Spud (novel)

Spud
	First (South African) edition
Author	John van de Ruit
Original title	Spud
Cover artist	Farell Grehan
Language	English
Subject	Boarding school life
Genre	Novel
Publisher	Penguin
Publication date	2005
Publication place	South Africa
Media type	Print (Paperback)
Pages	389pp
ISBN	ISBN 978-0-143-02484-2 ISBN 0-143-02484 1 Parameter error in {{ISBNT}}: invalid character
OCLC	87375897
Followed by	Spud - The madness continues ; Spud - Learning to Fly

Spud is a 2005 novel by South African author, actor, playwright and producer, John van de Ruit. A comedic sometimes sad yet straight forward novel that captures the humor of life in boarding school, through the diary of John 'Spud' Milton. The book is written in the style of a diary. The story begins on the morning of Spud's first day at a private boarding school in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands, following his year and experiences with the often eccentric characters found in the school environment. The diary also follows Spud's family life.

A sequel, titled Spud - The Madness Continues, was released in mid-2007. It details Spud's second year of boarding school and trip to England paid by Wombat, his crazy grandmother.

In June 2009 another sequel, the third book in the Spud series was released. Entitled Spud - Learning to Fly. This book details Spud's third year at a school based on Michaelhouse, where he is now back at school and Pike returns for Post Matric years and is a prefect. Pike being made a prefect means the Crazy 8 are vulnerable and can not do anything without getting in trouble.

After commercial success in South Africa (it won the 2006 Booksellers award), the United States saw a release of this book 2007. It is now available in North America.

Overview

"It's South Africa 1990. Two major events are about to happen: The release of Nelson Mandela and, more importantly, it's Spud Milton's first year at an elite boys only private school. Cursed with parents from well beyond the lunatic fringe, a senile granny, and a dormitory full of strange characters, Spud has his hands full trying to adapt to his new home. Surrounded by names such as Gecko, Rambo, Rain Man and Mad Dog, Spud takes his first tentative steps along the path towards manhood. Armed with only his wits and his diary, Spud takes us from illegal night swimming to the cricket pitch, from ghostbusting to a catastrophic family vacation. He also invites us into the mind of a boy struggling to come to terms with a strange new world; a boy whose eyes are being opened to love, friendship and complete insanity." Quoted from the book Spud

Characters

Crazy Eight

The Crazy Eight consists of the eight boys in Spud's year and house at school.

