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The Great American Bus Ride
”The truth is, I am a hussy of low appetites who yearns shamelessly for rough travel…Greyhound and I were made for each other.”
After more than thirty years as an expatriate, Irma Kurtz gave in to her growing curiosity about her American roots and set off on a grand adventure to explore ‘the most baffling of all places’ – by Greyhound bus. Taking only the barest necessities for travel, she entered the vast network of America’s bus routes and a seething, fleeting world of brief encounters and changing landscapes.
During the great loops of her journey back and forth across the continent, Kurtz was as fascinated by the people thrown up at random on each bus as by the places flashing by outside the window. She creates a vivid and highly entertaining portrait of America reflected in the hundreds of characters she observes fromthe close quarters of the bus. Feeling herself becoming ‘invisible’ as she passes into middle age, she senses a wonderful new freedom to watch and record other people.
This is America caught unawares, in the no-man’s-land between bus stations: a more truthful picture of it than we have come to expect, from a woman looking coolly at the truth about herself.
After more than thirty years as an expatriate, Irma Kurtz gave in to her growing curiosity about her American roots and set off on a grand adventure to explore ‘the most baffling of all places’ – by Greyhound bus. Taking only the barest necessities for travel, she entered the vast network of America’s bus routes and a seething, fleeting world of brief encounters and changing landscapes.
During the great loops of her journey back and forth across the continent, Kurtz was as fascinated by the people thrown up at random on each bus as by the places flashing by outside the window. She creates a vivid and highly entertaining portrait of America reflected in the hundreds of characters she observes fromthe close quarters of the bus. Feeling herself becoming ‘invisible’ as she passes into middle age, she senses a wonderful new freedom to watch and record other people.
This is America caught unawares, in the no-man’s-land between bus stations: a more truthful picture of it than we have come to expect, from a woman looking coolly at the truth about herself.
314 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 1993
110 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
June 22, 2019
DNF at p. 206. Oh man, where to start...first of all, I've had this book on my TBR list for ages. Like 20+ years. I used to write down book recommendations from Vanity Fair and People magazine. I've eliminated so many of those titles over the years, but for some reason I kept this one on there- knowing I would read it at some point. I think I went into this book imagining it to be a humorous take on riding the Greyhound bus across the country. There is very little humor in Kurtz's retelling of her travels across the United States. And while Irma Kurtz makes some great insights on those who travel by Greyhound bus- "Traveling by Greyhound is no pleasure trip, you know. Bus journeys in America are purposeful expeditions, no frills or affectations..."- the meeting of quirky character after quirky character. After awhile they are no longer interesting. The bus depot descriptions start blending into one another. One observation that she made near the beginning of the book was that Greyhound was notorious for losing luggage- putting it on the wrong bus. I had to laugh as a memory was triggered. Many years ago , my sister and I took the Greyhound across three provinces to meet up with my parents, who were holidaying at the family cabin. While sitting on the bus waiting for our departure, I happened to look out the window only to see our suitcases being loaded on the bus next to ours! We bolted off the bus and were thankfully able to get our luggage on the correct bus.
Even though I couldn't finish this book- I'm going to give it a generous 3 stars. Kurtz is a good writer...I was hoping for something a bit different, I guess.
Even though I couldn't finish this book- I'm going to give it a generous 3 stars. Kurtz is a good writer...I was hoping for something a bit different, I guess.
April 22, 2021
I got this book from a friend who had very appropriately picked it up in the airport bookstore and left it to me. This is simply travellers´ and travelling book.
This was my second reading, I needed something flowing and not very heavy to cover my current illness, and it has been the right choice. To join the author on her travels in her "home from home" on the wheels and enjoy the free feeling of a changing scenery has been refreshing (especially now). Her observations are interesting, though not always engaging enough, she has a good ear for spotting conversations.
It is a more pleasant than exciting read, perhaps also a valuable chronicle of the 90´s USA.
