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Two Medicine Country #12
Last Bus to Wisdom
The final novel from a great American storyteller.
Donal Cameron is being raised by his grandmother, the cook at the legendary Double W ranch in Ivan Doig’s beloved Two Medicine Country of the Montana Rockies, a landscape that gives full rein to an eleven-year-old’s imagination. But when Gram has to have surgery for “female trouble” in the summer of 1951, all she can think to do is to ship Donal off to her sister in faraway Manitowoc, Wisconsin. There Donal is in for a rude surprise: Aunt Kate–bossy, opinionated, argumentative, and tyrannical—is nothing like her sister. She henpecks her good-natured husband, Herman the German, and Donal can’t seem to get on her good side either. After one contretemps too many, Kate packs him back to the authorities in Montana on the next Greyhound. But as it turns out, Donal isn’t traveling solo: Herman the German has decided to fly the coop with him. In the immortal American tradition, the pair light out for the territory together, meeting a classic Doigian ensemble of characters and having rollicking misadventures along the way.
Charming, wise, and slyly funny, Last Bus to Wisdom is a last sweet gift from a writer whose books have bestowed untold pleasure on countless readers.
Donal Cameron is being raised by his grandmother, the cook at the legendary Double W ranch in Ivan Doig’s beloved Two Medicine Country of the Montana Rockies, a landscape that gives full rein to an eleven-year-old’s imagination. But when Gram has to have surgery for “female trouble” in the summer of 1951, all she can think to do is to ship Donal off to her sister in faraway Manitowoc, Wisconsin. There Donal is in for a rude surprise: Aunt Kate–bossy, opinionated, argumentative, and tyrannical—is nothing like her sister. She henpecks her good-natured husband, Herman the German, and Donal can’t seem to get on her good side either. After one contretemps too many, Kate packs him back to the authorities in Montana on the next Greyhound. But as it turns out, Donal isn’t traveling solo: Herman the German has decided to fly the coop with him. In the immortal American tradition, the pair light out for the territory together, meeting a classic Doigian ensemble of characters and having rollicking misadventures along the way.
Charming, wise, and slyly funny, Last Bus to Wisdom is a last sweet gift from a writer whose books have bestowed untold pleasure on countless readers.
453 pages, Hardcover
First published August 18, 2015
2695 people are currently reading
11854 people want to read
About the author
Ivan Doig
40 books769 followersIvan Doig was born in White Sulphur Springs, Montana to a family of homesteaders and ranch hands. After the death of his mother Berneta, on his sixth birthday, he was raised by his father Charles "Charlie" Doig and his grandmother Elizabeth "Bessie" Ringer. After several stints on ranches, they moved to Dupuyer, Pondera County, Montana in the north to herd sheep close to the Rocky Mountain Front.
After his graduation from Valier high school, Doig attended Northwestern University, where he received a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in journalism. He later earned a Ph.D. in American history at the University of Washington, writing his dissertation about John J. McGilvra (1827-1903). He lived with his wife Carol Doig, née Muller, a university professor of English, in Seattle, Washington.
Before Ivan Doig became a novelist, he wrote for newspapers and magazines as a free-lancer and worked for the United States Forest Service.
Much of his fiction is set in the Montana country of his youth. His major theme is family life in the past, mixing personal memory and regional history. As the western landscape and people play an important role in his fiction, he has been hailed as the new dean of western literature, a worthy successor to Wallace Stegner.
Bibliography
His works includes both fictional and non-fictional writings. They can be divided into four groups:
Early Works
News: A Consumer's Guide (1972) - a media textbook coauthored by Carol Doig
Streets We Have Come Down: Literature of the City (1975) - an anthology edited by Ivan Doig
Utopian America: Dreams and Realities (1976) - an anthology edited by Ivan Doig
Autobiographical Books
This House of Sky: Landscapes of a Western Mind (1979) - memoirs based on the author's life with his father and grandmother (nominated for National Book Award)
Heart Earth (1993) - memoirs based on his mother's letters to her brother Wally
Regional Works
Winter Brothers: A Season at the Edge of America (1980) - an essayistic dialog with James G. Swan
The Sea Runners (1982) - an adventure novel about four Swedes escaping from New Archangel, today's Sitka, Alaska
Historical Novels
English Creek (1984)
Dancing at the Rascal Fair (1987)
Ride with Me, Mariah Montana (1990)
Bucking the Sun: A Novel (1996)
Mountain Time: A Novel (1999)
Prairie Nocturne: A Novel (2003)
The Whistling Season: A Novel (2006)
The Eleventh Man: A Novel (2008)
The first three Montana novels form the so-called McCaskill trilogy, covering the first centennial of Montana's statehood from 1889 to 1989.
from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Doig"
After his graduation from Valier high school, Doig attended Northwestern University, where he received a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in journalism. He later earned a Ph.D. in American history at the University of Washington, writing his dissertation about John J. McGilvra (1827-1903). He lived with his wife Carol Doig, née Muller, a university professor of English, in Seattle, Washington.
Before Ivan Doig became a novelist, he wrote for newspapers and magazines as a free-lancer and worked for the United States Forest Service.
Much of his fiction is set in the Montana country of his youth. His major theme is family life in the past, mixing personal memory and regional history. As the western landscape and people play an important role in his fiction, he has been hailed as the new dean of western literature, a worthy successor to Wallace Stegner.
Bibliography
His works includes both fictional and non-fictional writings. They can be divided into four groups:
Early Works
News: A Consumer's Guide (1972) - a media textbook coauthored by Carol Doig
Streets We Have Come Down: Literature of the City (1975) - an anthology edited by Ivan Doig
Utopian America: Dreams and Realities (1976) - an anthology edited by Ivan Doig
Autobiographical Books
This House of Sky: Landscapes of a Western Mind (1979) - memoirs based on the author's life with his father and grandmother (nominated for National Book Award)
Heart Earth (1993) - memoirs based on his mother's letters to her brother Wally
Regional Works
Winter Brothers: A Season at the Edge of America (1980) - an essayistic dialog with James G. Swan
The Sea Runners (1982) - an adventure novel about four Swedes escaping from New Archangel, today's Sitka, Alaska
Historical Novels
English Creek (1984)
Dancing at the Rascal Fair (1987)
Ride with Me, Mariah Montana (1990)
Bucking the Sun: A Novel (1996)
Mountain Time: A Novel (1999)
Prairie Nocturne: A Novel (2003)
The Whistling Season: A Novel (2006)
The Eleventh Man: A Novel (2008)
The first three Montana novels form the so-called McCaskill trilogy, covering the first centennial of Montana's statehood from 1889 to 1989.
from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Doig"
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,731 reviews
March 11, 2018
This was the first book I’ve read by Ivan Doig....the last book he wrote before he died......an endearing book.
The story takes place in 1951, a year before I was born.
Twelve year old Donal Cameron had been living with his grandmother after his parents died years before in a car accident. But now his grandmother needs to have some surgery and she thinks he is old enough to travel alone on the greyhound bus to go stay with his aunt Kate - grandmother’s sister.
Aunt Kate has no children of her own - but she is living with a man named Herman Brinker. ( Herman the German)
From the moment Donal got on his first bus- with chatty ladies and other colorful characters .....I knew I was about to experience the joy of Ivan Doug’s storytelling.
Donal ends up liking Herman much more than Aunt Kate ( we do too). Herman has always wanted to see ‘the west’ .....so he and Donal leave Aunt Kate at home and take their own bus adventure together: much fun camping in Yellowstone National Park .....with Indian history along the way. Eventually they make it back to see Donal’s grandmother.
This is a bittersweet- charming- goofy at times- mini-suspenseful story. Filled with laughter, adventure, great dialogue, relationship connections. Every emotion is felt at one time or another.....showing us much love and humanity. I can see why Ivan Doug had die-hard fans. He was a very talented writer.
“The Bus to Wisdom”, is told through the eyes of young boy .....exploring the world on a bus...adventure on the road - ( the wisdom life teaches).
Life doesn’t get much more wholesome & wonderful than this...for any growing child.
Beware......reading this creates a warm heart - chuckles and smiles.
The story takes place in 1951, a year before I was born.
Twelve year old Donal Cameron had been living with his grandmother after his parents died years before in a car accident. But now his grandmother needs to have some surgery and she thinks he is old enough to travel alone on the greyhound bus to go stay with his aunt Kate - grandmother’s sister.
Aunt Kate has no children of her own - but she is living with a man named Herman Brinker. ( Herman the German)
From the moment Donal got on his first bus- with chatty ladies and other colorful characters .....I knew I was about to experience the joy of Ivan Doug’s storytelling.
Donal ends up liking Herman much more than Aunt Kate ( we do too). Herman has always wanted to see ‘the west’ .....so he and Donal leave Aunt Kate at home and take their own bus adventure together: much fun camping in Yellowstone National Park .....with Indian history along the way. Eventually they make it back to see Donal’s grandmother.
This is a bittersweet- charming- goofy at times- mini-suspenseful story. Filled with laughter, adventure, great dialogue, relationship connections. Every emotion is felt at one time or another.....showing us much love and humanity. I can see why Ivan Doug had die-hard fans. He was a very talented writer.
“The Bus to Wisdom”, is told through the eyes of young boy .....exploring the world on a bus...adventure on the road - ( the wisdom life teaches).
Life doesn’t get much more wholesome & wonderful than this...for any growing child.
Beware......reading this creates a warm heart - chuckles and smiles.
September 24, 2015
Utterly charming mid-century adventure story.
Getting things done. Eleven going on forty, Donal Cameron narrates the adventure of a lifetime. Where boy becomes man, and the mysteries of the universe and life begin to reveal themselves. The blurb gives the reader a good idea of the setup, but the real story happens on the road, in the fringes, where lines aren't as distinct and crossover and change comes easier.
Like the tires on the dog bus, the Wheel of Fortune goes round and round. Sometimes you're up, and then you're down. Donal experiences the full spectrum of humanity as he passes through from place to place, until he catches that last bus to Wisdom where it all comes together again.
The storytelling is quality. The time references are so perfectly woven into the tale that you don't see the edges, but you understand from the characters' actions: the Korean war, the fallout of the Great Depression, WWII and the rising hysteria of the Red Scare, prejudice, and the time before plane travel where all sorts would come together during their journeys. Doig has turns of phrase that just make you smile, but it is never too precious. He can sling slang fast and furious, but never fumbles. There's a delight, a playing with language and the humor is dry.
Overall, highly entertaining summer adventure and I loved every chuckle.
