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August 2021 BOTM — The Wayward Bus
Hey man sounds good! I have been on buses very little in my lifetime, just the way my life is I guess.. I think my longest bus ride could be 20 mins, but maybe as an infant I went on longer rides...
a couple hundred miles, though doubled this one time when I fell asleep and missed my transfer. Arrived in Saint John after local buses stopped running and met future boyfriend who offered me a drive. He had driven to bus station in a very old unreliable Volkswagen beetle.
I was on a few tours of various European countries at different times. My longest tour bus ride was about 1200 miles across Greece, Hungary, The Czech Republic, and Slovenia.
Mod
WOW 😀😀😀😀 Enjoy Reading, 📚
Mod
A couple years ago I was on a bus for almost 24 hours, from Lisbon to Paris (about 1077 miles). It was definitely a challenge ahaha
Vera wrote: "A couple years ago I was on a bus for almost 24 hours, from Lisbon to Paris (about 1077 miles). It was definitely a challenge ahaha"Vera: That is quite a journey! Both cities are wonderful, of course, but Porto in Portugal did not have all the restoration that Lisbon needed after the earthquake, so I did prefer it. But PARIS! Who doesn't love Paris?
I have been unable to start the novel until yesterday and will probably lag behind the group a little. I read it many years ago when I had the bad and stupid habit of skipping introductions, forewords, and other things that kept me from the novel itself. I have since learned how unproductive that practice was and how it often kept me from the full enjoyment of the workI mention that because the introduction to this book entirely changes the perspective with which I will read it and provides a foundation for a comprehension of the book I would not otherwise obtain.
As soon as I had read the first sentence of the actual novel, I recalled why I love Steinbeck and his incredible capability to tell a timeless tale. The narrative and the descriptive approach he seems to be using in this novel is entirely different than his approach to The Grapes of Wrath which was largely dialog driven.
@Paul Manytravels you will have to tell me what version of the book you have. I have no introduction as I am reading a copy picked up at a book fair published in 1947. The cover has some water damage but otherwise the book is in good condition and I find reading this keeps the time period it was written upper most in my mind.I love how Steinbeck can physically take me into a setting so vividly that I can smell the eggs burning or the dust and grease of a garage.
Connie: I am reading the Penguin Classics version on kindle. The introduction explains a lot about the allegory that the entire book is When I first read it I did not realize that it was allegorical and as a result I really missed the primary meaning of the book. The introduction in the Penguin Edition points out that a lot of book critics who should have had a better understanding of the book also did not realize that it is an allegory.
@Paul Manytravels thanks was able to read introduction by downloading sample. Was perfect timing as I don't ignore introductions but usually like to read a few chapters and then read introduction. Read the first five chapters just getting the atmosphere of the place and the characters and now will read rest with this first impression as well as taking a deeper look into what the book is saying.
Mod
In typical Steinbeckian fashion, a shell of the past is wiped clean to accommodate the narrative present. In a single page, we learn about the Blankens and their rebel compound at the crossroads that "connect with another north-south highway that leads from San Francisco to Los Angeles and, of course, Hollywood." This star-laden final destination holds significance in the story, especially for our Clark-Gable-obsessed Norma.
It was a patriarchal time in 1930s-40s America, and the language within this book reflects the period. Steinbeck deftly pumps sex and masculinity into his prose, filling the narrative air with promiscuity. For example, this wonderful use of personification:
"And the bus was known as "Sweetheart" to all who knew her. Now she was immobilized, her rear wheels off, her end sticking up in the air and resting on a four-by-four set between two sawhorses"
Teenagers (Pimples and Norma) dream about marriage while elders, like Alice, project their fear of dissolution. The marooned travelers add their own layer of insecurity, making a heaping stew of various ideals. In a sense, both groups stand at the crossroads of the American dream, on ground that's likely to give way under their prejudices.
I particularly like the sequence with Norma and salesman Ernest. It's interesting how Steinbeck uses Juan as a defuser. He (Juan) is a man who operates on special principles, much like his sacred bus.
In terms of setting, Connie nails it on the head in her earlier post. The atmosphere is a delicious, literary feast. It evokes a kind of homeliness that makes Grape-Nuts appetizing.
On a different note, I know we have some Californians with us (Nelson and Paul). Does Rebel Corners exist? I can Google this easily, but I'd rather hear a personal account.
I'm sorry, I only got hold of this book today. I will begin at once. It looks really interesting. I once took a bus from one side of my country, South Africa, to the other, about 2 thousand km, it was quite horrible.
