Scandalous, shocking, senile – Wombat!
By Matt Richardson / Spinebreakers Crew
‘Wombat’, as she is invariably referred to, is the hilarious, dotty old granny of the eponymous hero, Spud.
Far from descending into a meek and peaceful old age, Wombat manages to wreak havoc wherever she goes.
Despite suffering the minor setback of a life-threatening stroke, she is soon bumbling round her old people’s home, managing at one point in the novel to get herself temporarily engaged to a fellow resident, the aptly-named Lord Batty.
She provokes tears, embarrassment and outrage in her family, none more so than in her son-in-law, Spud’s father, who is convulsed in fits of apoplectic rage with every meeting.
Not the usual grandmotherly fare, but a fantastically exuberant comic creation.