Favorite quote:
BUDDY READ with Don
Getting things done. Eleven going on forty, Donal Cameron narrates the adventure of a lifetime. Where boy becomes man, and the mysteries of the universe and life begin to reveal themselves. The blurb gives the reader a good idea of the setup, but the real story happens on the road, in the fringes, where lines aren't as distinct and crossover and change comes easier.
Like the tires on the dog bus, the Wheel of Fortune goes round and round. Sometimes you're up, and then you're down. Donal experiences the full spectrum of humanity as he passes through from place to place, until he catches that last bus to Wisdom where it all comes together again.
The storytelling is quality. The time references are so perfectly woven into the tale that you don't see the edges, but you understand from the characters' actions: the Korean war, the fallout of the Great Depression, WWII and the rising hysteria of the Red Scare, prejudice, and the time before plane travel where all sorts would come together during their journeys. Doig has turns of phrase that just make you smile, but it is never too precious. He can sling slang fast and furious, but never fumbles. There's a delight, a playing with language and the humor is dry.
Overall, highly entertaining summer adventure and I loved every chuckle.
Favorite quote:
"Talk about having a wire down; if any of these three had a brain that worked, it would be lonesome."
BUDDY READ with Don
October 6, 2015
I'm in the minority with this one. I know it gets great reviews, but it just wasn't for me. I've been reading it for 4 days and I'm only 1/3 of the way through so I finally gave up. It wasn't terrible, but I found that whenever I put it down, I didn't care if I ever picked it up again. A rare dnf for me. But everyone else seems to love it, so I wouldn't advise anyone against it. Just not my particular cup of tea.
July 15, 2022
Anyone looking for a warm hearted, humorous coming of age need look no further than Last Bus To Wisdom. As one of the quotes in the book says “life can tickle you in the ribs surprisingly when it’s not digging its thumb in.” And that gives you a good sense of the writing and the wisdom dispensed.
Donal is 11 going on 12 in 1951 when his caretaker grandmother has to go into the hospital for “female trouble”. He’s shipped back east to Wisconsin to his great aunt for the summer.
The story is lightly based on a similar situation in Ivan Doig’s youth. But the story as imagined by Doig goes off on its own tangents, including a lively cast of characters and two trips across the country. The second trip with his great uncle, Herman the German. Both Donny and Herman are big on a sense of adventure and a taste for flights of imagination. Doig perfectly paints scene after scene giving the reader a true taste of the times.
I recommend this for fans of The Lincoln Highway. It’s got the same coming of age theme in the mid 20th century, the same large cast of characters many of whom are living close to the edge.
David Aaron Baker did a great job as a narrator, perfectly voicing Donny, Herman and the whole cast of characters.
Donal is 11 going on 12 in 1951 when his caretaker grandmother has to go into the hospital for “female trouble”. He’s shipped back east to Wisconsin to his great aunt for the summer.
The story is lightly based on a similar situation in Ivan Doig’s youth. But the story as imagined by Doig goes off on its own tangents, including a lively cast of characters and two trips across the country. The second trip with his great uncle, Herman the German. Both Donny and Herman are big on a sense of adventure and a taste for flights of imagination. Doig perfectly paints scene after scene giving the reader a true taste of the times.
I recommend this for fans of The Lincoln Highway. It’s got the same coming of age theme in the mid 20th century, the same large cast of characters many of whom are living close to the edge.
David Aaron Baker did a great job as a narrator, perfectly voicing Donny, Herman and the whole cast of characters.
November 10, 2015
This is the first Ivan Doig book I’ve read. I’m not sure how he escaped my notice. LAST BUS TO WISDOM is Amazon’s Best Book of August 2015, thankfully. What a joyful read. It’s like comfort food for the mind. Doig spins an enchanting and sweet tale which keeps the reader entranced and well, warm and fuzzy. I’m going to search out his previous works.
In this novel, the story is told in reflection by the protagonist, Donal Cameron. The story takes place in 1951, and Donal is eleven-years-old, living on a cattle ranch in Montana with his Grandmother. As the book cover states, his Grandmother has “women issues” and needs to have surgery. So she sends Donal on the Greyhound bus to his Great Aunt’s home all the way in Wisconsin. Donal get’s his self into some youthful shenanigans but arrives almost unharmed. His Great Aunt Kate turns out to be not so great, and there are hilarious incidences with her. So, The Kate, as her husband Herman calls her, returns Donal back on the bus. What happens is that Herman absconds with him and the two of them go on the lam; their world only limited by the routes of the Greyhound bus.
The novel is an epic journey of a boy enjoying a remarkable summer, enough that he reflects upon it fondly as a mature adult. I wouldn’t categorize this as a Western novel in that it’s almost a coming of age novel with high jinks on the western-bound Greyhound lines. As a reader, you cannot help but fall in love with Donal and Herman and root for them on their summer of discovery. It’s sweet, charming, creative, and a joy to read. I highly recommend it when you want a comfort book to warm and tickle your heart.
In this novel, the story is told in reflection by the protagonist, Donal Cameron. The story takes place in 1951, and Donal is eleven-years-old, living on a cattle ranch in Montana with his Grandmother. As the book cover states, his Grandmother has “women issues” and needs to have surgery. So she sends Donal on the Greyhound bus to his Great Aunt’s home all the way in Wisconsin. Donal get’s his self into some youthful shenanigans but arrives almost unharmed. His Great Aunt Kate turns out to be not so great, and there are hilarious incidences with her. So, The Kate, as her husband Herman calls her, returns Donal back on the bus. What happens is that Herman absconds with him and the two of them go on the lam; their world only limited by the routes of the Greyhound bus.
The novel is an epic journey of a boy enjoying a remarkable summer, enough that he reflects upon it fondly as a mature adult. I wouldn’t categorize this as a Western novel in that it’s almost a coming of age novel with high jinks on the western-bound Greyhound lines. As a reader, you cannot help but fall in love with Donal and Herman and root for them on their summer of discovery. It’s sweet, charming, creative, and a joy to read. I highly recommend it when you want a comfort book to warm and tickle your heart.
February 13, 2021
On his website, Ivan Doig wrote some notes about his novel, Last Bus to Wisdom, that was scheduled to be published later that year. So, I thought why not let him write the review:
There you have it from the source. There’s no way that I’m going to try to add anything to what he has written, except for this: As I read Last Bus to Wisdom, Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn kept running through my mind. Donal Cameron is a more modern Huck Finn and his Uncle Herman, for reasons that are slowly revealed, has lived a life that shares some characteristics of the life of the escaped slave, Jim, who did not travel by Greyhound, but traveled with Huck on a raft down the Mississippi River.
And there is this: Donal and Uncle Herman did as Huck did at the end of Twain’s book; they lit out for the territory.
Did I like the book? I compared it favorably to Mark Twain’s greatest novel, didn't I?
As I mentioned earlier, those notes that I included at the beginning of the review were written before the book was published. Ivan Doig died in April 2015 and the book was released in August of that year. Sadly, Last Bus to Wisdom was his last novel.
He leaves behind a literary legacy that includes thirteen novels and two memoirs. Despite the fact that most of his novels, and both memoirs, are set in Montana and that he inherited the title of the Dean of Western Writers from William Stegner, he, like Stegner, did not appreciate the honorific, and for the same reason. Neither author wanted to be categorized as a regional writer.
Doig put it this way:
Amen.
When I was eleven going on twelve, our family was raggedly sewn together with medical catgut. My dad, a feisty Montana ranch hand, had raised me by himself since my mother’s death, but an operation which cost him most of his stomach forced him to enlist his mother-in-law to help with the matter of me. That summer of 1951, Dad had barely convalesced enough to return to a ranch job when my grandmother faced an operation for something mysteriously called “female trouble.” The question of what to do with a rambunctious kid during this surgical crisis was resolved by packing me off to my hitherto unknown great-aunt and uncle in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, by Greyhound bus. And so we end up with the real-life parallel to my fictional version, right?
Not nearly. Memory and imagination see to that. First of all, my actual relatives were not within shooting distance of my made-up characters: my Aunt Marguerite was a squat salty old hausfrau quite the opposite from the invented Aunt Kate and her sniffy ways, and my silent brooding Uncle Herman resembled Herman the German of the book only in a smoggy passion for cigars. More vitally – and if you are among those who put your hand up at readings to ask where the writer gets his/her ideas, here comes one answer – my journey to and from Wisconsin must have gone without incident, because I have virtually no recall of it. Which, in a novelist’s funhouse head, is not bad news at all. It clears the way to imagine a bus trip where any number of calamities can happen to the green young passenger from the West.
Thus we have Donny, self-described dippy kid although “bright enough to read by at night,” doing his damnedest to deal with a world new to him – mammoth Greyhound depots, payphones, a suspicious sheriff, and most of all, the disparate cast of characters I have devilishly ticketed into the bus seats with him. Luckily, his yearnings are matched by those of that ever-surprising uncle, Herman the German, and they become the novel’s inseparable two for the road. And spectator that I am to this livewire kid who bears my shadow but not much else, I like it that he’s a talespinner, a playful storier within the story. I wonder where he got that from?
There you have it from the source. There’s no way that I’m going to try to add anything to what he has written, except for this: As I read Last Bus to Wisdom, Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn kept running through my mind. Donal Cameron is a more modern Huck Finn and his Uncle Herman, for reasons that are slowly revealed, has lived a life that shares some characteristics of the life of the escaped slave, Jim, who did not travel by Greyhound, but traveled with Huck on a raft down the Mississippi River.
And there is this: Donal and Uncle Herman did as Huck did at the end of Twain’s book; they lit out for the territory.
Did I like the book? I compared it favorably to Mark Twain’s greatest novel, didn't I?
As I mentioned earlier, those notes that I included at the beginning of the review were written before the book was published. Ivan Doig died in April 2015 and the book was released in August of that year. Sadly, Last Bus to Wisdom was his last novel.
He leaves behind a literary legacy that includes thirteen novels and two memoirs. Despite the fact that most of his novels, and both memoirs, are set in Montana and that he inherited the title of the Dean of Western Writers from William Stegner, he, like Stegner, did not appreciate the honorific, and for the same reason. Neither author wanted to be categorized as a regional writer.
Doig put it this way:
If I have any creed that I wish you as readers, necessary accomplices in this flirtatious ceremony of writing and reading, will take with you from my pages, it’d be this belief of mine that writers of caliber can ground their work in specific land and lingo and yet be writing of that larger country: life.
Amen.
October 7, 2018
It’s 1951 and eleven-year-old orphaned Donal Cameron (first-person narrator telling the story as an old man looking back), who lives with his grandmother on a ranch in Montana, is shipped off alone on a Greyhound bus to stay with relatives he’s never met in Wisconsin—because Gram has to have surgery and they’ve been kicked out of their cook’s quarters on the ranch.