John 'Spud' Milton - (nicknamed “Spud” by his housemates because he is a Late bloomer). The protagonist. Spud in general dislikes his life, due to the major embarrassment he gets from having slightly deranged parents, a senile grandmother and being part of one of the most notorious gangs in the school. He is very pessimistic about many aspects of his life, especially his spudness and has a low self-esteem when confronting personal matters, such as his shaky relationship with his girlfriend, Mermaid. The Guv watches him with much concern and offers him much support. Being surrounded by madness often makes him question his own sanity. Spud aspires to be an actor in the future and has taken part in two major school plays, as well as a humiliating house play. He is certainly popular with girls (as he is the object of affection of several girls, which he considers to be quite odd, as he is not very big or strong, and a spud). Got into the school through a scholarship. Best known in the school for his lead part in Oliver!.
Robert 'Rambo' Black - The (self-appointed and self-nicknamed) leader of the Crazy Eight. He is known for having a public affair with Eve, the drama teacher and wife of his housemaster, and his exceptionally brutal ways. He seems to like Spud and apparently wishes for Spud to be as tough as he is - he consistently disciplines Spud when he turns arrogant. He also tries to make Spud feel better after he gets his "birthday present."He is described as being very muscular and has black hair. In his third year, he starts to become a kinder and much more protective person.
Charlie 'Mad Dog' Hooper - A fierce and ruthless thug-like boy so named because of his hunting habits. A talented cricket bowler (has no co-ordination for batting) due to his scare tactics and high speed bowling. Considers Spud to be his friend, as he often includes him in hunting trips and forces him to hike with him a lot of the time. He also cries at the idea of never seeing Spud again. In the second book, he spends a lot of time on the phone with Spud when he is expelled. He often can scare anyone into submission simply by wielding his knife. It is mentioned at some point that he has Dyslexia.
Henry "Gecko" Barker- Spud's sickly but smart best friend. He is often sick or injured and sent to the sanitorium. He is described as a thin and extremely pale boy (Spud once states "there have to be healthier looking corpses"). He passes away towards the end of the original novel, after contracting cerebral maleria while on holiday in Mozambique.
Alan "Boggo" Greenstein - a perverted boy with bad acne and a love of pornography. He is nicknamed Boggo because he often goes to the "bogs" (bathrooms) to masturbate. He is slightly arrogant, offers useless flirting tips and has a tendency to boast about his supposed sexual encounters with girls, despite his ineptness when actually confronted with one. He has, however, had several successes with girls, forming a relationship with a girl named Alison and later with her friend, Tania (although his relationship with Tania was more to spite Alison). He also kisses Fatty's 13 year-old girlfriend's best friend, Brenda in Learning to Fly, an act he regrets heavily. He spends most of the third book in an increasingly obsessive campaign to become a prefect, but he is ultimately unsuccessful.
Vern "Rain Man" Blackadder - Spud's deranged cubicle mate, who has a strange relationship with his housemaster's cat. His bizarre behaviour makes Spud feel that madness surrounds him (as he already has deranged parents and a senile grandmother). Said to have become deranged because his father died when he was young. The other boys grow to respect him during the first book and he loses his nickname, which came from the film Rain Man, which has an autistic as a main character, and was meant as a small insult as he acts demented and pulls out his own hair.
Simon Brown - an exceptional sports star with braces and who tends to be disliked by his peers, due to his extreme arrogance and short-tempered behaviour. He feigns a mental breakdown in Learning to Fly in order to play in an English cricket league. At the end of his third year, he becomes Head of House (which many of the others had deliberately avoided due to the responsibilities required).
Sidney "Fatty" Smitherson-Scott - an obese boy who eats almost anything (once an old rugby boot) and is one of Spud's friends in the series. He is also an eating champion, having won several eating competitions. He is nicknamed by 'PJ' Luthuli, who has a lisp and cannot pronounce Sidney Smitherson-Scott. Fatty finally forms a relationship near the end of Learning to Fly, with a 13-year old girl named Penny, for which he receives a lot of stick from his peers.
Garth Garlic - a Malawian student who replaces Mad Dog. Garlic constantly annoys the gang with his incessant talking (specifically about Malawi), even after being advised by Spud to keep quiet.

Girls

Debbie or "the Mermaid" - Spud's first girlfriend and first love. She is described as being very beautiful with blonde hair and blue eyes. She becomes depressed in the first book after her father moves out. She has little respect for Spud's heart, and twice breaks up with him - the first time after having won a beauty competition and finding a more attractive boyfriend, and the second time to become a born-again Christian, and establish a close relationship with a 29-year old cricket umpire named Gavin. Although Spud initially lacks the self-esteem to confront her, he eventually finds the strength in the third book, telling her they "cannot be friends anymore," although this incident brings her out in tears. Despite these breakups, she continues to hold feelings for him.
Amanda - Spud's second love. She is two years older than Spud and she was cast as the lead for the play Oliver!. Spud instantly falls for her, describing her as Julia Roberts, but repeatedly feels guilty as he still loves the Mermaid as well. Spud becomes her "boy toy" in the second book, due to her being in a relationship with a second-year varsity boy. She invites him to go on vacation with her during summer holidays, but his mother does not allow him. She calls him a coward, and a mother lover. While at a social at Saint Joan's, it is revealed that she is head girl of her house. She kisses Spud, who is surprised but pleased. Later, while he and the other cast members of A Midsummer Night's Dream at Wrexham College in Pietermaritzburg, she sends him a painting, painted by her father, of her in the nude, which astonishes the head teacher overseeing Spud's group.
Christine - a girl slightly older than Spud who is something of a slut, and who claims to love Spud. Spud is the only boy in the entire series who turns down her advances, despite her regular efforts to seduce him and reminders that she has no intention of giving up.

