A Lie Called the Present

A Play in Verse

Fiction - Drama
212 Pages
Reviewed on 03/24/2023
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    Book Review

Reviewed by Bernadette Longu for Readers' Favorite

In A Lie Called the Present by Jim Van de Erve, the author has taken a subject that haunts families, especially parents, as they get older. It was very enlightening and intriguing as to how children will treat their parents in old age. There are many homeless people who suffer from this problem through no fault of their own. A Lie Called the Present has been written in Elizabethan English which takes it into the realm of a Shakespearean play with all its drama, intrigue, manipulation, death, and triumph. The script does not cover up the shady side of human nature, even in times of great distress, and shows it in this play with all its warts. The tale unfolds between seven characters: Harry, Yvonne, Catherine, Bert, Jackie, Ray, and Georgia.

A Lie Called the Present by Jim Van De Erve catches the reader's attention from the beginning to the very last scene. Jim has treated the topic with a sense of humor but also with a lot of dignity and respect. The play takes the audience and the reader on a journey through the lives of these seven people and shows how things can change in the flash of an eye when revenge is sought for something imagined to have been done to them, and when the truth is told they still do not believe it. I found myself reading eagerly to the end to find out what happens but did not expect the twist in the tail that I found. What a delightful surprise. I really enjoyed reading this play and I think it would be quite something to see it performed on stage. Well done to the author. Thank you for the privilege of reading it; much appreciated. A very good read.