Ivan Doig is a storyteller, a spinner of yarns, and what I love about this book is the character of Donal, who shares this talent along with irrepressible curiosity—about people, places, everything. There are people who are born resilient, and Donal is a child role model for anybody who thinks scary or tragic circumstances cannot be dealt with positively. Yes, he’s scared and makes mistakes, but his curiosity leads him to talk to people, demand autographs for his collection, and see life—however difficult—as an adventure to be relished. And this resilience funded by curiosity is not self-conscious or even noticed by the author in any particular way. But to this reader, it was like starshine.
Last Bus to Wisdom is a sweet, slowly unwinding story about another time in America. Sometimes it drags or is manipulated, but it’s mostly entertaining to read about a little boy who always bobs to the surface of fearful events that could drown a lot of people . . . and it certainly helped me through this week of the Senate putting a liar with a drinking problem and a train of sexual assault accusations on the Supreme Court. May I bob up from this like little Donal.
Ivan Doig is a storyteller, a spinner of yarns, and what I love about this book is the character of Donal, who shares this talent along with irrepressible curiosity—about people, places, everything. There are people who are born resilient, and Donal is a child role model for anybody who thinks scary or tragic circumstances cannot be dealt with positively. Yes, he’s scared and makes mistakes, but his curiosity leads him to talk to people, demand autographs for his collection, and see life—however difficult—as an adventure to be relished. And this resilience funded by curiosity is not self-conscious or even noticed by the author in any particular way. But to this reader, it was like starshine.
Last Bus to Wisdom is a sweet, slowly unwinding story about another time in America. Sometimes it drags or is manipulated, but it’s mostly entertaining to read about a little boy who always bobs to the surface of fearful events that could drown a lot of people . . . and it certainly helped me through this week of the Senate putting a liar with a drinking problem and a train of sexual assault accusations on the Supreme Court. May I bob up from this like little Donal.
July 12, 2024
Thanks to Jim Puskas writing a terrific review of this one, I remembered it was on my shelf, had been for a while. I believe it was from a Christmas book swap my book club had, and I kept it because I have enjoyed a couple of others by Ivan Doig over the years.
This is a road trip book in the best sense, with my friend Howard comparing it to Huck Finn and Jim "lightin' out for the territory", so to speak. The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles also came to mind. This time, instead of a raft or a car, Donal and his great-uncle Herman travel by Greyhound bus from Wisconsin to anywhere west, running away from the shrewish Aunt Kate, where Donal had been sent for the summer while his grandmother was in the hospital. Eleven year old Donal has with him an autograph book, which enables him to strike up conversations with strangers, some of whom keep popping up throughout the novel. They end up on a haymaking ranch in Wisdom, Montana; a real place, I looked it up.
This was an entertaining read and kept me captivated, although some of the coincidences were a little far-fetched, as Donal and his Uncle get into scrape after scrape, and only escape through some fast talking and a lot of luck. Likewise, the ending was a little too neatly tied up for me, but, as I said, it was a fun read, and a nice way to end a writing career for Doig, as he died in 2015, shortly after this was published.
It also gets a vote for beautiful cover, as it portrays the essence of the book.
As Uncle Herman likes to say, "Sometimes you have to take a leap of fate."
This is a road trip book in the best sense, with my friend Howard comparing it to Huck Finn and Jim "lightin' out for the territory", so to speak. The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles also came to mind. This time, instead of a raft or a car, Donal and his great-uncle Herman travel by Greyhound bus from Wisconsin to anywhere west, running away from the shrewish Aunt Kate, where Donal had been sent for the summer while his grandmother was in the hospital. Eleven year old Donal has with him an autograph book, which enables him to strike up conversations with strangers, some of whom keep popping up throughout the novel. They end up on a haymaking ranch in Wisdom, Montana; a real place, I looked it up.
This was an entertaining read and kept me captivated, although some of the coincidences were a little far-fetched, as Donal and his Uncle get into scrape after scrape, and only escape through some fast talking and a lot of luck. Likewise, the ending was a little too neatly tied up for me, but, as I said, it was a fun read, and a nice way to end a writing career for Doig, as he died in 2015, shortly after this was published.
It also gets a vote for beautiful cover, as it portrays the essence of the book.
As Uncle Herman likes to say, "Sometimes you have to take a leap of fate."
February 8, 2019
“If I have any creed that I wish you as readers, necessary accomplices in this flirtatious ceremony of writing and reading, will take with you from my pages, it'd be this belief of mine that writers of caliber can ground their work in specific land and lingo and yet be writing of that larger country: life.” - Ivan Doig
It has been many years since I last rode the Greyhound. However, in the last ten days or so, I was a vicarious traveler on this dog bus on an unpredictable road trip, and what a trip it was!
The story takes place in the summer of 1951. Donal Cameron, a red-haired, eleven-year-old orphan, is compelled by circumstances to undertake a long bus trip to Wisconsin from a ranch in Montana where he lives with his grandmother. Gram who works as a ranch cook needs surgery for a condition that is potentially life-threatening. So Donny, as he is affectionately known, is sent away to live with grandma’s sister (Kate) and her husband. The leave-taking with its full complement of pain, sadness, anxiety, and emotional restraint was heartbreaking in an understated fashion and sensitively written. All Donny has are a wicker suitcase, an Indian arrowhead as a good luck charm, and thirty dollars (all of Gram’s savings) as he embarks on a journey to an uncertain future. How will he fend for himself?
Donny remembers what Gram tells him, “Life is what it throws at you. Hunch up and take it.” And take it, he does. I was immediately amazed at young Donny’s ability to hold court with a diverse bunch of travelers. He regales them with stories about himself, making up fictional but glowing accounts of his parentage. He makes a project of collecting autographs on the bus from passengers he befriends. Reading these autograph entries is part of the fun. But Donny is a child after all and I get a heart attack whenever unsavory characters have designs on his possessions or when he forgets to board the bus after rest stops. One cannot help but root for Donny and hopes he finds a warm welcome and home with his aunt in Wisconsin. But life has a lot more to throw at him.
The strength of this novel rests on the appeal of this smart, spunky, and resourceful child character. Donny is a life-wire with a wonderful sense of humor. He impresses with his will to survive the odds and a capacity for fun in the midst of dire circumstances. Doig has a fine ear for the dialect of a place, thus verbal exchanges in the novel carry a local ring. Donny’s Greyhound escapades offer glimpses of Native American culture, rodeos, and hobo sub-culture, and these make for fascinating reading.
The Last Bus to Wisdom (2015) is Ivan Doig’s last novel before he died in April, 2015. As in ‘The Bartender’s Tale’, this novel has much to reveal about the gift that resides in positive human connections and the protective reserve of resilience in adversity. Doig had lived up to his aspiration to be a writer of caliber and showed us the larger country of life itself.
It has been many years since I last rode the Greyhound. However, in the last ten days or so, I was a vicarious traveler on this dog bus on an unpredictable road trip, and what a trip it was!
The story takes place in the summer of 1951. Donal Cameron, a red-haired, eleven-year-old orphan, is compelled by circumstances to undertake a long bus trip to Wisconsin from a ranch in Montana where he lives with his grandmother. Gram who works as a ranch cook needs surgery for a condition that is potentially life-threatening. So Donny, as he is affectionately known, is sent away to live with grandma’s sister (Kate) and her husband. The leave-taking with its full complement of pain, sadness, anxiety, and emotional restraint was heartbreaking in an understated fashion and sensitively written. All Donny has are a wicker suitcase, an Indian arrowhead as a good luck charm, and thirty dollars (all of Gram’s savings) as he embarks on a journey to an uncertain future. How will he fend for himself?
Donny remembers what Gram tells him, “Life is what it throws at you. Hunch up and take it.” And take it, he does. I was immediately amazed at young Donny’s ability to hold court with a diverse bunch of travelers. He regales them with stories about himself, making up fictional but glowing accounts of his parentage. He makes a project of collecting autographs on the bus from passengers he befriends. Reading these autograph entries is part of the fun. But Donny is a child after all and I get a heart attack whenever unsavory characters have designs on his possessions or when he forgets to board the bus after rest stops. One cannot help but root for Donny and hopes he finds a warm welcome and home with his aunt in Wisconsin. But life has a lot more to throw at him.
The strength of this novel rests on the appeal of this smart, spunky, and resourceful child character. Donny is a life-wire with a wonderful sense of humor. He impresses with his will to survive the odds and a capacity for fun in the midst of dire circumstances. Doig has a fine ear for the dialect of a place, thus verbal exchanges in the novel carry a local ring. Donny’s Greyhound escapades offer glimpses of Native American culture, rodeos, and hobo sub-culture, and these make for fascinating reading.
The Last Bus to Wisdom (2015) is Ivan Doig’s last novel before he died in April, 2015. As in ‘The Bartender’s Tale’, this novel has much to reveal about the gift that resides in positive human connections and the protective reserve of resilience in adversity. Doig had lived up to his aspiration to be a writer of caliber and showed us the larger country of life itself.
August 25, 2015
Well, the good ride is over. Sad to say, but this book was released not to long after the death of its author. I am not a literary expert by any means but I know what I like; and Ivan Doig's books are among the best I have read. In my estimation, Doig ranks right up there with the likes of Wallace Stegner as one of America's best contemporary authors. His stories have all been top notch and truly capture the spirit of the West.
This book is no exception and is the coming of age story of 11-year old Donal Cameron and his odyssey back and forth across the country during the summer of 1951. For those of you who have read Doig's non-fiction works, you will probably notice some similarities between young "Donnie" and Mr. Doig. Along the way, he interacts with many interesting characters and participates in many life-changing events - too many to describe so I won't go into detail. Suffice it say this is one great story.
I'll have to admit that for several reasons I had a tear in my eye as I reached the last page. First is that I no longer can look forward to another Ivan Doig Book. Second is that this was such a heart warming story, I hated to see it end. The biggest message I received from this book is that you can't pick your relatives but you damn sure can choose your "family."
This book is no exception and is the coming of age story of 11-year old Donal Cameron and his odyssey back and forth across the country during the summer of 1951. For those of you who have read Doig's non-fiction works, you will probably notice some similarities between young "Donnie" and Mr. Doig. Along the way, he interacts with many interesting characters and participates in many life-changing events - too many to describe so I won't go into detail. Suffice it say this is one great story.
I'll have to admit that for several reasons I had a tear in my eye as I reached the last page. First is that I no longer can look forward to another Ivan Doig Book. Second is that this was such a heart warming story, I hated to see it end. The biggest message I received from this book is that you can't pick your relatives but you damn sure can choose your "family."
