Now Read This: ‘Last Bus to Wisdom’ by Ivan Doig

The main character in “The Last Bus to Wisdom” is an 11-year-old boy named Donal who, when the story begins, lives on a Montana ranch with his grandmother. In the summer of 1951, she must have an operation that will require an extensive period of recuperation, so she sends him to live with her sister and sister’s husband in Wisconsin. Donal takes his autograph book with him and, on the two and a half-day Greyhound bus ride, collects autographs, almost has his luggage stolen and misses a connection. The first third of the book recounts this trip to Wisconsin. The second third details his time living with his relatives. Aunt Kate is not happy about hosting him, makes him sleep in the attic, gives him only a jigsaw puzzle to play with and serves him limited amounts of food.

With no other children to play with, he spends long hours with his uncle, Herman. They sit in Herman’s green house, constructed with old tin-types, where he grows all manner of vegetables. When one of her weekly card-playing friends leaves for an extended vacation, Aunt Kate teaches Donal how to play canasta so the weekly card game can continue. The final third of the book begins when a misunderstanding over money between Aunt Kate and Donal convinces her to send him home. Uncle Herman is fed up with Aunt Kate and, believing she has been unfair to Donal, meets up with him at the bus station and takes him on an adventure out west.

They head to a Native American festival where Donal meets his bronco-riding hero Rags. At this point, they are both fugitives from the law. It’s in Yellowstone that they take the last bus to the town of Wisdom, meet a busload of hoboes and find work in Wisdom harvesting hay. This book, Doig’s last one, is filled with vivid characters, great details (i.e. S&H green stamps), and, best of all, a happy ending. One of the reviewers called him “a great American storyteller,” which is probably why I enjoyed it so much. I love a great storyteller.

The library owns this book in regular and large print and many of Doig’s other books in a variety of formats. NoveList compares “The Last Bus to Wisdom” to Jojo Moyes’ book “One Plus One” (another trek across country with some very entertaining characters). Reading “The Last Bus to Wisdom” will make you smile.

Happy reading!