Bandit

Bandit

ISBN: 9780888013774
Author: Wayne Tefs
$19.00

In 1966, Ken Leishman stepped onto the Winnipeg Airport tarmac and into the pages of Canadian history as the mastermind behind the country's largest gold theft. Known as the "flying bandit" or the "gentleman bandit," Leishman had already gained Dillingeresque notoriety as a bank robber when he stole the public's imagination with his last great exploit: brazenly - and politely- holding up a bank in Toronto.

Regarded as a Robin Hood-like figure at the height of his exploits, Leishman had humble beginnings in Holland, Manitoba. Master storyteller Wayne Tefs imagines what happened behind the "Flying Bandit" headlines, intermingling the full-on action of the gold heist with the story of a smart but troubled kid growing up in a stifling small prairie town. Raised by ultra-strict grandparents, young Ken thrived on Bowery Boys, Gary Cooper and James Cagney movies. As a married man and father of seven, Tefs' Leishman dreams of greatness, and a good life for his family free from poverty and worry. Even as he plots the greatest caper in Canadian history, he is guilt ridden and conflicted about his wife's tears and his failed promises to go straight.

Once again, Tefs presents a fictionalized version of a tremendous true story. Readers will be hard-pressed to judge the life of this "gentleman bandit" and Canadian folk hero who dared to fly far out of bounds.

Book Club Questions
  1. Leishman was called “the gentleman bandit” but was he really? He also easily could be called a socio-path with an eye to the main chance. Which seems more accurate?
  2. When he’s in prison Leishman speculates that he is not X or Y (good or bad) but X, Y, A, B, and C also. In short, that “character” is plastic, that people are rather like chameleons, changing and shifting about depending on circumstances. How accurate is this view of character?
  3. The novel switches between journalistic style reportage on events and first-person stream-of-consciousness thoughts of the main character. Does this counterpoint technique work? Is one preferable to the other
  4. The prose sections are broken up by shots of newspaper clippings from the time. Do they add anything?
  5. The Globe and Mail reviewer called Ken Leishman “Canada’s Rock-Star Criminal.” What did he mean? Do you agree?
  6. One reader commented that Ken Leishman’s story is “the Mythic story of this place”? What did he mean? Is that a fair assessment?
  7. What do you think about Leishman’s fellow escapees? Is there company of benefit or a hindrance to Ken? Would he have gotten further, or even away without them?
  8. What do you think about Elva? She’s never given a voice in the novel, but is a significant figure for Ken. Is she an inspiration for his escapades?
  9. Leishman claims to be a family man. What do you think? Are his actions selfless or selfish? Do you think he would have tried such an elaborate heist if he didn’t have a family to try to “provide” for?
  10. What do you think about the dream sequences that Leishman has in jail? What do they say about him?
  11. Consulting the chronology, Ken Leishman was quite the career criminal: several robberies and even 2 jail breaks. All things considered he seems to have gotten off pretty easy. How do you think he would fare in the present criminal system?
  12. If you were part of Leishman’s crew, what would you have done with 12 gold bars?
  13. Bandit is akin to some of the great heist movies in cinema such as Oceans Franchise, The Bank Job, The Italian Job, The Score, among countless others. How do Danny Ocean and Ken Leishman compare as masterminds? What about Ken and some other caper “heros”?
  14. If you were a casting a Hollywood version of Bandit: A Portrait of Ken Leishman who would you cast as Ken Leishman? What about the others? The Grenkow Brothers and John Berry? Harry Backlin?

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