July 13, 2015
As told through the eyes of 11-year-old Donal Cameron, life can be quite an adventure, and so LAST BUS TO WISDOM makes for a fascinating read.
The orphan protagonist is shipped off, alone, across the country when his grandmother must put him in the care of his great-aunt. A Montana boy accustomed to the wide open spaces meets a great-uncle who is obsessed with America's West, as learned through the pages of fiction. When boy and man decide that there is no living with "the Kate", they set off to discover what lies on the far side of the Mississippi.
Herman the German becomes Donal's sidekick as they ride the bus from sleepy Wisconsin towards the sunset, so that Herman can see what the West really looks like. Along the way, Donal collects autographs for his memory book, thinking that he'll compile an impressive collection that would earn him a mention in Ripley's Believe It Or Not. His naivete forms part of the charm of the novel, the innocent viewing the world through eyes not yet clouded by experiences.
The novel is a delight, a beautifully crafted bit of yarn spinning that takes in a remarkable number of threads and weaves them into a book that cannot be put down. The cast of characters that Donal and his great-uncle Herman the German encounter are true characters that feel real, as if you'd see such riders on a cross-country bus if you took a trip yourself.
The people who populate the novel are ordinary folk, the commoners who know a thing or two about hand-to-mouth existence and how to survive in a harsh world when you don't have much money. It is a pleasure to spend some time with those who are not obsessed with Manhattan real estate valuations or the latest fashion trends. Those who scrape for a living tend to be more interesting people, and Ivan Doig's characters are all quite interesting.
Over the course of the novel, as life hands them setbacks and assistance, Donal discovers what it is to love and be loved as the kindess of strangers helps him escape from one harrowing escapade after another. This is, of course, the wisdom that he acquires on his travels as he progresses from boy to (almost) man.
The ending is happy, the premise nearly improbable, but the writing so sparkling that you are happy to suspend disbelief and go along for the ride. This was one of the best books I have read in a very long time.
The orphan protagonist is shipped off, alone, across the country when his grandmother must put him in the care of his great-aunt. A Montana boy accustomed to the wide open spaces meets a great-uncle who is obsessed with America's West, as learned through the pages of fiction. When boy and man decide that there is no living with "the Kate", they set off to discover what lies on the far side of the Mississippi.
Herman the German becomes Donal's sidekick as they ride the bus from sleepy Wisconsin towards the sunset, so that Herman can see what the West really looks like. Along the way, Donal collects autographs for his memory book, thinking that he'll compile an impressive collection that would earn him a mention in Ripley's Believe It Or Not. His naivete forms part of the charm of the novel, the innocent viewing the world through eyes not yet clouded by experiences.
The novel is a delight, a beautifully crafted bit of yarn spinning that takes in a remarkable number of threads and weaves them into a book that cannot be put down. The cast of characters that Donal and his great-uncle Herman the German encounter are true characters that feel real, as if you'd see such riders on a cross-country bus if you took a trip yourself.
The people who populate the novel are ordinary folk, the commoners who know a thing or two about hand-to-mouth existence and how to survive in a harsh world when you don't have much money. It is a pleasure to spend some time with those who are not obsessed with Manhattan real estate valuations or the latest fashion trends. Those who scrape for a living tend to be more interesting people, and Ivan Doig's characters are all quite interesting.
Over the course of the novel, as life hands them setbacks and assistance, Donal discovers what it is to love and be loved as the kindess of strangers helps him escape from one harrowing escapade after another. This is, of course, the wisdom that he acquires on his travels as he progresses from boy to (almost) man.
The ending is happy, the premise nearly improbable, but the writing so sparkling that you are happy to suspend disbelief and go along for the ride. This was one of the best books I have read in a very long time.
September 19, 2016
Lately I’ve had less time for reading than I normally do, so the fact that I was constantly looking forward to that treasured time with this book each day should speak to how I felt about this story. Doig’s writing, his characters, and his panoramic vision of the American West all convene perfectly to create this delightful tale of a young boy on the road looking for adventure and longing for a home.
Life is a zigzag journey, they say,
Not much straight and easy on the way.
But the wrinkles in the map, explorers know,
Smooth out like magic at the end of where we go.
Clever, resourceful and charming even at eleven years old, Donal Cameron has been sent from his home on a ranch in Montana to stay with his great-aunt in Wisconsin for the summer. His travels take him there and back and many places in between wherein he gets far more than he bargained for. Of the assorted characters Donal encounters along his way, the greatest and most coveted is his newfound great-uncle Herman.
Which brings me to this: sometimes I read a book and it resonates with me in just the right way. I pick up on the emotional connection between two beloved characters and that book has found its way into my heart. I’ll remember the genuine bond between Donal and Herman. It’s in the way they look out for each other and laugh together and teach each other new perspectives. They’re on the road and on the lam but in each other they find a safe harbor no matter where they go. Between the two of them they can manage their way through just about anything life throws at them, but can they survive being separated? What happens when Donal has the choice to go back to his former life but would have to leave Herman behind in order to do so? This is Donal’s struggle, the choices he must make when he finally realizes that his dreams have changed and he can forge a new path if he is brave enough to do it.
In Ivan Doig's leisurely, laid back style of writing, he tells this story with heart and with humor. I’ll miss this world, these characters and the relationships that he’s created. Looks like I need to hunt down some of his other work.
Life is a zigzag journey, they say,
Not much straight and easy on the way.
But the wrinkles in the map, explorers know,
Smooth out like magic at the end of where we go.
Clever, resourceful and charming even at eleven years old, Donal Cameron has been sent from his home on a ranch in Montana to stay with his great-aunt in Wisconsin for the summer. His travels take him there and back and many places in between wherein he gets far more than he bargained for. Of the assorted characters Donal encounters along his way, the greatest and most coveted is his newfound great-uncle Herman.
Which brings me to this: sometimes I read a book and it resonates with me in just the right way. I pick up on the emotional connection between two beloved characters and that book has found its way into my heart. I’ll remember the genuine bond between Donal and Herman. It’s in the way they look out for each other and laugh together and teach each other new perspectives. They’re on the road and on the lam but in each other they find a safe harbor no matter where they go. Between the two of them they can manage their way through just about anything life throws at them, but can they survive being separated? What happens when Donal has the choice to go back to his former life but would have to leave Herman behind in order to do so? This is Donal’s struggle, the choices he must make when he finally realizes that his dreams have changed and he can forge a new path if he is brave enough to do it.
In Ivan Doig's leisurely, laid back style of writing, he tells this story with heart and with humor. I’ll miss this world, these characters and the relationships that he’s created. Looks like I need to hunt down some of his other work.
July 30, 2021
Beyond 5 stars actually :-)
From time to time, I need to assuage my frustration with much of humankind by hearkening back to a semblance of my own childhood when the world was simpler. Who better to do that through than Ivan Doig, one of my favorite authors.
“When you are as young as I was then, a world of any kind begins at the outskirts of your imagination, and you populate it with those who have proven themselves to you. The unknowns are always lying in wait, though.”
As to this story, I loved it, the down-to-earth reality as I remember the 1940s and 50s, the insights, the vibrant characters with their changing colors, and the accomplished writing not distracting from the story. Oh, and what an entangling, life-changing adventure it is.
“Life can tickle you in the ribs surprisingly when it’s not digging its thumb in.”
That snippet in its breadth exemplifies why this was such an engrossing read to me.
From time to time, I need to assuage my frustration with much of humankind by hearkening back to a semblance of my own childhood when the world was simpler. Who better to do that through than Ivan Doig, one of my favorite authors.
“When you are as young as I was then, a world of any kind begins at the outskirts of your imagination, and you populate it with those who have proven themselves to you. The unknowns are always lying in wait, though.”
As to this story, I loved it, the down-to-earth reality as I remember the 1940s and 50s, the insights, the vibrant characters with their changing colors, and the accomplished writing not distracting from the story. Oh, and what an entangling, life-changing adventure it is.
“Life can tickle you in the ribs surprisingly when it’s not digging its thumb in.”
That snippet in its breadth exemplifies why this was such an engrossing read to me.
October 20, 2016
4.5 STARS.
This is such a beautiful heartwarming book. I can't believe this is the first book I have read by Ivan Doig. Reading Ivan Doig is like eating your favorite comfort food. You just have a warmth and peace come over you.
The plot in this book is pretty simple. Donal, a precocious 11 year old is sent to live with his aunt while his Grams has surgery for female problems. This is 1951-he boards a Grey Hound bus, a young boy on a mission- to collect people's autographs in his memory book. He meets some interesting people and manages to get himself into some scrapes before he gets to Wisconsin.
We meet his aunt Kate and her husband Herman the German. Kate decides to send him back as she finds him difficult and at this point Herman decides to fly the coop and join him. Seems simple, doesn't it?
The joy of this book is Donal and Herman and the friendship they forge along the way. It started in Wisconsin, but with each twist and turn in their journey, they learn to rely on each other more and more. Their bond was an elixir to my soul. The heart of this book is about journeys, physical and emotional, and the friends you make along the way, even the most unlikely friends! It's amazing how they all contribute to Donal's growth in some way.
Donal's difficult decision at the end as to which path he should take and how he comes to that decision is priceless. These 2 characters have ensconced themselves in my heart and I will always remember them fondly. I loved this book.
This is such a beautiful heartwarming book. I can't believe this is the first book I have read by Ivan Doig. Reading Ivan Doig is like eating your favorite comfort food. You just have a warmth and peace come over you.
The plot in this book is pretty simple. Donal, a precocious 11 year old is sent to live with his aunt while his Grams has surgery for female problems. This is 1951-he boards a Grey Hound bus, a young boy on a mission- to collect people's autographs in his memory book. He meets some interesting people and manages to get himself into some scrapes before he gets to Wisconsin.
We meet his aunt Kate and her husband Herman the German. Kate decides to send him back as she finds him difficult and at this point Herman decides to fly the coop and join him. Seems simple, doesn't it?
The joy of this book is Donal and Herman and the friendship they forge along the way. It started in Wisconsin, but with each twist and turn in their journey, they learn to rely on each other more and more. Their bond was an elixir to my soul. The heart of this book is about journeys, physical and emotional, and the friends you make along the way, even the most unlikely friends! It's amazing how they all contribute to Donal's growth in some way.
Donal's difficult decision at the end as to which path he should take and how he comes to that decision is priceless. These 2 characters have ensconced themselves in my heart and I will always remember them fondly. I loved this book.
December 4, 2017
This story is set in the summer of 1951: Pre-television, pre-baby boomer tidal wave, pre-interstate highway system. It's a narrow slice of Americana that invites nostalgia, and celebrates a freedom the author reaches back into his own memory to revive. The pace of the book is relaxed. The tropes, by now well-worn, are a comfortable fit to the time. The main character, Donal Cameron, is an eleven year old boy traveling by bus from a ranch outside of Gros Ventre (pronounced Grove On), Montana to Manitowoc, Wisconsin.
