“I enjoyed every word . . . terrifically funny.” P.G. Wodehouse
With his disturbingly horse-like face and a pious distaste for strong drink and bad language, young Bartholomew Bandy doesn’t seem cut out for life in the armed services, as we meet him at the start of the First World War.
Yet he not only survives the dangers and squalor of the infantry trenches, he positively thrives in the Royal Flying Corps, revealing a surprising aptitude for splitarsing Sopwith Camels and shooting down the Hun. He even manages to get the girl.
Through it all he never loses his greatest ability – to open his mouth and put his foot in it.
Donald Jack’s blackly humorous Bandy memoirs are classics of their kind. Against an unshrinkingly depicted backdrop of war and its horrors, his anti-hero’s adventures are both gripping and shockingly funny.
"Jack does more than play it for laughs . . . The mingling of humor and horror is like a clown tap-dancing on a coffin, but Jack is skillful enough to get away with it." Time Magazine
“For those to whom Bandy is a newcomer, what a treat is in store.” Toronto Star
“Donald Jack has as light a touch with this fragile art as his hero has on throttle of a Sopwith Camel.” New York Times
“To know Bandy is to love him . . . you tend to gallop through and come hurtling out at the end panting for more.” The Sunday Sun
“Bartholomew Bandy is the most remarkable hero (or anti-hero) since Harold Lloyd impersonated the Freshman.” Chicago Tribune
“The Bandy Papers deserve to be read in private where insane giggling can go unnoticed.” Jack Granatstein
"I enjoyed every word . . . terrifically funny." P.G. Wodehouse
“Bartholomew Bandy is back. Cross, outrageous and lovable.” Vancouver Sun
With his disturbingly horse-like face and a pious distaste for strong drink and bad language, young Bartholomew Bandy doesn’t seem cut out for life in the armed services, as we meet him at the start of the First World War.
Yet he not only survives the dangers and squalor of the infantry trenches, he positively thrives in the Royal Flying Corps, revealing a surprising aptitude for splitarsing Sopwith Camels and shooting down the Hun. He even manages to get the girl.
Through it all he never loses his greatest ability – to open his mouth and put his foot in it.
Donald Jack’s blackly humorous Bandy memoirs are classics of their kind. Against an unshrinkingly depicted backdrop of war and its horrors, his anti-hero’s adventures are both gripping and shockingly funny.
Praise for The Bandy Papers:
"Jack does more than play it for laughs . . . The mingling of humor and horror is like a clown tap-dancing on a coffin, but Jack is skillful enough to get away with it." Time Magazine
“For those to whom Bandy is a newcomer, what a treat is in store.” Toronto Star
“Donald Jack has as light a touch with this fragile art as his hero has on throttle of a Sopwith Camel.” New York Times
“To know Bandy is to love him . . . you tend to gallop through and come hurtling out at the end panting for more.” The Sunday Sun
“Bartholomew Bandy is the most remarkable hero (or anti-hero) since Harold Lloyd impersonated the Freshman.” Chicago Tribune
“The Bandy Papers deserve to be read in private where insane giggling can go unnoticed.” Jack Granatstein
"I enjoyed every word . . . terrifically funny." P.G. Wodehouse
“Bartholomew Bandy is back. Cross, outrageous and lovable.” Vancouver Sun