But, I have also done a few coach tours in Europe. One traveling across Italy, and another going from Munich, to Czeck Republic, Hungery and finally to Austria. That was a lot of fun. :)
Mod
It's difficult for some North Americans (myself included) to fathom Africa's vastness, so I appreciate that you showed us in kilometers.
Hey Daniel :) I'm glad to be back.I'm sorry I should have used miles. I'm just so used to using the metric system over here in SA. But yeah it is pretty big in some areas of Africa. Although, you also get tiny little countries tucked in between. :)
I've finished 5 chapters of the book so far. I love how detailed the descriptions are. I mean we even got the life story of the fly! :D
I wish they would just get on the bus though already.
@ Kathryn as a Canadian glad you posted distance in km. It has been along time since I habe used miles. One of my best friends moved here from South Africa three years ago I would love to visit there someday.Curious how you felt about the women characters after the first five chapters. I can't help but feel Steinbeck has made his male characters more sympathetic. Perhaps it is just my female perspective but I find myself wanting to give the girls a shake. We are early days though so I will keep reading.
Mod
Connie, I feel like giving the men a shake too, but I'm afraid when they turn around, I may recognize a few. Women have progressed from this era, but I can't say the same about men. We have refined our ignorance with technology.
As Paul stated in an earlier post, these depictions are allegorical and may be overdone for a reason.
Mod
Welcome to week two of The Wayward Bus. A quick shoutout to our international readers from Canada, South Africa, Portugal, and Indonesia. Your views on American literature hold great importance and keep the canon hot with fresh perspectives.
In chapter six, we unpack Alice’s mental state while she boldly attempts to unpack Norma’s suitcase. Her disdain for women fuels this nosiness; a quality Norma is keenly aware of. Although Norma is love-sick, she is privy to deceit. When she catches Alice red-handed with the letter, her reaction is a lesson in psychology, leaving Alice in an eventual drunken stupor.
Chapter seven moves us away from Rebel’s Corner and into its corporate equivalent: The Greyhound loading shed at San Ysidro. We are introduced to Louie, the conniving bus driver who channels Eros through Aqua Velva. His gawking leads us to a young woman who has faught off “Louies" her entire life. She understands men and their desires, making her a commodity in her industry. Predictably, her natural advantages come with disadvantages, which complicate her modest dreams. Through writing, Steinbeck gives each character their counterpart: Van Brunt mirrors old woman while Pimples mirrors Edgar (the ticket clerk), with the latter’s relationship having elements of Juan and Pimples.
I'll comment on Chapter eight in the coming days.
The phrase, "...channels Eros through Aqua Velva," intrigues me. it really draws into focus the contrast between Louie and his portrayal of women as "pigs," and Juan who understands and appreciates women far more deeply. Louie does see the beautiful woman (Camille) as a commodity. She represents no more than a simple sex object, a 'conquest' to be made rather than a person to be appreciated. Because of this fundamental difference in the way the two men see women, Louie believes all he needs is a shower and an overdose of cologne to sweep a conquest into his bed while Juan understands that women can be admired for their beauty but must be appreciated in order to find love. Louie acts like a horny teenager who never outgrows that urge for sex while Juan has become the adult who knows that sex is pleasurable but far better experiences through love and relationship. Louie believes himself perfect and even admirable, after all, others are imitating his affectation of letting his fingernail grow out, and because of this self-delusion, women ought to swoon in his presence. Juan understands that he is flawed, that he had not always been perfect. (After all, he has let his emotions run away with him and cause him to hit his wife, but has learned from that experience and does not repeat it). He understands also that Alice is flawed, but he values his relationship, and Alice, enough to persist and to love in spite of the flaws.The idea of mirror characters is also quite important. Van Brunt and the old woman are mirrors, each attempting control of others through their judgments and verbal manipulations. The more interesting mirror to me, however, is between Pimples (Kit) and Edgar. Each also admires and imitates another person, but Edgar has chosen to mirror those things which are vain and also which also despicable in Louie, while Kit has chosen to emulate those things which are admirable and worthy in his mentor.
Interestingly, Juan achieves admiration from Kit precisely because of the attributes that contrast him to Louie, his capacity to respect and honor people as they are as flawed human beings, while Edgar chooses to emulate Louie based upon Louie's primary characteristic--superficial egocentrism.
Mod
Your comments are on point and connect Juan and Louie in ways one might overlook. The phrase "channels Eros through Aqua Velva" sparks this inquiry, which gives my tacky insult new dimensions (my hat off to you).
