Three Cheers for Me

The Bandy Papers #1

by Donald Jack, Robin Gabrielli (Narrator)

“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.

What people are saying about The Bandy “Reading can lead to involuntary bursts of loud laughter.” “Very descriptive, full of air combats and written with a fine eye for period detail . . . there is quite simply no finer book of its kind. Highly recommended.” “It is clear that Bandy likely should've been killed several times, but very likely the Grim Reaper was laughing too hard to hold his scythe straight . . .” “Hysterically funny! . . . each book is another installment in the continuing saga of a Canadian and his adventures in war, the world, and women.” “I have yet to find another author with the wit and humor of Donald Jack.”

Editorial “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 “Funny. Very. Donald Jack has as light a touch with this fragile art as his hero has on throttle of a Sopwith Camel. Excessive corn is avoided in favour of wit and a delight in life.” New York Times “Bartholomew Bandy is the most remarkable hero (or anti-hero) since Harold Lloyd impersonated the Freshman.” Chicago Tribune “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 “For those to whom Bandy is a newcomer, what a treat is in store.” Toronto Star

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Humor, Canada, War, Adventure, World War I

348 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1962

About the author

Novelist, playwright, and scriptwriter. Best known for his "Bandy Papers" novels about WWI ace Bartholomew Bandy, which won Jack the Leacock award three times for volumes of the series. Also penned the first modern play performed at the Stratford Festival of Canada, and wrote numerous scripts for television and radio.

Reviews

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Undeservedly obscure, this book kicks off the series of novels that follow Bartholomew Bandy and his military exploits from WWI through WWII. The stolid and cheerful Bandy, son of a rural Canadian pastor, finds himself shipped off to Europe to serve in the infantry, armed with much advice about protecting his feet and strict parental commands to abstain from alcohol, tobacco and sex. He promises to do so. He tries to keep his promises, but he fails through a series of accidents or through the general backsliding that happens sometimes when people are far from home. It wouldn't be much of a novel anyway if he were successful.

At first the only possible survival strategy amidst the complete chaos of the war and paucity of useful information about how the war was going--for those on the ground--is the non-strategy of going with the flow. Almost everything Bandy does seems unintentional, but things start to work out for him, anyway. Shortly after arriving at the Western Front, he unintentionally distinguishes himself and is able to transfer out of the infantry and into the Royal Flying Corps, a precursor to the Royal Air Force. His fortunes especially improve once he gets out of the trenches and into the air. Through a series of unlikely incidents, Bandy becomes acquainted with aristocrats and senior officers as he collects medals and citations.

Unlike George MacDonald Fraser's Flashman series, The Bandy Papers (as the collected novels are called) include no analysis of the historical events they portray. Bandy does not guide the readers or provide perspective on great events the way Flashman does. Flashman is historically self-aware. Bandy is not. Fraser's passion for footnotes is apparently lost on Donald Jack, Bandy's creator. So readers do not learn if the novel's characters are historical figures or if specific events in the novels are historically accurate. The Bandy Papers are less intellectually edifying and less morally objectionable than the Flashman books. (See my reviews, especially of the first Flashman novel.) But Bandy manages to entertain. With its absurd and slapstick plot and wartime mortality, 3 Cheers for Me bears more comparison to Heller's Catch 22 than it does to many historical novels.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

That was a fun little romp.

Jack delivers some great anecdotes filled with dead pan humour. This collection chronicles the adventures of Bart Bandy, the son of a philandering preacher, stationed in Britain during WWI. Many of the situations Bandy finds himself are literally laugh out loud funny. The only major drawback though,this really is just a sequential array of stories that lack any cohesive narrative between. None the less, a nicely written read filled with lots of good woody words to chew on.

[Nick Brett · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice bright re-issue of a book written in 1962. A quote from PG Wodehouse (who died in 1975) should have been a clue to the age of this. I’ve been caught like this before, buying a book based on a new issue and not realising just how old it was.
But the good news is that this has aged pretty well. Set during the First World War, naive and religious Bart Bandy leaves Canada to “do his bit”. He joins the infantry in the trenches but then moves to the Royal Flying Corps and finds he is rather good in the air. Despite being a natural pilot he constantly finds himself in trouble on the ground, if he can mistakenly put his foot in it, he inevitably will. The sort of farce that you don’t often see these days. But I rather liked it, Bandy is a bit of an idiot but a likeable one and as the book goes on you find yourself warming to him more and more.

[Melisende · Rating 2 out of 5]

For fans of - "Flashman", "Biggles", and "Inspector Clouseau" or maybe even, "Inspector Gadget".