The first hundred pages intersperse Donal's back story with the lengthy ride on the “Dog Bus.” Donal is an orphan raised by his grandmother, a cook on the Double W Ranch, owned by an insensitive tight-fisted man whom they privately call “Sparrowhead.” While Gram is recovering from a serious operation, Donal is being sent to live with her estranged sister Kitty.
Donal is imaginative — a natural born story-teller. He expends this talent on a revolving door of passengers: a group of soldiers masking their concerns with a show of bravado before shipping out to Korea, a surly sheriff and his affable prisoner, a fast-talking con-man, a nurturing couple en route to visiting their adult children. Unfortunately, I couldn't get engaged in this section, and a hundred pages is a long time to feel unengaged. The leisurely pace of a road trip lacked the kind of dramatic tension I have come to expect from novels.
Once Donal arrives in Manitowoc, the narrower focus of characters held my interest. It begins with an extended joke. Aunt Kittie's hefty girth combined with a melodious voice persuade the imaginative Donal that she is really the celebrity Kate Smith. It's an amusing mistake that suffers from poor delivery. Nevertheless, Doig does have some fun with the situation. Donal anticipates sharing a glamorous aura: “Herman [Kittie's husband] hustled ahead to the car, not the limousine I was looking forward to but a big old roomy four-door DeSoto, I supposed because someone the size of Kate Smith required a lot of room. I fully expected her, and if I was lucky, me, to establish in the backseat, the way rich people did. But while Herman was putting my suitcase in the trunk, she drew herself up by the front passenger door and stood there as if impatient for it to open itself, until I realized I was supposed to be the one to do it.” (p.119) Once the embarrassing mistake is revealed, Donal suffers a further humiliation. Aunt Kittie imagines Donal must be retarded to have made such an error. Herman speaks up with his German accent and commonsense wisdom: “The boy made a notcheral mistake. It could happen to Einstein.” (p.128)
Aunt Kittie is not only a disappointment, she is truly dreadful. Her main interests are listening to soap operas on the radio and canasta, a game she insists Donal learn so he can temporarily fill in as fourth in a weekly get-together with two other matrons. The home is part of a comatose community of empty nesters — no other kids to play with. Aunt Kittie is constantly upbraiding Uncle Herman, and Herman spends most of his time in a small detached greenhouse in the yard. The greenhouse soon becomes Donal's refuge as well. I liked Herman a lot and he could have been the basis for a more developed character, rather than primarily an accomplice in the escapades that ensue.
I wanted to like this book. It is the last book written by a prolific and well-regarded author. The book was universally lauded by the critics. However, as a whole it never grabbed my interest. The most enjoyable part for me was the last hundred pages. I had a difficult time making it through the book and would not have finished it if it was not the selection of my book club. For me it simply did not cohere as a unified novel.
NOTES:
This reflected some of the negative criticisms I had, while still being an overall positive review:
https://www.csmonitor.com/Books/Book-...
The first hundred pages intersperse Donal's back story with the lengthy ride on the “Dog Bus.” Donal is an orphan raised by his grandmother, a cook on the Double W Ranch, owned by an insensitive tight-fisted man whom they privately call “Sparrowhead.” While Gram is recovering from a serious operation, Donal is being sent to live with her estranged sister Kitty.
Donal is imaginative — a natural born story-teller. He expends this talent on a revolving door of passengers: a group of soldiers masking their concerns with a show of bravado before shipping out to Korea, a surly sheriff and his affable prisoner, a fast-talking con-man, a nurturing couple en route to visiting their adult children. Unfortunately, I couldn't get engaged in this section, and a hundred pages is a long time to feel unengaged. The leisurely pace of a road trip lacked the kind of dramatic tension I have come to expect from novels.
Once Donal arrives in Manitowoc, the narrower focus of characters held my interest. It begins with an extended joke. Aunt Kittie's hefty girth combined with a melodious voice persuade the imaginative Donal that she is really the celebrity Kate Smith. It's an amusing mistake that suffers from poor delivery. Nevertheless, Doig does have some fun with the situation. Donal anticipates sharing a glamorous aura: “Herman [Kittie's husband] hustled ahead to the car, not the limousine I was looking forward to but a big old roomy four-door DeSoto, I supposed because someone the size of Kate Smith required a lot of room. I fully expected her, and if I was lucky, me, to establish in the backseat, the way rich people did. But while Herman was putting my suitcase in the trunk, she drew herself up by the front passenger door and stood there as if impatient for it to open itself, until I realized I was supposed to be the one to do it.” (p.119) Once the embarrassing mistake is revealed, Donal suffers a further humiliation. Aunt Kittie imagines Donal must be retarded to have made such an error. Herman speaks up with his German accent and commonsense wisdom: “The boy made a notcheral mistake. It could happen to Einstein.” (p.128)
Aunt Kittie is not only a disappointment, she is truly dreadful. Her main interests are listening to soap operas on the radio and canasta, a game she insists Donal learn so he can temporarily fill in as fourth in a weekly get-together with two other matrons. The home is part of a comatose community of empty nesters — no other kids to play with. Aunt Kittie is constantly upbraiding Uncle Herman, and Herman spends most of his time in a small detached greenhouse in the yard. The greenhouse soon becomes Donal's refuge as well. I liked Herman a lot and he could have been the basis for a more developed character, rather than primarily an accomplice in the escapades that ensue.
I wanted to like this book. It is the last book written by a prolific and well-regarded author. The book was universally lauded by the critics. However, as a whole it never grabbed my interest. The most enjoyable part for me was the last hundred pages. I had a difficult time making it through the book and would not have finished it if it was not the selection of my book club. For me it simply did not cohere as a unified novel.
NOTES:
This reflected some of the negative criticisms I had, while still being an overall positive review:
https://www.csmonitor.com/Books/Book-...
February 27, 2022
Feb 26, 630am ~~ Review asap.
Feb 26, 245pm ~~ This is the final book Ivan Doig wrote before his death in 2015. It was supposed to be the final book in this little challenge, but I decided to reread his memoir, the book where I discovered this amazing author. And while I was checking his author page here at GR, I noticed two other titles that interested me: his very first published novel, and a little book billed as a prequel to This House Of Sky (that memoir). So of course I ordered them, and will continue my On Air Ivan Doig Personal Challenge in a few days.
Meanwhile, back on the bus, I loved this book. We get to spend time with another of Doig's eleven year old boys on the edge of growing up. This time it is Donal Cameron, who has to go to Wisconsin for the summer while his grandmother is in hospital for an operation and recuperation. Why Wisconsin? That is where Gram's sister Kitty lives. She is the only other living relative. Donal's parents were killed in an car wreck, which is why he has been living with Gram, the ranch cook at the familiar-to-Doig-fans Double W ranch.
So off we go across country on the dog bus (Greyhound) into the unknown. Even on the bus Donny has some adventures and learns a few new cuss words. He tries to settle in with Aunt Kitty and Uncle Herman, but nothing ever seems to go as smoothly as he had hoped. However, he knows that all he can do is 'hunch up and take it', a family philosophy for rough times.
But there turns out to be a limit for just how much hunching up one eleven year old boy can manage, and when he tries to straighten himself up Aunt Kitty ships him back to Montana. But guess who shows up on the bus to go with him? Uncle Herman, making his own attempt at straightening after hunching up for years thanks to Aunt Kitty. Herman is quite the character, I liked him a lot. He and Donny were a perfect team, even after Donny discovers more than a few secrets about Herman that he never imagined.
They decide on a little road trip rather than just making a beeline home to Gram, and this of course sets the stage for an amazing series of adventures. I thought the book was wonderful, from the characters who were all so real to the atmosphere on a bus during a long trip. I know a little about that myself, and while I never did talk to as many strangers as Donny during my years of long bus rides (I had no autograph album for anyone to sign, after all) I was able to settle right into the feel of the trip. To tell the truth this book made me want to go get a ticket to Somewhere!
Feb 26, 245pm ~~ This is the final book Ivan Doig wrote before his death in 2015. It was supposed to be the final book in this little challenge, but I decided to reread his memoir, the book where I discovered this amazing author. And while I was checking his author page here at GR, I noticed two other titles that interested me: his very first published novel, and a little book billed as a prequel to This House Of Sky (that memoir). So of course I ordered them, and will continue my On Air Ivan Doig Personal Challenge in a few days.
Meanwhile, back on the bus, I loved this book. We get to spend time with another of Doig's eleven year old boys on the edge of growing up. This time it is Donal Cameron, who has to go to Wisconsin for the summer while his grandmother is in hospital for an operation and recuperation. Why Wisconsin? That is where Gram's sister Kitty lives. She is the only other living relative. Donal's parents were killed in an car wreck, which is why he has been living with Gram, the ranch cook at the familiar-to-Doig-fans Double W ranch.
So off we go across country on the dog bus (Greyhound) into the unknown. Even on the bus Donny has some adventures and learns a few new cuss words. He tries to settle in with Aunt Kitty and Uncle Herman, but nothing ever seems to go as smoothly as he had hoped. However, he knows that all he can do is 'hunch up and take it', a family philosophy for rough times.
But there turns out to be a limit for just how much hunching up one eleven year old boy can manage, and when he tries to straighten himself up Aunt Kitty ships him back to Montana. But guess who shows up on the bus to go with him? Uncle Herman, making his own attempt at straightening after hunching up for years thanks to Aunt Kitty. Herman is quite the character, I liked him a lot. He and Donny were a perfect team, even after Donny discovers more than a few secrets about Herman that he never imagined.
They decide on a little road trip rather than just making a beeline home to Gram, and this of course sets the stage for an amazing series of adventures. I thought the book was wonderful, from the characters who were all so real to the atmosphere on a bus during a long trip. I know a little about that myself, and while I never did talk to as many strangers as Donny during my years of long bus rides (I had no autograph album for anyone to sign, after all) I was able to settle right into the feel of the trip. To tell the truth this book made me want to go get a ticket to Somewhere!
December 15, 2015
This is a coming of age novel and the story of a journey, in more ways than one. It’s 1951 in a ranch in Montana, an orphan young boy gets sent to his grand aunt and uncle in Wisconsin while his beloved grandmother is having an operation.
During the bus trip across Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota on his way to Manitowoc (on lake Michigan) Donny, who has a wild imagination, decides to ask his fellow passengers to sign his memory book in the hope of making the world records for the largest collection of autographs and ditties. Along the way, the reader meets a Reader's Digest lady, soldiers heading for Korea, a voluptuous waitress, a puny sheriff and his brawny jailbreaker brother and a sly ex-convict.
