Author Kurt Vonnegut once said: “Never meet your heroes,” implying it often leads to disappointment. That certainly wasn’t the case here. Chatting with one of my literary gods, John van de Ruit, was nothing short of a joy.
For those unfamiliar, Van de Ruit is the author of the wildly successful Spud series, which follows Spud Milton at a prestigious all-boys school in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands. The series includes Spud (2005), The Madness Continues (2008), Learning to Fly (2009), Exit, Pursued by a Bear (2012) and, most recently, The Reunion (2024), bringing Spud back after a 12-year break. The first three books were also adapted into films starring John Cleese and Troye Sivan.
Van de Ruit’s books have been a beloved part of readers’ lives for nearly 20 years. The Reunion was my December holiday read, and I found myself laughing nonstop at Spud, his parents, Wombat – his grandmother – and his ever-chaotic school mates, the “Crazy Eight”.
There’s something special about returning to characters who have been with you for years, and Van de Ruit manages to make them feel just as fresh and hilarious as ever.
Set in 2003, The Reunion follows Spud at 28, struggling with a “one-third life crisis” and reflecting on what he sees as a decade of “spectacular non-achievement”. Then comes an invitation to his 10-year school reunion – an event he’s hesitant to attend. And thus, the mayhem begins, bringing Spud face to face with his past in ways both touching and wildly comedic.
Talking to the affable Van de Ruit over Zoom felt like catching up with an old friend – if your friend happened to be a bestselling author who had made millions laugh, that is. After my gushing feedback, he reflected on the overwhelming response to his book tour at the end of 2024: “It felt like something bigger than just me giving talks and signing books. It was almost like a quasi-cult gathering. It wasn’t just about people enjoying my books; they had become part of their lives.”
Surprisingly, writing another Spud book was never part of his plan. He describes the series as a force that took over much of his life – a realisation he pondered during the pandemic. “It struck me that I’d somehow created a Frankenstein with the Spud series. Everywhere I went, even eight years after the last book, it was still, “Hey, are you the author of Spud?” I realised this was going to be my legacy, and I wanted to revisit it.”
The idea for The Reunion clicked during Covid. “It felt like the perfect time – a decade after the last book – almost like a double reunion: one in the story and one with me and my readers.” He also missed the characters, especially Spud. “Some people think I’m Spud, that I just write myself into the role. The truth is, as we’ve gotten older, I’ve realised how different we are. But, yes, just like in the book, I did dress up as a clown at the ‘Hypermarket by the Sea’, and my mom and Wombat did visit.”
‘A moving car crash’
One of the book’s standout successes is how Van de Ruit preserves the essence of the Crazy Eight while transforming them into hilariously flawed adults. “With Spud, it could either sound too much like schoolboy Spud, with no real growth, or I risked losing him entirely,” he says.
Fatty, once rotund, has slimmed down and become an academic, revealing he was deeply unhappy in school. Vern, aka Rain Man, remains crucially Vern. “He’s so fun to write because you can do anything with him, even as an adult. I didn’t want to lose that wildness, that almost rebellious spirit.” And then there’s Rambo, the effortless group leader and enigma, who kept me completely captivated throughout The Reunion.
Unlike the previous books, which span a school year, The Reunion unfolds over one chaotic weekend. “Eighty-five percent of the novel takes place over just 48 hours,” Van de Ruit explains. Ironically, he skipped his own school reunion but had an inside contact at Michaelhouse who filled him in on the dramas – including a fight, which he weaves into one of the book’s funniest scenes. He wryly jokes that Spud’s reunion is “a bit of a moving car crash,” and though something clicks for Spud, he will likely need “a long holiday and some psychotherapy afterwards”.
Van de Ruit masterfully blends real life and fiction, drawing on personality traits from family and schoolmates to create unforgettable characters. “Four of the Crazy Eight were based on guys from my dormitory. The others were amalgamations. Nowhere in the books have I left a person intact and said, ‘I want this character to be exactly like X.’ The reader will never know which parts are based on my experience and which parts are just the fictional Crazy Eight’s experience.”
He does admit to amplifying certain aspects of his family. “I mean, my whole family has been exaggerated to be massive alcoholics,” he laughs. “My mom loves a dop, but she’s from the English tradition where you wait until a certain time. She’s not like Mrs Milton, who seems to open the bar at all hours.”
With so many beloved characters still fresh in our minds, what’s next for Van de Ruit and Spud Milton? While nothing is confirmed, he’s considering a three-book Spud series (including The Reunion and two more books) to bring both Spud’s and his own story to a definitive end. He’s also developing a “sub-genre murder mystery”.
JK Rowling reinvented herself after Harry Potter with the tremendously successful Cormoran Strike whodunnits, so why not our Van de Ruit – without a nom de plume, of course.
Van de Ruit will be appearing at both the Franschhoek Literary Festival and Kingsmead Book Fair – both in May.
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