Bart Bandy is the anti-hero who comes up trumps. I kept imaging Bart in the visage of Rik Mayall's "Lord Flashheart" from the "Blackadder" series.

Further review here: http://melisendeslibrary.blogspot.com...

[Maria Beltrami · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bartholomew Bandy è una specie di Candide. Come Candide viene dall'America del Nord, per la precisione dal Canada, vista come luogo dove sopravvive ancora una certa onestà di pensiero. Figlio di un pastore bigotto e morigerato, parte per la guerra con la sua faccia da cavallo e la sua totale incompetenza sociale, che gli fa dire e fare tutto ciò che gli passa per la testa con la massima goffaggine e senza un secondo pensiero. Tra avventure esilaranti che ricordano un po' il mitico Barone di Müchausen e sulle ali di una fortuna proporzionata solo alla sua incredibile goffaggine, Bandy passa da tenente di fanteria ad asso dell'aviazione, portando nel frattempo alla follia qualsiasi superiore con cui venga in contatto e avendo nel frattempo imparato a bere e fumare.
Primo libro di una lunga e fortunatissima serie, mi ha provocato crisi di risa che non ricordavo dai tempi di Tre uomini in barca, ragione per cui cercherò di procurarmi anche gli altri volumi.
Ringrazio Farrago e Netgalley per avermi fornito una copia gratuita in cambio di una recensione onesta.

Bartholomew Bandy is a kind of Candide. As Candide he comes from North America, specifically Canada, seen as a place where a certain honesty of thought survives. The son of a bigoted and sober Pastor, goes to war with his his horse-face and his total social incompetence, which makes him say and do whatever comes into his head with the utmost awkwardness and without a second thought. Among hilarious adventures that look a bit like the mythical Müchausen Baron ones and on the wings of a fortune proportionate only to its incredible clumsiness, Bandy went from infantry lieutenant to ace gunner, in the meantime leading to madness any superior in which he comes into contact and having in the meantime learned to drink and smoke.
First Book of a long and successful series, it caused me crisis of laughter that I did not remember from the days of Three Men in a Boat, which is why I will try ti get the other volumes.
Thank Farrago and Netgalley for giving me a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Shawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cannot believe that I have not reviewed this favourite until now. I had collected a few words about the longer series that comprise The Collected Bandy Papers (Vols 1 - 9). They are modern day comedy classics and Three Cheers for Me is the one that kicked it off and garnered the Stephen Leacock Award for Humour back in the 60's.
In point of fact I have read this one many more than the two dates applied here. Needing a good reminder of what exceptional comedic writing can evoke - I needed a mood booster - I turned to this old friend.
Three Cheers for Me is the first in the memoirs of Bartholomew Wolfe Bandy by Donald Jack. It was first published in 1962 and along with subsequent volumes it was very deservedly awarded the Stephen Leacock Award for humour on three occasions. These awards seem all the more appropriate given the very Leacockian prose style of the Bandy papers themselves.
If you have not ever been exposed to Bandy, I can not recommend Three Cheers enough. They are superb examples of the comedic novelist's art down the line of P.G Wodehouse, Evelyn Waugh and George Macdonald Fraser. Set in early twentieth century Ontario, B.W. Bandy, the hero is an Ottawa valley farm boy who heads off to fight in the First World War. He meets real life notables along the way, enjoys some of the most brilliantly told adventures and despite the comedic delivery actually teaches much about Canadian history. These novels demonstrate the close connection between literature and history - the enduring importance and beauty of a tale well told.
The late Donald Jack's talent as a raconteur has the comedic timing so essential not just to written prose, but comedy deliver in any media. But comedy is much deeper than just laughs and the special accomplishment of this book (and the broader series) is his unique ability to relate very poignant and real events using mirth to ultimately captures the human experience.
Amidst the muck and tragedy of war we meet - and Jacks was a master of rapid and intimate characterisation - a stream of odd and fascinating characters. Theses range from punctilious colonel who is inadvertently harassed to mania by Bandy, to seemingly suspect compatriots that may or may not be out to him, to a mischievous horse that clearly is out to get our hero. All would be utterly ridiculous on their own but when cast in the web of Bandy are believable and play their mirthful roles.
Jack had a unique ability to deliver comedy in that deadpan manner that raised the level of amusement to a new high. I could go on at length about my recollections of Bandy, but instead I would like to end with an excerpt from the first volume of the series, where young Bandy joins the Canadian Expeditionary Force and heads off to Europe. He is placed in charge of a platoon and we find him training a colourful crew on Salisbury Plain in England. Bandy assumes his authority (despite his own experience or natural ability with typical officiousness). As I typed this passage in, I was typing through tears of amusement despite the fact that I have read this passage countless times over the past couple decades. Cheers.

