Steinbeck (P)2015 Penguin Audio

What listeners say about The Wayward Bus

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  • Overall
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Beyond Masterful. Magical.

My fourth book ever by John Steinbeck turned out to be even more stunning than the first three combined ( the grapes of wrath, East of Eden, and of mice and men ), and that is saying a lot.
The reader is very talented and gripped my attention.

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Great reader

i wish Richard Poe read all of Steinbeck's books, he is a really good reader

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Is anyone happy?

Lots of unhappy charactors trying to get by, some of them were likable. Lives of quiet desperation.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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A Steinbeck masterpiece below the radar

We are always encouraged to read more popular Steinbeck works. The Wayward Bus is an absolute masterpiece. John Steinbeck was brilliant in his telling of the intertwining human struggles. I felt like I was in the cafe and on the bus. Richard Poe is a narrator with very few peers.

Incredibly enjoyable!

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10 people found this helpful

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characters of gold

absolutely fantastic. the portraits of human experience were enthralling. sad it is over already!

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A great book

A wonderful Sergio book that I found to be developmental and maturative for a young man coming of age such as myself. I found great relation with the protagonist and the author and I further highly recommend this book.

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One of my favorites

Classic Steinbeck His character development and setting the scene are the best. Love it. I read it every few years.

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WONDERFUL READ! GREAT CHARACTERS!

What did you love best about The Wayward Bus?

THE WAY STEINBECK DEVELOPED ALL THE CHARACTERS.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Wayward Bus?

I LOVED THE SCENE WHERE ALICE WAS GETTING LOADED IN THE DINER. ANOTHER GREAT MOMENT WAS WHEN MR. PRITCHARD LOST HIS BALANCE ON THE BUS IT WAS A HILARIOUS HAPLESS FALL.

What about Richard Poe’s performance did you like?

SUPERB!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

YES BUT I READ IT IN SEVERAL. MY SIG. OTHER MIKE LOVED THE BOOK TOO1

Any additional comments?

THE STORY COULD GO ON AND ON, I WOULD NOT BE TIRED OF READING IT. MR. STEINBECK KNOWS HUNAN NATURE.

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3 people found this helpful

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Great simple story about normal people

This was great. it is a very simple story, with very simple situations, the greatness of it comes through the profound development of the characters.

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Pure, wonderful Steinbeck

I had forgotten how much I love Steinbeck's writing. It's been awhile. I loved the narration. As usual, Steinbeck's understanding of and ability to describe what lies hidden in the human heart unites us in our humanness. I highly recommend this timeless classic.

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