Spud: The Reunion

It is 2003 – ten years since Spud Milton’s class of 93 matriculated and the boys went their separate ways. Despite their seemingly unbreakable bond, the Crazy 8 – Rambo, Mad Dog, Vern, Fatty, Garth Garlic, Boggo, Simon and Spud – have not kept in touch. Or at least, not as far as Spud knows. When he receives an invitation from the school to attend the Ten-Year Reunion weekend, Spud is determined to avoid the event at all costs, but he hasn’t reckoned with the bombardment of intrusive messages and threatening phone calls from his former dorm mates. No one is going to bend his arm, not this time; he is immune to peer pressure and wise to Rambo’s devious manipulation techniques. Spud has moved on. And, anyway, he has enough to worry about on the home front. At 28 Spud is stuck in a one-third life crisis. Reflecting on a decade of spectacular non-achievement, at a point where he’s coming to realize that his glittering stage career might have stalled before it’s even begun, casts him into deep gloom. For the former scholarship kid, the prospect of once again having to measure up to his blue-blooded school friends – and be found wanting – has him riddled with anxiety. Not only that. Spud still doesn’t have a serious girlfriend, which has seen him resort to a questionable international bath-sexting relationship with an old flame. Not to mention that circumstances have forced him to move back in with his parents and his senile grandmother, Wombat, whose walks never end where they began. After a wildly unsuccessful fishing trip with his father, as well as a return to his old way of figuring things out – writing in his diary – to his own surprise, Spud finds his reunion resistance crumbling. Curiosity and courage win the day. It’s just a weekend, after all … what could possibly go wrong?

JOHN VAN DE RUIT was born in Durban, South Africa, and educated at Michaelhouse and the University of KwaZulu-Natal, where he completed a Master’s degree in drama and performance studies. His creative career as an actor, playwright and author has spanned over 25 years.In September 2005, John’s comedic novel, Spud, was released and became an immediate bestseller. Spud went on to be published in numerous countries and was adapted into a hit film starring John Cleese and Troye Sivan. Spud inspired three sequels: The Madness Continues … (2007) Learning to Fly (2009) and Exit, Pursued by a Bear (2012).Now, travelling ten years into the beloved character’s future, Spud – The Reunion continues the bestselling series.

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