"They all filled in the dizzying span of my thoughts like a private version of Believe It or Not! And wherever life took them from here on, most of them had left a bit of their existence in my memory book. A condensed chapter of themselves, maybe, to put it in Pleasantville terms. I had much to digest, in more ways than one, as I lay back in the seat."
That’s just the start of Donny’s adventures, once arrived at his destination he has to deal with tight fisted and bossy grand-aunt Kate. He finds an unlikely ally in placid grand-uncle Herman, who has a fascination with the Wild West and Native American culture. The two become travel companions (or “pardners” as Herman puts it) and embark on the best summer vacation ever.
The novel is simply beautiful; Doig has a talent in creating believable and lovable characters and pulling the reader into the story. I had the pleasure of reading my first Ivan Doing this year and it was love at first chapter (The Whistling Season, which remains my favourite of his). It is so sad that the author passed away earlier this year and Last Bus to Wisdom is his last novel.
I urge you to try Doig, I’m planning to read all of his novels, savouring each one. 4 ½ stars rounded up
My favourite quotes:
At first Aunt Kate went perfectly still, except for blinking a mile a minute. Then her face turned stonier than any of those on Mount Rushmore. For some seconds, she looked like she couldn’t find what to say. But when she did, it blew my hair back.
Life with Herman was a size larger than I was used to, like clothing I was supposed to grow into.
During the bus trip across Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota on his way to Manitowoc (on lake Michigan) Donny, who has a wild imagination, decides to ask his fellow passengers to sign his memory book in the hope of making the world records for the largest collection of autographs and ditties. Along the way, the reader meets a Reader's Digest lady, soldiers heading for Korea, a voluptuous waitress, a puny sheriff and his brawny jailbreaker brother and a sly ex-convict.
"They all filled in the dizzying span of my thoughts like a private version of Believe It or Not! And wherever life took them from here on, most of them had left a bit of their existence in my memory book. A condensed chapter of themselves, maybe, to put it in Pleasantville terms. I had much to digest, in more ways than one, as I lay back in the seat."
That’s just the start of Donny’s adventures, once arrived at his destination he has to deal with tight fisted and bossy grand-aunt Kate. He finds an unlikely ally in placid grand-uncle Herman, who has a fascination with the Wild West and Native American culture. The two become travel companions (or “pardners” as Herman puts it) and embark on the best summer vacation ever.
The novel is simply beautiful; Doig has a talent in creating believable and lovable characters and pulling the reader into the story. I had the pleasure of reading my first Ivan Doing this year and it was love at first chapter (The Whistling Season, which remains my favourite of his). It is so sad that the author passed away earlier this year and Last Bus to Wisdom is his last novel.
I urge you to try Doig, I’m planning to read all of his novels, savouring each one. 4 ½ stars rounded up
My favourite quotes:
At first Aunt Kate went perfectly still, except for blinking a mile a minute. Then her face turned stonier than any of those on Mount Rushmore. For some seconds, she looked like she couldn’t find what to say. But when she did, it blew my hair back.
Life with Herman was a size larger than I was used to, like clothing I was supposed to grow into.
April 4, 2021
This is a novel I liked and found a pleasure to read and listen to but left little impression. I am a big Doig fan and I think this is his last book. I traveled much of Montana watching my son play in the minors. I saw many a dusty ball park surrounded by snow covered peaks and sunsets that went on for miles of sky. So I can easily see how land of this sort can get under one's skin and constantly draw you into its folds. So this book was a long but quick cozy read that frequently made me smile but lacked drama and only occasional surprised me if only a little.
It is primarily a coming of age story for an 11 year old boy, Donal (no ending d) who is sent from the ranch he lives on with his grandmother to his great aunt Kittys in Wisconsin for the summer while his grandmother has "a surgery on her lady parts".
It is a journey for sure. Most of the book takes place traveling one way or return on the dog bus. Montana to Wisconsin may not seem like much of a journey these day but in 1951 for a young boy alone it is not short on adventures. Along the way he meets lots of new friends and a few not so friendly all with a good story to share.
At times the story felt more like linked short stories rather than a novel as there is little plot that carries through. People are met and then disembark and the bus goes on. Some will appear once again later on in the story so I sometimes had to go back and re-acquaint myself.
It is only when he gets to Wisconsin that the story begins to really feel tied together.
The one major flaw in the story for me was that for an 11 year old boy telling a story in the present tense I could not believe how observant, and wise he often was. Too often he sounded like a world wise 40 year old than a young boy still growing and learning about the world.
Yet the story is a good one and I did enjoy so much the depth of character Doig always brings to the work. I was a wonderful look at a slower, and more intimate time. And in these pages where problems all seem to work out in the end.
It is primarily a coming of age story for an 11 year old boy, Donal (no ending d) who is sent from the ranch he lives on with his grandmother to his great aunt Kittys in Wisconsin for the summer while his grandmother has "a surgery on her lady parts".
It is a journey for sure. Most of the book takes place traveling one way or return on the dog bus. Montana to Wisconsin may not seem like much of a journey these day but in 1951 for a young boy alone it is not short on adventures. Along the way he meets lots of new friends and a few not so friendly all with a good story to share.
At times the story felt more like linked short stories rather than a novel as there is little plot that carries through. People are met and then disembark and the bus goes on. Some will appear once again later on in the story so I sometimes had to go back and re-acquaint myself.
It is only when he gets to Wisconsin that the story begins to really feel tied together.
The one major flaw in the story for me was that for an 11 year old boy telling a story in the present tense I could not believe how observant, and wise he often was. Too often he sounded like a world wise 40 year old than a young boy still growing and learning about the world.
Yet the story is a good one and I did enjoy so much the depth of character Doig always brings to the work. I was a wonderful look at a slower, and more intimate time. And in these pages where problems all seem to work out in the end.
June 16, 2021
...da qualche parte sotto la luna e sopra l’inferno
Donal è il giovane protagonista di questa storia.
Un nome a cui manca una consonante finale dandogli un effetto bizzarro come se mancasse qualcosa.
Così, di riflesso, la vita di questo undicenne ha un che di troncato.
Rimasto orfano dopo la morte dei genitori a causa di un brutto incidente vive con la nonna in un ranch del Montana finchè anche questo affetto gli viene sottratto.
La nonna, difatti, deve farsi ricoverare per una malattia probabilmente fatale.
Così anche la spensieratezza, in un’età in cui dovrebbe essere consueta, è macchiata dal pensiero di un futuro incerto cominciando da un viaggio che ha come meta il Wisconsin dove lo attendono due zii (prozii, in realtà) che non ha mai visto prima.
Da solo, a bordo di un autobus, deve affrontare un viaggio di oltre 2500 km (1600 miglia) verso la città fantasma di Manitowoc.
La linea di autobus Greyhound (dal nome di un levriero poi stilizzato sul fianco di ogni corriera) primeggiava, in quegli anni ’50, per chi doveva attraversare gli stati americani con una spesa contenuta.
Nonostante la lunghezza del viaggio, Donal non si perde d’animo e non è certo un timido ragazzino.
Di fronte ad un bel campionario umano è subito pronto ad attaccare bottone snocciolando storie confezionate su misura e al momento; un po’ per rendersi più interessante, un po’, probabilmente per mascherare una realtà a dir poco mediocre.
Tra lui e il mondo di viaggiatori un album delle dediche su cui chiede a molti di lasciare un pensiero e una firma come segno del suo passaggio dall'infanzia ad un'incerta vita adulta.
È l'America degli anni cinquanta.
La guerra di Corea un'eco dell'ennesima carneficina.
L'arrivo a Manitowoc e l'incontro con Kitty ed Herman sembrano far rassegnare il ragazzino a dover trascorrere una noiosa estate nel desolato Wisconsin eppure qualcosa d’inaspettato lo attende...
Un buon romanzo ma, personalmente, non l’ho trovato eccezionale e memorabile.
Un po’ come un lungo viaggio dove la stanchezza prende il sopravvento sulla bellezza del paesaggio e non si aspetta altro che l'ultima fermata.
”Quel ragazzo non è mai uscito dal Montana, a malapena si è allontanato dalla contea di Two Medicine, e ora l’America si stende davanti a lui, sconosciuta e aperta all’immaginazione come una Pleasantville.
E lui ha imparato, dai volumi del Reader’s Digest, che alla gente succede sempre qualcosa di inaspettato, positivo o negativo che sia, e ciò dovrebbe essere almeno garanzia di qualcosa di interessante, giusto? E poi, se proprio dovesse andar male, nascosto nella tasca dei jeans nuovi di zecca ha un biglietto di ritorno.
Ma è proprio questa la fregatura. Di ritorno verso cosa, da cosa?”
Donal è il giovane protagonista di questa storia.
Un nome a cui manca una consonante finale dandogli un effetto bizzarro come se mancasse qualcosa.
Così, di riflesso, la vita di questo undicenne ha un che di troncato.
Rimasto orfano dopo la morte dei genitori a causa di un brutto incidente vive con la nonna in un ranch del Montana finchè anche questo affetto gli viene sottratto.
La nonna, difatti, deve farsi ricoverare per una malattia probabilmente fatale.
Così anche la spensieratezza, in un’età in cui dovrebbe essere consueta, è macchiata dal pensiero di un futuro incerto cominciando da un viaggio che ha come meta il Wisconsin dove lo attendono due zii (prozii, in realtà) che non ha mai visto prima.
Da solo, a bordo di un autobus, deve affrontare un viaggio di oltre 2500 km (1600 miglia) verso la città fantasma di Manitowoc.
La linea di autobus Greyhound (dal nome di un levriero poi stilizzato sul fianco di ogni corriera) primeggiava, in quegli anni ’50, per chi doveva attraversare gli stati americani con una spesa contenuta.
Nonostante la lunghezza del viaggio, Donal non si perde d’animo e non è certo un timido ragazzino.
Di fronte ad un bel campionario umano è subito pronto ad attaccare bottone snocciolando storie confezionate su misura e al momento; un po’ per rendersi più interessante, un po’, probabilmente per mascherare una realtà a dir poco mediocre.
Tra lui e il mondo di viaggiatori un album delle dediche su cui chiede a molti di lasciare un pensiero e una firma come segno del suo passaggio dall'infanzia ad un'incerta vita adulta.
È l'America degli anni cinquanta.
La guerra di Corea un'eco dell'ennesima carneficina.
L'arrivo a Manitowoc e l'incontro con Kitty ed Herman sembrano far rassegnare il ragazzino a dover trascorrere una noiosa estate nel desolato Wisconsin eppure qualcosa d’inaspettato lo attende...