The Greek love god lives in both men, showing himself at various depths. Juan is our antihero (It's weird use that term outside of a comic book) who disguises love with logic. Although he is thoughtful, the admirable moments we see have already been disassembled and laid out for inspection. His main objective is to do whatever it is to keep his life moving smoothly, much like his bus. Is this love? Yes. I know a lot of people who would take conditional love, especially if they never had any—Pimples.
Juan operates like a casino. People need to win some of the time for the house to flourish.
I am not sure I quite agree with your characterization of Juan. I think Juan actually displays the kind of love that develops over a long relationship. He has flaws and knows that his wife recognizes them. She had flaws that he recognizes. But they stay together. This is not "to keep his life moving smoothly," it is because in a long-term relationship the passion that ignited the relationship long ago became transformed into the willing and full acceptance of each other as they are.After 50 years of marriage, my wife does things which drive me up the wall. It is possible that I do the same to her. Would I want to exchange her annoying habits for those of someone else? Not a chance. When I am ill, when I suffer a disappointment, when I have some setback, my wife is the only person in the entire world I would want to have beside me. Why? Because she understands (and thus, loves) me. I know unequivocally that when my down period is over, she will still be three supporting me and I realize all those same things about her down times or annoyances.'
Juan leaves on the bus trip knowing his wife will get sloppy drunk, but he accepts that and realizes that he will return to her and the drunkness will be put behind them.
These things are done, not to keep his life running smoothly, but because he is committed to her and love is commitment, "for better or for worse, in sickness and in sorrow..."
Louie, on the other hand, will probably never come to understand that kind of relationship.
@ConnieOh, you're from Canada, that's interesting. :) I'm glad to have another metric person on here. That's great that one of your friends is South African, you should definitely visit some time, it is a beautiful country. :)
I like you want to shake the women in this book. Alice is so insecure that she is mean, deceitful, weak and over all irritating.
Norma is so timid, I think a mouse has more courage than she does.
Mildred acts like a real hormonal teenager in front of Juan.
And the girl on the Greyhound bus decides to talk to Louis even though she knows what sort of man he is, giving him faulse hope.
I am only on Chapter 8, so hopefully they get better.
The scene between Mildred and Juan really made me uncomfortable. He deliberately looked at her with interest, then let his hatred show, completely degrading Mildred, even if she did faun all over him. So far, everything has this sexual under current to it, and it sort of grosses me out.
Louis needs a good kick to his private area, and I want to break his stupid little nail. But, it is interesting how other bus drivers and Edgar are also growing a nail to emulate Louis, because they like how glib he is. So, Steinbeck shows us how easy it is to spark a trend.
So far I don't like any of the characters unfortunately. I'm sure that will change as I read more.
Mod
I see what you're saying, but there were a couple instances when I questioned Juan's true motives:
"He wondered why he stayed with her...he didn't want to go through the emotional turmoil of leaving her. You got used to one and it was less trouble" and "He'd need a another woman right away and that took a lot of talking and arguing and persuading"
It's more convenient for him to stay. It makes his life easier because "Alice was the only woman he had ever found outside of Mexico who could cook beans properly."
Also, there's a subtext to this line, "But there was another reason too. She loved him. She really did. And he knew it."
Why did Steinbeck write "She loved him" when he could have written "He loved her"? To me, "He loved her" would be a better fit, but I feel it is written in this way to hint at his self interest. In fact, the whole page is about how everything needs to be to keep his life in order. Overall, I think he is hyperaware of other people's emotional needs and uses this information to get what he needs. This applies to Pimples (Kit) in ways too. I know part of it is sincere but some of his good nature is used to get more work out of him.
This is excellent stuff, Paul. Your comments reflect the entire Steinbeckian oeuvre.
I love a complicated character, especially a well-written one.
Mod
I agree, this disturbed me as well. But I also feel that Steinbeck is showing how xenophobia exists on both sides. He juxtaposes Mr. Pritchard's views on Mexicans and foreigners in general with Juan's views on lighter-skinned people. In fact, both her parents view Mexico through a veil of exoticism.
Mildred is playing out this Western fantasy too when she says, "There was something in this dark man, with his strange warm eyes"
Juan finds her strangely attractive as well but in a masochistic way.
Like you stated above, it's uncomfortable and degrading. But it's especially terrible when everyone is doing it.
I grew up in the 1960s. Aqua Velva was still considered attractive then. But just a dab please!
