Spud - Learning to Fly
As Spud Milton continues his diabolical stagger through adolescence, he learns one of life's most important lessons: when dealing with women and cretins, nothing is ever quite as it seems. 'I'm practically a man in most areas,' writes Spud confidently on his sixteenth birthday. The year is 1992 and, as always in South Africa, radical change is in the air. The country may be on the bumpy road to an uncomfortable redemption, but Spud Milton is hoping for a smooth ride as he returns to boarding school as a senior. Instead, he discovers that his vindictive arch enemy is back to taunt him and that a garrulous Malawian has taken residence in his dormitory, along with the regular inmates and misfits he calls friends. Spud's world has never seemed less certain; he attempts to master Shakespeare, wrestles constantly with God and the power of negative thinking, and develops an aversion to fried fish after a shocking discovery about his grandmother, Wombat. Spud - Learning to fly transports the reader on an authentic tragicomic journey, deep into the sublime and ridiculous world of being a teenager.
About the Author
Author, actor, playwright and producer, one has to wonder where John van de Ruit is manufacturing time.
Book 1, "Spud"
Spud Milton is embarking on his first year at an elite boys-only private school. Cursed with parents well beyong the lunatic fringe and a dormitory full of strange characters (Gecko, Rambo and Mad Dog to name just a few), Spud discovers that the firs steps along the path to manhood aren't the easiest ones to take.
There will be trouble ahead, from illegal night swimming to ghostbusting to teacher baiting. Armed only with his wits and his diary, Spud invites us into the mind of a boy whose eyes are being opened to girls, friendship and complete insanity.
Winner of the 2006 Booksellers Choice Award
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NZ $21.90
incl GST
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