{"title":"Books by John van de Ruit","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9781035079216","title":"Spud: The Reunion","description":"\u003cp\u003eIt is 2003 – ten years since ‘Spud’ Milton’s class of 93 finished school. Despite their unbreakable bond, the Crazy Eight have lost touch. An invitation to their ten-year reunion weekend at the school triggers an unsettling tumult of emotions for Spud. He’s sure he won’t go, hardened by the prospect of revealing a decade of spectacular non-achievement to his former, privileged classmates.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAt twenty-eight, Spud is stuck in a one-third life crisis: his glittering theatre career has stalled before it’s even begun, he still doesn’t have a girlfriend, and circumstances have forced him to move back in with his parents and his senile grandmother, Wombat, whose walks never end where they begin.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut powerful machinations are already at work. A bombardment of messages and darkly threatening phone calls from unknown numbers sees his resistance begin to crumble and his curiosity piqued. It’s just a weekend, after all . . . what else could possibly go wrong?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Crazy Eight are back. From John van de Ruit,\u003ci\u003e Spud: The Reunion\u003c\/i\u003e is a riotous trip down memory lane ten years in the making. Featuring all the signature wit and \"catastrophic nostalgia\" of the original series, this is the hilarious, adult chapter Spud’s fans have been waiting for.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":57685901214069,"sku":"9781035079230","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Hardback","offer_id":55897343590773,"sku":"9781035079216","price":20.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781035079230.jpg?v=1792599134"},{"product_id":"9780141323565","title":"Spud","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eSpud\u003c\/i\u003e is the hilarious debut novel by John van de Ruit\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt's 1990. Apartheid is crumbling, Nelson Mandela has just been released from prison and thirteen-year-old Spud Milton is about to start his first year at an elite boys-only boarding school. Cursed with embarrassingly dysfunctional parents, a nutty granny and a dormitory full of strange characters, Spud has his hands full trying to adapt to his new home. With only his wits and his diary, he takes readers on a rowdy boarding school romp full of illegal midnight swims, catastrophic cricket matches, ghostbusting escapades, girls and disastrous holidays.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSouth African comedian John van de Ruit invites the reader into the mind of a young boy whose eyes are being opened to love, friendship and complete insanity!\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSome rave reviews from South Africa:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Funny, fast-paced and wonderfully observant' - The Daily News\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Once you pick it up it's almost as if the pages turn themselves' - Metrobeat\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Achingly funny' - Sunday Times Lifestyle\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJohn van de Ruit was born in Durban, South Africa. He went to the University of Natal where he completed a Masters degree in Drama and Performance. Since 1998 he has been a professional actor, playwright and producer, winning numerous awards. \u003ci\u003eSpud\u003c\/i\u003e is his first novel.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56224617234805,"sku":"9780141323565","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780141323565_358f0834-007b-4692-9354-d52a1b6adb3a.jpg?v=1786011205"},{"product_id":"9780141348278","title":"Spud: Exit, Pursued by a Bear","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSpud: Exit, Pursued by a Bear is the 4th and final instalment in the hilarious teenage life of schoolboy Spud Milton - written by South African comedian John van de Ruit.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSpud Milton is in his final year at boarding school. Now a prefect and on the cusp of adulthood, he thinks this may be his best year yet. But soon his life is as chaotic as ever as he wages a battle for his room, directs a play in which the actors refuse to learn their lines and (most terrifyingly of all) attempts to find a date for the matric dance.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFor the last time, armed once again with his wits and his diary, Spud invites us to share the agonies, the victories and the sheer absurdities of growing up.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHugely funny and entertaining, SPUD is South Africa's bestselling series.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56224618512757,"sku":"9780141348278","price":8.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780141348278_e0aaf842-4f2f-48b7-aa6b-8bdf88168585.jpg?v=1786011524"},{"product_id":"9780141326818","title":"Spud - The Madness Continues","description":"Spud's nearly 15 and although he is no longer the youngest or the smallest in his dorm, his second year at boarding school is beset with women trouble, misguided late-night adventures and excruciating family visits. With his dreams of a stage career in tatters after a disastrous house play production of Noah's Ark, Spud, armed with only his wits and his diary, invites us to delve further into the mind of a boy who discovers that the long path to manhood is never easy... especially when all around him the madness continues...","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56224619004277,"sku":"9780141326818","price":7.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780141326818_a4e6d64f-2a50-4e7b-bd16-bfacb3a6cabd.jpg?v=1786011275"},{"product_id":"9780141336237","title":"Spud - Learning to Fly","description":"\u003cp\u003eSpud Milton (practically a man in most areas) is hoping for a smooth ride as he returns to boarding school as a senior. But instead he finds his vindictive arch-enemy is back to taunt him and a garrulous new boy has taken residence in his dorm, along with the regular inmates and misfits he calls friends. Spud's world has never felt more uncertain as he attempts to master Shakespeare, girls, religion and the meaning of life. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOnce again, armed only with his wits and his diary, Spud invites us on a hilarious journey deep into the sublime and ridiculous world of being a teenager.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56224662585717,"sku":"9780141336237","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780141336237_bd05342f-b3f0-4c0b-8f70-7e1789ce8ac3.jpg?v=1786011379"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-john-van-de-ruit.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}