Un buon romanzo ma, personalmente, non l’ho trovato eccezionale e memorabile.
Un po’ come un lungo viaggio dove la stanchezza prende il sopravvento sulla bellezza del paesaggio e non si aspetta altro che l'ultima fermata.
”Quel ragazzo non è mai uscito dal Montana, a malapena si è allontanato dalla contea di Two Medicine, e ora l’America si stende davanti a lui, sconosciuta e aperta all’immaginazione come una Pleasantville.
E lui ha imparato, dai volumi del Reader’s Digest, che alla gente succede sempre qualcosa di inaspettato, positivo o negativo che sia, e ciò dovrebbe essere almeno garanzia di qualcosa di interessante, giusto? E poi, se proprio dovesse andar male, nascosto nella tasca dei jeans nuovi di zecca ha un biglietto di ritorno.
Ma è proprio questa la fregatura. Di ritorno verso cosa, da cosa?”
May 9, 2025
Roses In The Snow Of Long Ago
"Last Bus To Wisdom" tells a story of memory and has an appropriate valedictory feel as the final novel of Ivan Doig (1939 -- 2015). It is a story of youth, age, travel, and looking back in Doig's beloved Montana and United States. Doig loves the people and places in his books, a vital capability for a writer.
"Last Bus to Wisdom" is a story of looking forward for the narrator, an eleven year old boy, Donal Cameron, and of looking back for the author. After many adventures, young Donal is on a rickety bus in Montana with the aged, German-born husband, Herman, of a distant relative. They are travelling with seasonal workers to a small appropriately-named Montana town of Wisdom. On the bus, Donal and Herman compose this little poem, working back and forth and getting a sense of "how words looked and what they meant" until both the boy and his elderly companion were satisfied..
"When you take a look in your memory book
Here you will find the lasting kind,
Old rhymes and new, life in review,
Roses in the snow of long ago."
Herman realizes this poem is beyond the full grasp of an eleven year old while promising the lad that he will understand it someday. So too, the reader may think back upon the significance of Donals' journey.
Set in 1951, "Last Bus to Wisdom" is a picaresque novel and a coming-of-age story. Young Donal lives with has grandmother on a Montana ranch where she barely makes ends meet working as a cook for the tight-fisted owner. When the grandmother is faced with a difficult surgery, she packs off Donal to stay for the summer with distant relatives in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. Thus, in the first part of the book Donal takes, travelling alone, a 1600 mile trip on Greyhound, the "dog bus", and meets many people, some good, some bad, and has many adventures. He is nearly robbed, misses the bus in Twin Cities, but also receives his first kiss. Donal keeps a memory book and asks his fellow riders to write inscriptions to remember them by. The little poem he and Herman write is one of these inscriptions, and like it, the others provide wisdom to Donal and guidance for his life.
The second part of the book covers Donals' short stay in Manitowoc with his Aunt Kate and her husband Herman. Donal and Kate don't get along and she soon packs him off to send him home. Herman uses the occasion to leave his troubled, unhappy marriage and to travel West with Donal. And so in the long third part of the book Donal and Herman travel together back to Montana on the dog bus. They again meet many characters. They are robbed by a phony preacher and forced to survive on their wits. The book becomes a travel journey of comrades in the manner of Huck Finn, Walt Whitman and Jack Kerouac. In fact, the book begins with an inscription from Kerouac's "On the Road" and young Donal has a well-described meeting with Kerouac during his journey. Ultimately, Donal and Herman find themselves in Wisdom, as they seek it over life, and get work on a ranch during haying season. Their wandering comrades, hobos who form a family calling themselves the Johnsons, are aptly described as the boy and elderly man make their way as seasonal laborers harvesting the hay.
In addition to its way with language, I loved the depiction of people and places in this book In his travel to Manitowoc, Donal stops on the Dog Bus in my hometown of Milwaukee. I am too young to remember Milwaukee in 1951, but Donal's description of the city from the window of the bus brings back my own memories.
"MILWAUKEE. The last hazardous stop I had to get through appeared to me endlessly gray and runny, drizzle streaking the bus window, as though the church steeples every block or two poked leaks in the clouds. Either a very religious place or one in serious need of saving from its sins, this big city looked old and set in its ways, streets of stores alike from neighborhood to neighborhood even when the spelling on the windows was different kinds of foreign."
This is a long, rambling book, as long cross-country bus rides are long and rambling. It also reminded me of my own cross- country trip earlier this year on Amtrak's Empire Builder as it traveled from Seattle through many places in this book, including Montana, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Milwaukee. Doig offers a loving picture of the American West and a sense of hope and optimism for its people. This is an important, thoughtful legacy that readers of this book in search of Wisdom may take to heart.
Robin Friedman
"Last Bus To Wisdom" tells a story of memory and has an appropriate valedictory feel as the final novel of Ivan Doig (1939 -- 2015). It is a story of youth, age, travel, and looking back in Doig's beloved Montana and United States. Doig loves the people and places in his books, a vital capability for a writer.
"Last Bus to Wisdom" is a story of looking forward for the narrator, an eleven year old boy, Donal Cameron, and of looking back for the author. After many adventures, young Donal is on a rickety bus in Montana with the aged, German-born husband, Herman, of a distant relative. They are travelling with seasonal workers to a small appropriately-named Montana town of Wisdom. On the bus, Donal and Herman compose this little poem, working back and forth and getting a sense of "how words looked and what they meant" until both the boy and his elderly companion were satisfied..
"When you take a look in your memory book
Here you will find the lasting kind,
Old rhymes and new, life in review,
Roses in the snow of long ago."
Herman realizes this poem is beyond the full grasp of an eleven year old while promising the lad that he will understand it someday. So too, the reader may think back upon the significance of Donals' journey.
Set in 1951, "Last Bus to Wisdom" is a picaresque novel and a coming-of-age story. Young Donal lives with has grandmother on a Montana ranch where she barely makes ends meet working as a cook for the tight-fisted owner. When the grandmother is faced with a difficult surgery, she packs off Donal to stay for the summer with distant relatives in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. Thus, in the first part of the book Donal takes, travelling alone, a 1600 mile trip on Greyhound, the "dog bus", and meets many people, some good, some bad, and has many adventures. He is nearly robbed, misses the bus in Twin Cities, but also receives his first kiss. Donal keeps a memory book and asks his fellow riders to write inscriptions to remember them by. The little poem he and Herman write is one of these inscriptions, and like it, the others provide wisdom to Donal and guidance for his life.
The second part of the book covers Donals' short stay in Manitowoc with his Aunt Kate and her husband Herman. Donal and Kate don't get along and she soon packs him off to send him home. Herman uses the occasion to leave his troubled, unhappy marriage and to travel West with Donal. And so in the long third part of the book Donal and Herman travel together back to Montana on the dog bus. They again meet many characters. They are robbed by a phony preacher and forced to survive on their wits. The book becomes a travel journey of comrades in the manner of Huck Finn, Walt Whitman and Jack Kerouac. In fact, the book begins with an inscription from Kerouac's "On the Road" and young Donal has a well-described meeting with Kerouac during his journey. Ultimately, Donal and Herman find themselves in Wisdom, as they seek it over life, and get work on a ranch during haying season. Their wandering comrades, hobos who form a family calling themselves the Johnsons, are aptly described as the boy and elderly man make their way as seasonal laborers harvesting the hay.
In addition to its way with language, I loved the depiction of people and places in this book In his travel to Manitowoc, Donal stops on the Dog Bus in my hometown of Milwaukee. I am too young to remember Milwaukee in 1951, but Donal's description of the city from the window of the bus brings back my own memories.
"MILWAUKEE. The last hazardous stop I had to get through appeared to me endlessly gray and runny, drizzle streaking the bus window, as though the church steeples every block or two poked leaks in the clouds. Either a very religious place or one in serious need of saving from its sins, this big city looked old and set in its ways, streets of stores alike from neighborhood to neighborhood even when the spelling on the windows was different kinds of foreign."
This is a long, rambling book, as long cross-country bus rides are long and rambling. It also reminded me of my own cross- country trip earlier this year on Amtrak's Empire Builder as it traveled from Seattle through many places in this book, including Montana, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Milwaukee. Doig offers a loving picture of the American West and a sense of hope and optimism for its people. This is an important, thoughtful legacy that readers of this book in search of Wisdom may take to heart.
Robin Friedman
September 2, 2018
A posthumously released novel by well renowned storyteller of the American West Ivan Doig, this book follows the adventures of 11 year old Donal who boards a Greyhound bus in Montana to stay with unknown relatives in Wisconsin while his Grandmother recoups from surgery. Even though it's set in the early 1950's there's plenty of mischief a young boy can get into, especially when tiring of his antic's quite early on Auntie Kate puts him right back on the " dog-bus " and he finds himself in the company of his fleeing adventuresome Uncle Herman on the long trip home.
Wise and funny, for me reminiscent of Wallace Stegner's style in Big Rock Candy Mountain, a favorite.
5 stars
Wise and funny, for me reminiscent of Wallace Stegner's style in Big Rock Candy Mountain, a favorite.
5 stars
September 22, 2015
Buddy read with Vivian.
Told from the POV of an eleven year boy with a penchant for stretching the truth, this story follows young Donal as he leaves his ailing grandmother. He is sent by greyhound bus or dog bus to spend the summer with his Aunt Kate with the plan being to return to his grandmother right before school begins. Filled with many funny scenes and some poignant ones, the story follows the Donal, old beyond his years, through his wild summer on the road to Wisdom. Mr Doig was a true artist with the written word. Highly recommended.
Told from the POV of an eleven year boy with a penchant for stretching the truth, this story follows young Donal as he leaves his ailing grandmother. He is sent by greyhound bus or dog bus to spend the summer with his Aunt Kate with the plan being to return to his grandmother right before school begins. Filled with many funny scenes and some poignant ones, the story follows the Donal, old beyond his years, through his wild summer on the road to Wisdom. Mr Doig was a true artist with the written word. Highly recommended.
August 2, 2018
This is a charming traveling tale, narrated by the endearing 11-year-old Donal. The journey begins as Donal is forced to take the bus from Montana to Wisconsin to stay with his great-aunt for the summer while his beloved guardian and grandmother has surgery. Along the way, he meets up with various misadventures, miscreants and caring, helpful folks. Many of these people are documented in his autograph book, which he treasures along with his moccasins and lucky arrowhead.
Donal's gift of gab and spirit endear him to most people, including me, but not his Aunt Kate.
I love coming-of-age stories like this, stories that feel like they really happened or could really happen. I also love narrators who amuse me even when they don't mean to. This has all that and also has the feel and language of the West and the Midwest in the 1950s, and Ivan Doig's clever, appealing writing. It is sad that it is Doig's last tale, but he ended on a doozy.
