From Amazon
That's Me in the Middle, the second volume of Donald Jack's Bandy Papers (inaugurated with the endlessly entertaining Three Cheers for Me), finds Canada's hapless intrepid birdman wandering into even more perilous territory than the skies of wartime France: the twin labyrinths of bureaucracy and marriage. At the beginning of the novel, Captain Bartholomew Bandy has a cushy position as a flight instructor, but his brushes with society (instigated by the eccentric family of his upper-class fiancée) suddenly propel him to the rank of lieutenant colonel, a delicate desk job in London, and the task of mediating between Field Marshall Haig's cadre of officers and Lloyd George's politicians. Bandy is a fighter ace and country bumpkin, not an accomplished courtier, and his spectacular displays of ineptitude soon send his career plunging to new depths.
That's Me in the Middle is a particularly convoluted instalment in the Bandy Papers, and it doesn't quite live up to the exhilarating silliness of Three Cheers for Me. Nevertheless, Jack is a comic writer of great talent, and anyone who has fallen under Bartholomew Bandy's spell would do well to carry on with this series. --Jack Illingworth
Review
“A comical tour de force.”
–Montreal Gazette
“Outrageously funny.”
–Hamilton Spectator
“To write good comedy is hard, and yet, when it is of such a high standard as in these two volumes, it does not appear in the least difficult.”
–Quill & Quire
–Montreal Gazette
“Outrageously funny.”
–Hamilton Spectator
“To write good comedy is hard, and yet, when it is of such a high standard as in these two volumes, it does not appear in the least difficult.”
–Quill & Quire
Book Description
Bartholomew Bandy has become an air ace. On the ground he causes disasters wherever he goes, but in the air he’s deadly, shooting down dozens of German planes in the course of thrilling aerial combats. To the amazement of all who know him he becomes Lieut. Col. Bandy and thanks to his new rank he meets all sorts of people, including his fiancee’s memorable family. As a handy (but disposable) war hero, he encounters a number of hair-raising adventures, not to mention English plumbing and an unforgettable honeymoon night. That’s Me In The Middle is exciting, full of military action in the trenches and in the air, and, as it continues to flirt with history, very funny.
From the Back Cover
“A comical tour de force.”
–Montreal Gazette
“Outrageously funny.”
–Hamilton Spectator
“To write good comedy is hard, and yet, when it is of such a high standard as in these two volumes, it does not appear in the least difficult.”
–Quill & Quire
–Montreal Gazette
“Outrageously funny.”
–Hamilton Spectator
“To write good comedy is hard, and yet, when it is of such a high standard as in these two volumes, it does not appear in the least difficult.”
–Quill & Quire
About the Author
Donald Jack was born in England and served in the Royal Air Force in the Second World War before coming to Canada. He was known for his film and television scripts, and his plays. He is most widely remembered, however, for The Bandy Papers, a series of comic novels recounting the adventures of a blundering First World War hero who went on to fame and misfortune in the post-war world. The first six books in the series, Three Cheers For Me; That’s Me In The Middle; It’s Me Again; Me Bandy, You Cissie; Me Too and This One’s On Me were recently re-published by McClelland & Stewart. They gained no fewer than three Leacock Awards for Humour and the undying loyalty of Bandy fans everywhere.
Donald Jack passed away in 2003 at the age of 78.
Donald Jack passed away in 2003 at the age of 78.
