The Wayward BusThe Wayward Bus
Score Classic
What it's about
A bus travels California's back roads carrying the lost and the lonely, the good and the greedy, away from their shattered dreams. It was John Steinbeck's first novel after The Grapes of Wrath.
Why it's worth reading
It was one of the ten best-selling books of 1947. It's an unsentimental chronicle of ordinary Americans.
You'll love it if you liked
The Grapes of Wrath
East of Eden
A Whole LifeGood to know
It's a portrait of a group of strangers on one journey.
By the numbers
- Readers36 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics0 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Bestseller31 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #277 of the 325 literary novels we rank
- #791 of the 924 classics we rank
- #2528 of the 3,056 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
Thought-provoking
More by John Steinbeck
East of EdenThe Grapes of Wrath
Travels with Charley
Sweet ThursdayIf you like this, read next
The Color Purple
The Caine Mutiny
I, Claudius
A Room of One's Own
The Brothers Karamazov
Angle of ReposeExplore the best-of lists
All 47 best-of lists →
Literary novelsTop 25 · 325 ranked
Classic booksTop 25 · 924 ranked
Books of the 1940sTop 25 · 57 ranked
Fantasy booksTop 25 · 504 ranked
Mysteries and thrillersTop 25 · 623 ranked
Pulitzer Prize-winning novelsTop 25 · 63 ranked
Memoirs and biographiesTop 25 · 290 ranked
Science fiction booksTop 25 · 333 rankedQuick answers
Is The Wayward Bus worth reading?
Yes. It was one of the ten best-selling books of 1947. It ranks #2,528 of the 3,056 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 60.0 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is The Wayward Bus about?
A bus travels California's back roads carrying the lost and the lonely, the good and the greedy, away from their shattered dreams. It was John Steinbeck's first novel after The Grapes of Wrath.
How long does it take to read The Wayward Bus?
About 7 hours (288 pages), or about 2 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after The Wayward Bus?
If you liked it, try The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, East of Eden by John Steinbeck or A Whole Life by Robert Seethaler.