This was my second reading, I needed something flowing and not very heavy to cover my current illness, and it has been the right choice. To join the author on her travels in her "home from home" on the wheels and enjoy the free feeling of a changing scenery has been refreshing (especially now). Her observations are interesting, though not always engaging enough, she has a good ear for spotting conversations.
It is a more pleasant than exciting read, perhaps also a valuable chronicle of the 90´s USA.
June 4, 2021
I found this book for $1 at a bookstore in the bargain bin and loved it! The author, Irma Kurtz, climbs onto a bus one day and travels to Los Angeles, having adventures along the way. Her observations during her three months on the road, especially of the eccentric people she encounters and her internal conversations, make this a funny and insightful read. If you like traveling and people watching and don't mind getting stuck in a bus depot overnight as I have, you will enjoy this book. No, really.
December 15, 2023
I enjoyed it though i wasn't 'spellbound'. It did inspire me to explore America, and i was a little sad when it ended (a good thing).
March 8, 2015
Book Review – The Great American Bus Ride by Irma Kurtz
ISBN – 9781857021851 – 7 out of 10
Irma Kurtz recounts her journey across early 1990’s America in The Great American Bus Ride.
After 30 years as an ex-patriate the writer feels the need to re-connect with the place of her birth, and her ancestors, and decides to see the whole of America from the windows of a number of Greyhound Buses.
With a novelist’s eye for detail, and a tourists sense of discovery, Kurtz recollects her travels from Boston to New York, and the people she meets along the way, from fleeting night time bus rides, to more involved friendships, she often finds herself in the company of people like herself, who are looking for some kind of meaning.
Although it is basically a travelogue, the real life characters that Kurtz meets often have the ring of fictional characters. Although her mother fears for her safety, the many small towns that she visits offer her nothing but hospitality, and like the work of Kerouac, and too a certain extent Mark Twain, the journey is seen as being just as an important part of the experience as the people who she encounters.
ISBN – 9781857021851 – 7 out of 10
Irma Kurtz recounts her journey across early 1990’s America in The Great American Bus Ride.
After 30 years as an ex-patriate the writer feels the need to re-connect with the place of her birth, and her ancestors, and decides to see the whole of America from the windows of a number of Greyhound Buses.
With a novelist’s eye for detail, and a tourists sense of discovery, Kurtz recollects her travels from Boston to New York, and the people she meets along the way, from fleeting night time bus rides, to more involved friendships, she often finds herself in the company of people like herself, who are looking for some kind of meaning.
Although it is basically a travelogue, the real life characters that Kurtz meets often have the ring of fictional characters. Although her mother fears for her safety, the many small towns that she visits offer her nothing but hospitality, and like the work of Kerouac, and too a certain extent Mark Twain, the journey is seen as being just as an important part of the experience as the people who she encounters.
May 6, 2012
I think traveling on ground level is a real feast for the imagination, and I've ridden Greyhound roundtrip once, so I picked up this book. The author documents her journey all over the US. She eavesdrops quite a bit and makes me think that not only are people not aware of their intimate conversations, but how much better they are than the media, in my opinion. I should try to eavesdrop more often, but always think I'd be an intruder and maybe I don't want to know what people talk about.
But the author obviously enjoyed her trip and she's probably a very adventurous sort. It sounded like she enjoyed the rural stops she made just as much, if not more, than the city landscape. For example, she barely mentions the trip from DC to NYC, but goes into minute detail about her time in Michigan's upper peninsula. I think I liked when she described her time in under the radar stops the best because they were not normally places one would go. That's probably what makes them more interesting.
But the author obviously enjoyed her trip and she's probably a very adventurous sort. It sounded like she enjoyed the rural stops she made just as much, if not more, than the city landscape. For example, she barely mentions the trip from DC to NYC, but goes into minute detail about her time in Michigan's upper peninsula. I think I liked when she described her time in under the radar stops the best because they were not normally places one would go. That's probably what makes them more interesting.