Donal's gift of gab and spirit endear him to most people, including me, but not his Aunt Kate.
I love coming-of-age stories like this, stories that feel like they really happened or could really happen. I also love narrators who amuse me even when they don't mean to. This has all that and also has the feel and language of the West and the Midwest in the 1950s, and Ivan Doig's clever, appealing writing. It is sad that it is Doig's last tale, but he ended on a doozy.
September 29, 2015
doig's last novel, he passed away just after this was written. story continues with his tropes of young boys, montana, rural and ranch life, small town life, traveling, being poor, history of area and people.
this one has a happy ending. waay too long and wordy, but that is doig's style, and a satisfying and fairly fast paced story of 1951 montana, manitowoc wisconsin, and big hole valley. a meditation on fate, faith, love, luck and fairness, with smell of horse sweat leather, cig smoke, road warriors, and even jack Kerouac makes a cameo.
this one has a happy ending. waay too long and wordy, but that is doig's style, and a satisfying and fairly fast paced story of 1951 montana, manitowoc wisconsin, and big hole valley. a meditation on fate, faith, love, luck and fairness, with smell of horse sweat leather, cig smoke, road warriors, and even jack Kerouac makes a cameo.
May 20, 2023
…anche meno meno. Troppo sciroppo d’acero fra queste pagine, e a me il tè (che preferisco al caffè) piace senza dolcificanti.
July 21, 2018
Crushed! Crushed, I tell you! I thought at the ripe age of 10 back in '57 I had invented the sexist witticism of addressing a waitress with a name over her breast "What do you call the other one?" I doubt I was ever brave enough to use it in front of an actual person but my friends seemed to like the idea.
So, imagine my disappointment in having that comment mentioned in this book about a wandering 11 year old in the 50's and realizing it was probably around for a long time before I arrived. At any rate, I enjoy coming of age stories, road tales, and life in the 50's and 60's so you would think this book would be right up my alley. And you would be right. Thoroughly enjoyable on all counts, interesting twists and turns, some rather convenient coincidences to keep it moving along. Great descriptive writing and an interesting ability to balance the outlook of an 11 year old who ends up on the road with his "relative" Herman the German.
I've read elsewhere that this was his last book before passing in 2015 and largely hailed as one of his best. Great book to settle in with for a long read.
So, imagine my disappointment in having that comment mentioned in this book about a wandering 11 year old in the 50's and realizing it was probably around for a long time before I arrived. At any rate, I enjoy coming of age stories, road tales, and life in the 50's and 60's so you would think this book would be right up my alley. And you would be right. Thoroughly enjoyable on all counts, interesting twists and turns, some rather convenient coincidences to keep it moving along. Great descriptive writing and an interesting ability to balance the outlook of an 11 year old who ends up on the road with his "relative" Herman the German.
I've read elsewhere that this was his last book before passing in 2015 and largely hailed as one of his best. Great book to settle in with for a long read.
August 21, 2015
Last Bus to Wisdom is a fitting farewell from a fabulous writer, raconteur and cultural historian of the great wild west, especially Montana.
Last Bus is a modern-day Huckleberry Finn story, a morality tale packed with peripheral color (Karl May, the Zane Gray of German speakers and readers of the early 20th century; haying on the big farms; the business of the rodeo; Germans in the US; hoboes in the aftermath of the depression, the effect of mining and oil on small towns in the west) and actually believable adventure.
Of COURSE there is a happy ending (all strands neatly tied together)but it is the adventures that Donal and later he and Herman encounter, worm their way through, that kept me reading from 8 am to 11 pm yesterday. Now I'm going to buy the book for a bunch of people.
What else can I say? I've loved Ivan Doig's books from the day I first set eyes on Dancing at the Rascal Fair, then English Creek. Read them all.
Last Bus is a modern-day Huckleberry Finn story, a morality tale packed with peripheral color (Karl May, the Zane Gray of German speakers and readers of the early 20th century; haying on the big farms; the business of the rodeo; Germans in the US; hoboes in the aftermath of the depression, the effect of mining and oil on small towns in the west) and actually believable adventure.
Of COURSE there is a happy ending (all strands neatly tied together)but it is the adventures that Donal and later he and Herman encounter, worm their way through, that kept me reading from 8 am to 11 pm yesterday. Now I'm going to buy the book for a bunch of people.
What else can I say? I've loved Ivan Doig's books from the day I first set eyes on Dancing at the Rascal Fair, then English Creek. Read them all.
January 16, 2016
Author Ivan Doig's first book This House of Sky is a memoir telling of Doig growing up on Montana's Rocky Mountain Front in the 1940's with his father and grandmother. The character and situation of 11-year old Donal Cameron in Doig's 16th and final book Last Bus to Wisdom, published in 2015, somewhat follows the storyline of the author himself as a 11 or 12 year old being sent to relatives in the Midwest as his grandmother is in the hospital during one summer. Both Donal and Doig travel by Greyhound to their destination ... but there the similarity ends as Donal with his ever-present autograph book encounters a cast of characters who truly are characters (even Jack Kerouac enters into the picture.) The adventures show Ivan Doig at his best; his writing has come to find a special place in my heart over the years.
March 11, 2021
Romanzo di formazione e road movie che toccherà la sua meta finale a Wisdom (saggezza), una sperduta località rurale nel cuore del lontano Ovest.
È il 1951 e il quasi dodicenne Donny, munito di una valigia di vimini e “una responsabilità più grande di quanto potessi sopportare” comincia un viaggio di 1600 miglia sulla mitica corriera Greyhound per raggiungere nello sconosciuto Wisconsin degli sconosciuti parenti.
Lui, ragazzino che vive in un ranch del Montana con la nonna, e ha esperienza soltanto di campagna e di cavalli, attraverserà gli States munito del suo libro delle dediche e di un sapere ricavato dall’avida lettura di vari volumi del Reader’s Digest, incontrando i più improbabili personaggi e districandosi nel mondo degli adulti con la scaltrezza e l’intelligenza pratica che solo un adolescente abituato fin da subito alle difficoltà della vita può possedere.
Dotato di spiccata immaginazione Donny riesce a cavarsela nelle situazioni più complicate e a stringere rapporti umani schietti e sinceri in un mondo popolato da personaggi picareschi: cow-boy stazzonati e affascinanti cameriere, fascinosi galeotti e perfidi sceriffi, campioni di rodeo, indiani giganteschi e truffatori sotto mentite spoglie...una serie pittoresca di varia umanità che lo porterà, passando da un viaggio all’altro, a conoscere la comunità stravagante degli hobo (lavoratori stagionali del fieno); il tutto ravvivato dai rapporti non semplici con una zia bisbetica e uno zio tedesco dal passato emblematico e pieno di sorprese.
Sorprendente sarà anche l’incontro con un geniale scrittore affetto da “quel magico prurito per cui esiste solo una cura: la matita” che fornirà al ragazzo una delle lezioni di vita più originali vergata nel famigerato libro delle dediche: “resisti, amico, nessuna paura, prendi ogni cosa come si presenta. Alla fine, è tutta pianura.”
Una storia lieve e incantevole dove prevalgono i buoni sentimenti, e dove la meraviglia degli incontri rispecchia l’avventura di un viaggio con molti imprevisti e con poche ma fondamentali lezioni di vita.
Commuove pensare che questo fu l’ultimo libro scritto da Ivan Doig, che volle accomiatarsi dai suoi lettori rivolgendo uno sguardo tenero e lucido verso se stesso ragazzino, troppo simile a quel Donny dai capelli rossi che intraprende il viaggio verso la saggezza con la sua valigia piena di sogni.
È il 1951 e il quasi dodicenne Donny, munito di una valigia di vimini e “una responsabilità più grande di quanto potessi sopportare” comincia un viaggio di 1600 miglia sulla mitica corriera Greyhound per raggiungere nello sconosciuto Wisconsin degli sconosciuti parenti.
Lui, ragazzino che vive in un ranch del Montana con la nonna, e ha esperienza soltanto di campagna e di cavalli, attraverserà gli States munito del suo libro delle dediche e di un sapere ricavato dall’avida lettura di vari volumi del Reader’s Digest, incontrando i più improbabili personaggi e districandosi nel mondo degli adulti con la scaltrezza e l’intelligenza pratica che solo un adolescente abituato fin da subito alle difficoltà della vita può possedere.
Dotato di spiccata immaginazione Donny riesce a cavarsela nelle situazioni più complicate e a stringere rapporti umani schietti e sinceri in un mondo popolato da personaggi picareschi: cow-boy stazzonati e affascinanti cameriere, fascinosi galeotti e perfidi sceriffi, campioni di rodeo, indiani giganteschi e truffatori sotto mentite spoglie...una serie pittoresca di varia umanità che lo porterà, passando da un viaggio all’altro, a conoscere la comunità stravagante degli hobo (lavoratori stagionali del fieno); il tutto ravvivato dai rapporti non semplici con una zia bisbetica e uno zio tedesco dal passato emblematico e pieno di sorprese.
Sorprendente sarà anche l’incontro con un geniale scrittore affetto da “quel magico prurito per cui esiste solo una cura: la matita” che fornirà al ragazzo una delle lezioni di vita più originali vergata nel famigerato libro delle dediche: “resisti, amico, nessuna paura, prendi ogni cosa come si presenta. Alla fine, è tutta pianura.”
Una storia lieve e incantevole dove prevalgono i buoni sentimenti, e dove la meraviglia degli incontri rispecchia l’avventura di un viaggio con molti imprevisti e con poche ma fondamentali lezioni di vita.
Commuove pensare che questo fu l’ultimo libro scritto da Ivan Doig, che volle accomiatarsi dai suoi lettori rivolgendo uno sguardo tenero e lucido verso se stesso ragazzino, troppo simile a quel Donny dai capelli rossi che intraprende il viaggio verso la saggezza con la sua valigia piena di sogni.
January 30, 2016
I know a lot of people rated this book very highly, but I just couldn't do that. The main characters are interesting enough; I enjoyed following a young boy on a Greyhound bus from Montana to Wisconsin (and back) and there were a lot of colorful characters who pop into the novel along the journeys. The dialogue crackles with 1950's upper Great Plains expressions, but the action itself I just couldn't get into on a deeper level that would warrant four or five stars. I am sorry to hear that author Ivan Doig recently passed away, and maybe I will give one of his earlier novels a shot. In my mind, I kept comparing the characters and dialogue to Larry McMurtry, a Pulitzer-award winning novelist and one of my top five favorites - a high standard indeed, and this fell a little short.
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