"One day on the grenade range I had a narrow escape. I was in charge of a small party of bombers. One of them was a thin sallow man from Toronto called Soapes. I had been a bit uneasy about him from the start, since he had been showing signs of fright at the thought of hurling a live bomb.
We were in a small sandbagged enclosure five or so feet below ground level, and well protected from the blasts by a parapet of more sandbags. I gave everyone careful instructions, repeated them three times slowly, and threw the first bomb myself before handling the the second bomb to Squires.
Squires, in spite of a bad habit of clattering his false teeth together like a riveting gun, had shown himself to be reliable. He got rid of the grenade with credible alacrity.
The next soldier, Private Barbara, began badly by releasing the spring clip in the pit before throwing the bomb. Unfortunately, of all persons it had to fly at, it chose Private Soapes; and in trying to catch it he somehow managed to entangle it in his trouser pocket. For some reason Soapes immediately go the idea that the spring arm was the bomb itself. He gave a terrified scream and tried to tear the piece of metal out o his pocket. It caught in the lining of his trousers, and although it tore a large hole, it remained stuck. Whereupon, still screaming at the top of his voice, he started to remove his trousers. Under different circumstances I would probably have congratulated him on his quick thinking.
Meanwhile, unnerved by the shrieks of Soapes, the rest of the men had made a concerted rush for the narrow, double-bagged entrance. But there they had managed to wedge themselves so firmly that not one of them was able to get through. By now they were al shouting, as well as kicking, biting, scratching, and elbowing in their frenzy to get away from the trousers.
In the middle of this, I suddenly noticed Private Barbara staring stupidly at the antics of Private Soapes, who indeed presented an absurd site, hoping around on one leg with hi trousers half off and screaming like a stuck pig. Private Barbara had not moved a muscle since the spring arm had flown at Soapes. There was a distinctly unpleasant sensation in my stomach when I realized that Barbara was still holding the bomb, and that it was smoking. When it smokes, its due to go off.
I opened my mouth to shout a warning to Barbara, but discovered to my surprise that my mouth was already open and that I was already shouting. Now Barbara noticed the smoking grenade still in his hand. His expression changed; he could not have looked more surprised had he found himself holding a haddock.
I snatched the grenade from him. Luckily his fingers were slack - I could not see myself spending half a minute prying the thing loose otherwise - and heaved it over the parapet. Simultaneously, another object flew up and followed it over the sandbags. It was Private Soapes' trousers." Donald Jack, Three Cheers for Me, McClleland and Stewart, 1962, pp.26-7.

Three Cheers for Me is a remedy for all the dishumours that may ail you. I can only recommend falling into the spell of Jack's beguiling BW Bandy - I strongly suspect you'll find yourself hungrily consuming the rest of this series. I did and continue to do so when I turn to them like an old friend.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

A cross between a adult version of Biggles and a military version of P. G. Wodehouse, I throughly enjoyed this first volume of the 'Bandy Papers'.

Bandy comes across as a likeable fellow and I found myself warming to him as a character almost immediately. He puts me in mind of a slightly less eccentric version of Bertie Wooster.

The scenes of both trench and aerial warfare were extremely realistic and I felt as if I were right in the thick of it with Bandy and his colleagues.

There is a strain of darkish humour throughout the book which I found very appealing. My favourite scenes included the mother of Bandy's love interest asking him to 'paws' her the port, and a hilarious encounter in a dress shop as poor old Bandy attempts to buy a dress.

There is a wonderfully rib-tickling scene where Bandy gets drunk with a padre and lots of mischief occurs, as well as when Bandy mistakes King George V for an admiral as he receives a bravery decoration at Buckingham Palace.

A cracking read, filled with wickedly dark humour, and a realistic view of what life must have been like for those serving in the First World War.

[Doug · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an unexpected gem that I found by accident. Right off the bat, I'll wager this is as good as any Wodehouse you'll find (he praised it highly), and its protagonist made me smile the way Bertie Wooster does. Young Bart Bandy, of Beamington, Ontario, tells his tale of joining the Royal Flying Corps in WWI and finding out all kinds of things about himself. Without spoiling anything, you'll laugh out loud at the bathtub and several other scenes. Bart wends his way through family, love (sort of), the trenches, the skies over the Western Front, and Buckingham Palace -- becoming fantastically successful and fantastically dangerous to one person in particular. This comic tale is bound together by the author's great feel for scene and dialog, and it's also full of 'ripping yarn' flying. Don't let all the fun obscure the underlying tragic messages about war and family, though, which you'll find poke into the narrative at a few appropriate times. This book is highly recommended, and I'm off now to find more of author Donald Jack's "Bandy papers."