Although I never rode bus in California, I have travelled the mountain roads in a car. If scary in a car with its lower profile, how much more scary driving in a bus with a higher profile. The wind whips and sounds.
@DanielYes, I get what you are saying about xenafobia and how Steinbeck uses his characters to display it from both sides. It makes sense, especially for the time this book was written in. I just didn't like how Mildred put herself out there, trying to capture Juan's attention, I mean he is married and nearly 30 years older than she was. I have a feeling the reason she was so attracted to Juan was because of her parents' xenafobic views. She seems like she wants to act opposite to everything they do or think. I guess I was just disappointed in how Mildred acted, a bit permiscuous. And Juan's response, how he reeled her in, even though he was married, and then like I already said, he let his hatred show for her--it just wasn't right and made my skin crawl. Most people in this thread seem to like Juan, but I just can't, knowing that he once hit his wife and what he did to Mildred--I just can't trust his actions or like him. I hope I'm making sense. It is a bit hard to put into words how I feel about Juan and especially the scene with Mildred.
At this point, I am very close to finishing the book. Rather than commenting now on the various characters and how I react to them, I just want to point out how masterful Steinbeck's writing is. Is Juan a "good guy" or a "bad guy?" What about Mildred's motivation in going to the barn? How much of what happened between Mr. and Mrs. Pritchard is a result of their culture and the times they live in? What about the general selfishness of the entire busload who want Juan to face danger, even risking his and their lives, because of their own wants and agendas? But they also want to be able to blame someone else if their decision proves wrong. And, of course, Juan, too, wants to shed responsibility by having them vote on whether or not to proceed and return.What all of this adds up to is a deep, serious exploration of the true complexities of human nature. Few humans are 'all good' or 'all bad' and it is easy to forget that we are all the products of our times, our culture, our upbringing, and our own limited views of life.
There are very few novels that explore all of those issues so deeply, insightfully, or profoundly as does this novel and the larger body of Steinbeck's work.
As readers and people who inhabit our own culture, times, upbringings, and viewpoints, we bring our own perceptions and judgments to the story and to the actions of its characters.
We have been used to books, movies, tv shows, etc. that do not go as deeply into the nature and behaviors of people because we generally consume media based upon its appeal, interest and straightforwardness.
This makes us a little perprlexed and even uncomfortable when we encounter something which refuses to present one-dimensional characters and situations.
Consider for example, novels set in WW II. Many treat the Germans as if all were Nazis which is, of course, not true. Most also present the Nazis as 'pure evil' and incredibly cruel. Conversely, those who opposed the Nazis are portrayed only in their opposition to them without reference to their own failings and cruelties. Neither portrayal does justice to the realities, but they do make a more manageable plot.
Novels and stories 'work' because they are able to propel a plot and storyline based on these abbreviated characterizations of people and their motives. This novel is not really trying to tell a wonderful story by presenting a complex and interesting plot. Thus, rather than using the characterizations to make the plot work and be interesting as most novels do, this novel uses the plot to make us want to know more about the characters. it is a brilliant reversal of literary norms and a shining example of exactly why Steinbeck continues to be studied and respected years after his death.
The 'classics' of literature achieve that label and status exactly because of this kind of difference that elevates the from the norm.
Ok so I'm torn with how I feel about this book. As I first sat down with it I was struck with how much I enjoy Steinbeck's prose. Then we start to meet the characters and there is not one that I like or hate enough to either root for or against. I'm not sure what the point of the story was other than a day in time during a certain era of misogamy and pathetic lives. By the end every character in the story has found a way to get even more pathetic and no one learns or has a consequence of their actions. The reader is left to end the story in their own imaginations and it has generated a fun conversation between my wife and I. I almost gave it a higher rating because of the fun we had with our discussion on how it should have ended. So maybe that's the point to make us think more about these issues ? Unfortunately that's just everyday life for many people .
I see Everyman comparisons--in a general way--with Twelve Angry Men by Reginald Rose Surely I know other similar Everyman works. Can anyone else think of other works? I think the Introduction to the Penguin edition was talking about that type of character when naming plays such as Long Day's Journey into Night by Eugene O'Neill.
