Spud

Do yourself a favor and buy, check out, steal or borrow this book. It's Spud, by John van de Ruit. Here's the synopsis from the cover:

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 named Wombat, 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."

I found it at Legacy Books, a charming little book store in Legacy Center while shopping around after lunch with Leigh. A book store employee had written a little review of the book and it caught our eyes. "Laugh out loud funny!", proclaimed the review. Well, who wouldn't want a laugh - especially a laugh out loud? So I decided to give it a whirl. While checking out, the man helping me was thrilled I was buying it. Turns out he was the employee who gave the glowing review. Leigh jokingly asked him, "Did you really 'laugh out loud'?" to which he replied a resounding , "Yes!".

Folks, seriously. It's the funniest thing ever in print. At least the funniest thing that I've ever read, without a doubt. So please, I implore you. I beg you. Read it.

And if you don't "laugh out loud" at least a dozen times by page 50, then you're too boring to be my friend.