Other Students

Mbuelo Paul Johannes "PJ" Luthuli - Spud's head of house and friend. He is also the chairman of Spud's Sunday Night club, African Affairs. He is also said to have a lisp, as seen when he attempts to pronounce Fatty's real name (he promptly gives him his nickname). He leaves the school at the end of The Madness Continues.
Julian - A very camp Matric prefect whose favourite hobby is photographing the behinds of all the first years when they are beaten by Sparerib. Spud's Head Chorister. He is also very sensitive around Spud. He leaves the school midway through The Madness Continues.
Bert - Julian's sidekick and implied boyfriend.
Leonard Pike - Spud's (and the Crazy Eight's) nemesis. He is consistently bullying the members of the Crazy Eight. He seems to be slightly homosexual, as he enjoys flashing himself to the members of the Crazy Eight and also has a rather sexual encounter with Spud near the end. He shows up in Learning to Fly and is made a prefect, much to the horror of the group, as they cannot do anything without getting into trouble because of him. After he is de-prefected midway through the year, he suspects Spud ratted on him for his possession of illicit items (Spud was actually doing some work for Viking) and gets a brutal revenge at the end.
Devries - Pike's sidekick.
Geoff Lawson - A friend of spuds in a different house. He went to his farm on various occasions throughout the books.
Grant "Earthworm" Edwards - Spud's prefect, and slave master, although he is usually very kind.

Teachers

Mr Edly, (The Guv) - English teacher and U/14A Cricket coach, has very interesting teaching methods and swears a lot. Befriends Spud, mostly due to his interest in literature, and his sharing a name with John Milton, one of his favourite poets.
Mr John Riley Crispo - The elderly history teacher. Spud reminds Crispo of himself when he was young and takes a likeness to him. He does not teach the history syllabus as he is supposed to, but rather recounts his experiences in The Second World War. After he dies, Spud sings at his funeral.
Mrs Wilson, (Eve) - Drama teacher. Plays Nancy the prostitute in the school play Oliver. She cheats on her husband with Rambo. So nicknamed because "Eve came from Adam's sparerib."
Mr Richardson (Viking) - Play director, who has directed many school plays, including Oliver! and A Midsummer Night's Dream. Referred to by Spud as "resident school Hitler," in second book. He replaces Sparerib as housemaster of Spud's house in Learning to Fly. The same book gives his first name as Victor.
Mr Glockenshpeel, (The Glock) - Headmaster. Nicknamed because of how dangerous he can be, as well as his strange name.
Mr Wilson (Sparerib) - Spud's housemaster. Nicknamed because he lost a rib to bone cancer (although the boys believed he lost it in a lion attack in the Kruger National Park). He leaves his post as housemaster after Rambo is returned to school in The Madness Continues, although he remains a teacher at the school.
Mr Lilly - Under 14 D/E rugby coach and Spud's art teacher. His pacifism usually results in many losses for his team.
Reverend Bishop - The deranged school chaplain. Lacks self-esteem and is incredibly gullible, as shown when he believes that Fatty has had an epiphany.
Mr Lambert (Mongrel) - Spud's Physical Education teacher. He is a former Rhodesian Bush War veteran and harbours racial grudges, which he takes out on all the boys in his class, especially ones who are overweight. Nicknamed because according to Spud, a mongrel "best describes an animal that has no brains, no fear and no mercy." He is a temporary (and extremely brutal) substitute for Viking as head of Spud's house during Learning to Fly. Fortunately, as Spud is joining Viking's play cast, he does not experience Mongrel's regime.
Mr van Vuuren - Spud's implied racist Afrikaans teacher.
Mr Norm Wade (Salamander) - Spud's implied racist English teacher in second book. Named because he has long legs and short arms. He is Spud's cricket coach in Learning to Fly and is re-named "Norm (I don't believe in spinners) Wade."
Mr Lennox - Mr. Crispo's replacement as history teacher. After joining the school, he forms a society called "African Affairs," which discusses the political struggle in South Africa. He is forced to dismantle it in Learning To Fly after it loses all its members with the exception of Spud and Rambo.
Mr Sykes (Psycho) - Spud's mathematics teacher.
Mr Hall - First team rugby coach and Adventure Club teacher. He apparently once threatened the team with a revolver on his hip, according to Bert, when they played Kings College, the schools big rival

Family

Dad - an alcoholic who is also a washerman. He is usually drunk and buys a dog named Blacky.
Blacky - the new family pet, who is taught to bark at black people. Although the Dad mistreats Blacky, he genuinely loves the dog.
Mom - Spud's mother who is usually also drunk and in denial. She consantly threatens to move out of the house.
Wombat - Spud's grandma on his mother's side. She is usually delirious and also drunk.

Film adaptation

A film adaptation, directed by Donovan Marsh, was released in South Africa on 3 December 2010. It will be released to the rest of the world in early 2011. The film stars South African-born Australian actor Troye Sivan as Spud and with John Cleese as The Guv. See "Spud Movie Trailer" link below.

External links