[Alistair · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great fun with a mixture of low farce , the high drama of ww1 fighter pilots in planes held together with string , the reality of trench warfare and the anti hero Bandy rising from the backwoods of Canada without trace to his own and everyone else's amazement .
Bandy is a wonderful creation . He is a naive who never really understands where or who he is having volunteered to fight in France in WW1 and who rises to the top seemingly by chance with a charming insouciance .The ascent is told in many set pieces some with grim realism such as life in the trenches amongst short lived friendships and others in very funny English social setting which Bandy blunders through navigating as best he can .

This is the first of I believe 9 other novels featuring Bandy written a while ago so as a new discovery there is much to look forward too

[Babybelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aha! A funny one ,at last. And Canadian to boot.Yes,this one won an award for humorous writing.Bandy is a lanky,serious,low church man who volunteers in The First World War .He has a straight -line approach to life. Unsurprisingly tells the truth and also,frequently fouls up,gets in trouble,drives people to distraction and is thus promoted,leaving the occasional trail of destruction and cock ups behind him.I found it amusing at times,tragically funny and just funny.So I read the next 2 : ‘That’s Me in the Middle’ which was funnier than the first one and also ‘It’s Me Again’.

[Mark Edlund · Rating 4 out of 5]

Humour - the first book in the Bandy Papers. Bartholomew Bandy enlists in the Canadian Army. He starts with the infantry and ends up as a pilot. Despite many grim reminders of the horrors of trench warfare and air combat, it maintains a humourous touch. It is especially fun to watch people's reactions to Bandy as his career progresses.
No pharmacy references.
Canadian references - starts in Ontario and moves along the the CEF in Europe.

[Theresa · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Ok story, written in the style of Jeeves and bumbling idiot who always lands on top.
I liked the part where he was flying g airplanes. He seemed competent and the story seemed a little more realistic.
The book had an uneven tone, going g from country-bumpkin, fish out of water, to shifts to sincerity.
When he talked about how he felt at home at the Lewis home because they accepted him and how he no longer had a home in Canada.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a re-issue of an old series from the seventies, but I loved this tale of teetotal Bartholomew Bandy, prone to calamity, but devout and stalwart. He manages to find danger wherever he goes but his adventures grip and amuse in equal measure!

[Chris Tschirhart · Rating 5 out of 5]

All I can say is that if you want a great Laugh about the ups and downs of an incompetent and lovable bumbling hero of a flyer you have to read all of "The Bandy Papers Books. I have never laughed till I couldn't breath so much in my life.

[Benjamin Kahn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this way back in high school, so we're talking close to 40 years ago. I remember really enjoying it. It did a good job of combining humour with a fairly realistic portrayal of war. I enjoyed it and its sequels.

[Greg Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED this book; I had high expectations about it from reading good reviews and I was not disappointed. Maybe a few of the situations felt a bit exaggerated but the humour is solid throughout. I highly recommend this book!

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

At various points the humour relied on the characters misunderstanding eachother, almost willfully, and this quickly fell flat, as did some of the other repeating jokes.
However I did relatively enjoy the book

[Teresa Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favourite authors of all time. I find it impossible to read this book without inelegant snorting, chuckling, guffawing and other inelegant noises of appreciation. Highly recommended.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun combination of adventure, comedy, and anti-war satire. A few laugh out loud moments, but overall just okay. It wasn't a waste of my time, but I don't know if I'll continue the series.

[John Momberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

More amusing than laugh-out-loud funny. This series is pretty hard to get in the States, so I probably won't read any more of them, but if one fell into my lap I wouldn't be upset.

[Stuart Haining · Rating 3 out of 5]

6/10, 12%. Supposedly a favourite read of PG Wodehouse but hardly in the same league. Interesting and funny WW1 yarn but won’t bother with the rest of the series.

[Grumpy S · Rating 4 out of 5]

A humorous take on the horrors of war

[James Sundquist · Rating 5 out of 5]

Smashing.

[Marva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny story excellently written. Oh the timing!

[Darryl Updegrove · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very funny. Loved the humor!

[Rob Phillips · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed the book, very PG Woodhouse

[Sofia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I fully peed myself laughing

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really funny book about ww1

[Rena · Rating 4 out of 5]

I probably would have given it 3 stars, had it not been a Canadian book. Being Canadian automatically gets you an extra star. Good book. Will probably read the rest of the Bandy Papers books.

[TheIron Paw · Rating 3 out of 5]

A satirical, humorous, commentary on the era of WWI. Jack takes on the army, genteel society, and religious fervor in this first installment of The Bandy Papers.