Mod
Larry, first off, thank you for joining the read, and I appreciate you reading the book with us. I'm about half-way through, and I share some of the same feelings. However, I don't expect any one of these characters to redeem themselves. I feel that Steinbeck is showing each level of the tax bracket committing variations of the same kind of sin. As I read, I can't help comparing these characters, especially those who seem polar opposites. It's also interesting to see how a lot of these character actions exist today. Recently, I watched a YouTube video about a high-level Mexican mafia hitman being interviewed by the police. Most of the comments sound exactly like Bernice Pritchard in the story:
' "You speak very good English, ' Bernice Pritchard said [to Juan] as though it were a compliment' "
YouTube commenter 50+ years later:
"He speaks so eloquently for someone like him"
"He speaks English well!"
I may have abandoned these characters early on and view them now as reverberations of the past that still echo in the present.
I am Puerto Rican, and I see a mix of Juan and Mr. and Mrs. Pritchard in my parents. They are, in many ways, over assimilated, emulating the lifestyle and ideals of the Pritchards but resemble Juan in appearance. In essence, the bus is playing out a narrative similar to my life. It almost seems like people climb the social stratification pyramid and immediately turn around, starring down at those who are standing on the tier they were just on, like the tier they are currently on has a different emotional atmosphere.
Mrs. Pritchard looks down at Camille Oakes, but she dances around in her mink coat to the same audience.
I see this a lot living in South Florida.
Larry wrote: "Ok so I'm torn with how I feel about this book. As I first sat down with it I was struck with how much I enjoy Steinbeck's prose. Then we start to meet the characters and there is not one that I li..."I think the first time I read the book, I felt very much as you do, Larry, but my current view is very different. First of all, I would encourage you to go back and read the introduction, if you are reading the Penguin Edition. If you are reading a different edition, you probably won't have that introduction so the best I can do is to refer you to the total review of the book that I posted today (8/17). (Please excuse me if it seems I am being self-promotional. I am not intending to be; I am merely trying to help a fellow reader gain a deeper appreciation of this fine novel).
As far as the ending goes, it is perfect. Every character has grown through his or her experiences along this journey. As a result, they are now better equipped to proceed toward their intimate destination. Seen as an allegory, the destination can only be found in death which is why reaching a certain destination is never feasible in allegories.
Paul, I went back and found the intro( on line )in the Penguin edition and your review. I also went back and re read the last few chapters. I Guess I'm still just not getting what growth and and how the characters came out better prepared for their destination, I get the allegory of the story but how does death become the destination in this ? I agree with a lot of what you said in your review but still not seeing the enlightenment that you do in this story. This story did not enlighten me but reinforces the societal struggles humans will continue to have. I did like this novel and do enjoy the activity it has created here. I really do look forward to reading more Steinbeck he is a great character builder and story teller
Daniel, I agree that this is a good example of the societal pyramid and that it does a good job of pointing out that we all are basically the same no matter what rung of the ladder we are on. Humans are emotional messes and success cannot overcome our insecurities or impulses. Its a constant struggle to keep ourselves firmly planted and self aware of our own faults without needing to make others feel less to make us feel more. Thanks for this thread its creating a lot of discussion and that's always fun.
Good to see you here Larry. . . .There may not be much growth or development here. Since you have access to the introduction to the Penguin edition, let me point the part about the Spanish infinitive vacilar. I translate that best as meander or mosey or stop-and-go progress. "Wayward" does not describe the bus or the characters.If Juan is the duex es machina, the bus is the overriding metaphor of meandering, moseying, stop-and-go cast of characters. No one really goes anywhere, changes.
My understanding anyway.
A country scene that is the opposite of pastoral. The rain is not appreciated. The crops and herds are described as economic investments. The sex is a power grab. There is no misic and no dancing. There is not a revitalizing character to outdoor life. In fact there is Death.The complexities deepen and thicken. The story become more interesting and thought-provoking.
Mod
Larry, this is the first Steinbeck book I've read that takes shots at both "collars." He may have felt pigeonholed as a sole defender of the working class after the success of The Grapes of Wrath and wanted to follow that juggernaut with a neutral critique about society. I also read that he filed for divorce from his wife, Gwyndolyn Conger, less than a year after this was published, which alludes to some of the relationships depicted in A Wayward Bus. Your line, "we are all basically the same no matter what rung of the ladder we are on" sums up this novel perfectly.
Mod
Cynda, I love your breakdown of terminology. While our financial situations are intricately segregated, our emotional needs float through the divide like bacteria in stagnant water.
Daniel that is interesting about Steinbeck's own divorce. I am not giving any of women's power away by saying this much: Steinbeck did not know what was happening in ladies' rooms or what the nature of women is.
