Spud

Spud is a thoroughly enjoyable book about a boy trying to figure out who he is personally and politically, when the ANC is becoming more powerful in South Africa. My kids and I loved it. However, as a word of caution, it is not the best book for someone under the age of 15 or so, because there is quite a bit of sexual content.

This is a really terrific book. I got my hands on a copy after attending a talk by John van de Ruit where I got a definite sense that the story of Spud would resonate with my own experiences of English private school style education in South Africa. What followed was one of the most thoroughly entertaining reading experiences of my life. Superficially Spud is a superbly paced, quick witted insight into the life of a late-bloomer confronting the transition into adolescence in a stuffy but eccentric midlands boarding school. The crazy eight, Spud's cronies, are laugh out loud hilarious in their antics. This aspect of the novel alone will win many people over. However, at a deeper level there is something equally poignant about the novel, and a sense of authenticity in the experiences Spud goes through that can be surprisingly touching at times. Despite the zaniness of the characters the book is never frivolous, and will leave a mark on anyone who has even the most remote memories of a stage of life when the world is as full of allure as gut wrenching uncertainty and terror. I read Spud in a year which featured several world class reads including Robertson Davies, Terry Pratchett, Susanna Clarke and Robin Hobb. Spud was the only book I couldn't put down and looked forward to reading at the end of each day. I'm buying the sequel for myself as a Christmas present.

It took me back a few years to my school days, it was funny in a laugh out loud kind of way. Great to relive the awkwardness of teenagedness ( is that a word?) & the wonderful time in boarding school.

Witty, charming, and consistently hilarious, "Spud" combines the prep-school humor of "The Catcher in the Rye" with the rebellious teen antics of "Dead Poet's Society." Though John van de Ruit's 13-year-old protagonist Spud (real name: John Milton) may hail from Durban, South Africa, his adventures, insecurities, and humor are universal. Anyone who has experienced life as a teenager can relate to Spud. First crush? Check. Feelings of alienation? Check. Crazy family members? Check. Throughout the novel we follow Spud as he meets his new friends "the Crazy Eight," tries out for the school play, serves as moderator for his eccentric family, and witnesses the end of apartheid. Since first reading this book (and falling in love with it), I have recommended "Spud" to friends and family ranging from 15 to 60 years old. I have yet to find one person who wasn't won over by Spud and his motley crew of prep-school buddies. A novel that will appeal to people of all ages, "Spud" is sure to find a fan in anyone who reads it.

SPUD has been compared to The Catcher in the Rye, but I see it more as a twisted Harry Potter minus the magic and the nasty, evil villain. It is boarding school at its craziest and best. Even though it is set in South Africa, and I'm guessing that most of its readers will not have attended boarding school, teens everywhere will be able to relate to the trials and tribulations of main character John "Spud" Milton. Through Spud's diary, the reader gets to follow the antics of The Crazy Eight. Their wild adventures include the infamous "night swims," porn magazines and videos, attempts to break the school farting record, and investigations into the mystery of the school's resident ghost. All their schemes and pranks are done at the risk of being caught by Headmaster Glockenshpeel, known as "The Glock." Spud not only deals with all craziness while at school, but he also deals with issues when he goes home during breaks. His father is a drunk who is sure the country is doomed now that Nelson Mandela has been released and Apartheid is over. Spud's mother puts up with his father's nonsense most days, but there are frequent, loud battles which sometimes end in her throwing him out. Add to all that a seriously senile grandmother Spud calls the Wombat. She has never-ending stories that, due to her declining mental abilities, she constantly repeats. Spud's father is seriously considering poison as a method for ridding them of his obnoxious mother-in-law. John van de Ruit's book is sure to be a success here in the U.S. His newfound fans will be happy to know he is at work on the further adventures of Spud and the gang. Reviewed by: Sally Kruger, aka "Readingjunky"