n. j. greenfield

The bandaged man is a literary novella about a young, parentless brother and sister who find a mysterious bandaged man upon their dry and dying land. The man is near to death and carries with him a bloodstained shotgun. With no neighbours nor family, the siblings take the bandaged man into their home and, despite him being unable to walk or talk, they attempt to nurse him back to health.

As the days pass and the man does little more than breath and take the water and food they give him, memories of their dead father come back to haunt them.

Then one day the man speaks, calling for a bag before trying to force his way out of the house. Weak and still terribly injured, the man collapses but both the boy and girl think of his words, of the bag he was so anxious to recover.

As their dreams find form in what they think the bag contains, the bandaged man's secrets slowly emerge.