Mod
A couple semesters back, I had taken a fiction writer's workshop, and my professor said this on the first day of class:
"If you're a man, make your protagonist a man, and save yourself from the embarrassment."
While there has been countless examples against this, it is rare to see it done well. In other words, the good examples are dwarfed by a mountain of bad examples. Nevertheless, the men who tried in this class had their stories picked apart by the women in attendance, specifically for showing women characters who lacked depth.
Again, it's not impossible, but it is difficult, even for my heroes.
Although Steinbeck tries, he relies on some tired clichés.
I finally finished the book. I'd like to make sure everyone else has finished before I give my concluding remarks. I don't want to give away any spoilers. I'm away on vacation for the week, so when I get back I will explain my thoughts on the book. Also, the week away should get me thinking more deeply about what this book was really trying to say. Cinda, I'm sorry I must disagree with you. I thought one of the only things Steinbeck got right about female characters is that they do like to go to bathrooms in groups. And that that scene in the bathroom was pretty accurate as to how women behave in a bathroom.
Kathryn, I will go back in next day or so to reread that bathroom passage. I may change my my mind some.
I'm so sorry for previously spelling your name wrong Cynda.
Mod
Thank you Kathryn, and Larry too, for being considerate towards others who haven't finished reading. I will follow suit and reserve my usual weekly chapter synopsis for mid next week.
I knew it wasn't intentional Kathryn. It's okay.
Daniel wrote: "Cynda wrote: "Daniel that is interesting about Steinbeck's own divorce. I am not giving any of women's power away by saying this much: Steinbeck did not know what was happening in ladies' rooms or ..."This is an interesting perspective and Daniel's reaction makes sense to me. I wonder, however, if the same basic idea could not be extended to other ethnographic issues. For example, can a senior citizen really recall younger years well enough to write accurately about them? Can a 35-year-old writer hope to portray an elderly character? Can a person of one racial identity honestly describe life for a person of another background?
Of course, countless examples of this type of question could be cited. In the end, the argument may have bypassed the essential point: A writer creates a character with the intention of building reader empathy or enmity toward the character. the worst thing the writer could do in creating the character is to over-analyze the character or the character's motives. In fact, when the author describes anything about a character, the reader reads into that action whatever the reader wants.
In The Wayward Bus, we see that Juan has struck Alice in the past and she fears he'll do it again. Think about your own reaction to this information. What does it make you think about Juan? Consider what others here have all written. How does your reaction compare to theirs?
In creating literature, a writer can do no more than rely on his capacity to project what a character may be like or may do based only on the author's ability to create credibility for the attributes the author assigns to the character.
Thinks also about your own real-life relationships. When someone you know quite well, can you always predict their actions or even their motives? If you can, please tell me how you do it. I have been married for over 50 years and my wife still has the capacity to baffle me and I to baffle her.
Isn't that really what makes humans so interesting?
Mod
In relation to this story, it's the notion of juxtaposing these complicated male characters with clichés of women. For example, the shy girl with the posters of heart throbs on her walls, or the bombshell. At first I didn't see it, but now I understand how some of these depictions are a bit uninventive. It's a difficult thing to get right, even though it hits on some levels quite well.
*I had to edit this comment because I misread a few of Paul's statements.
This has been a hot topic in MFA programs then and now.
Kathryn, I have reread the bathroom scene. I almost almost agree with how the narrator explains women's experience in the restroom. One part I disagree with: Women are not always competing for men's attention. Men give women attention, and women respond. Spoken like a true cissexual.I am reminded of sociological studies where the observed always acts different when observed.
So I almost all the way agree with the narrator.
Old Books, New Readers
Books mentioned in this topic
Mothers of Invention: Women of the Slaveholding South in the American Civil War (other topics)The Hello Girls: America's First Women Soldiers (other topics)
Glory in Their Spirit: How Four Black Women Took On the Army During World War II (other topics)
Our Mothers' War: American Women at Home and at the Front During World War II (other topics)
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex: But Were Afraid to Ask (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Drew Gilpin Faust (other topics)Emily Yellin (other topics)
David Reuben (other topics)
Reginald Rose (other topics)
Eugene O'Neill (other topics)
Welcome to the book thread for John Steinbeck's novel, The Wayward Bus.
Schedule
Week 1 August 1-8 Chapters 1-5
Week 2 August 9– 15 Chapters 6-8
Week 3 August 16–22 Chapter 9-11
Week 4 August 23 - 31 Chapter 12–22 (end)
Before we get started, what is the farthest you've traveled by bus?