April 19, 2012
It was ok. It is a series of vignettes of one woman's trip across the United States. It often contains her snobbish opinions of various places in the US and her prejudicial assumptions about strangers she met during the trip. According to her, all foreigners (anyone not white or black) are paranoidly brusque, all fat people are ugly, all teenage girls are stunningly beautiful, and all men hit on any thin woman no matter her age. And the author is an alcoholic, based on the number of times she mentions going in search of a refill for her hip flask of bourbon or ordering a bourbon at a restaurant. It's not really an unbiased homage to the country; it belongs more in the memoir section than the travel section.
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October 17, 2014"Our world is big, our time is short; we who want to see a lot must deduce useful truths from every shred of evidence we come across, no matter how small, and even at the risk of sometimes committing an injustice."
This is a quote I recorded from whenever I read this book- probably about 15 years ago. I'm not sure how much I agree with it or not, but it's a good one to think about. Well-worded. Anyway, I'm thinking of reading it again. I would be curious to see if I still find it enjoyable, entertaining, and educational!
This is a quote I recorded from whenever I read this book- probably about 15 years ago. I'm not sure how much I agree with it or not, but it's a good one to think about. Well-worded. Anyway, I'm thinking of reading it again. I would be curious to see if I still find it enjoyable, entertaining, and educational!
July 16, 2016
Not so much about the destination as the journey and isn't that exactly what we are encouraged to seek out and enjoy in the pursuit of happiness.
I was expecting a bit more substance in terms of the places Irma visited I must admit but this was an enjoyable people watching and cultural anthropology to the far corners of the states by way of bus riders. Granted the Greyhound attracts a certain type and that, it seems, is exactly where the soul of the US lives.
Despite being no travel guide to sights and attractions the reader is left with a clear sense of America and its people.
I was expecting a bit more substance in terms of the places Irma visited I must admit but this was an enjoyable people watching and cultural anthropology to the far corners of the states by way of bus riders. Granted the Greyhound attracts a certain type and that, it seems, is exactly where the soul of the US lives.
Despite being no travel guide to sights and attractions the reader is left with a clear sense of America and its people.
July 14, 2011
I have read this book again and again over the last ten years, simply because Irma Kurtz is a fabulous observer of humanity. We see America not through the landscapes and the cities (though she shows those beautifully) but through the people she meets on the buses and in the places she stops. From Vera to the ladies trying on hats, to the bookseller and her absent son, these are tiny snapshots of people and moments you will see for yourself over and over again in America. Read this. Enjoy it.
January 4, 2012
What a fun read! I've never taken a greyhound before but Kurtz's ride makes me want to hop on and just enjoy the adventure;) I just loved the way Kurtz depicts the different characters she meets along the way and she makes the reader feel like he/she is on the bus with her. I also liked the fact that she chose her itinerary pretty much randomly, it added to the adventure. A great read!
February 4, 2016
I really enjoyed this book Anyone who has traveled on long distance buses will recognise the unwritten rules of the road, seating seniority and oddball characters that we meet along the way. Great observations on the people and places that are glimpsed fleetingly but which sometimes leave a lasting impression.
August 24, 2007
Interesting idea that worked out fairly well.
November 12, 2008
This book is great, about a 50-60ish years old woman riding Greyhound all over the U.S.A. just for fun.
May 4, 2009
Read this one AGES ago, and must re-read sometime. I love travel books, especially ones set in America. Heh heh I loved all the characters she met along the way.
September 23, 2009
A Lady really can travel alone. I travel on amtrak alone and I enjoy it so it is fun to hear about someone else and their travels.
March 3, 2010
Inspired me to travel America by Greyhound, brilliant.
August 12, 2012
only made it half way through...did not hold my attention
August 15, 2013
A good travel book, if a little dull. Took me an uncharacteristically long time to read- bad sign.
June 27, 2015
An interesting and philosophical view point of the landscape and people whilst travelling across America on a greyhound americruiser.
March 8, 2016
This was such a fun book. I loved the author's commentary on all the aspects of American life and bus travel. I now feel the need to see my country by Greyhound bus in order to understand it better.
June 2, 2011
Somebody needs to do this now, and write a blog as they go. I would so read it every day.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews