Review of A Cheat and a Liar

[Precious Amarachi Nzeakor]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "A Cheat and a Liar" by Bruce Spurdle.]

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3 out of 5 stars

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A Cheat and a Liar seems to be a true-life story detailing the life of a certain George Douglas Morris. George is a builder married to a schoolteacher named Anna. They have five children, but one dies at a young age. As a result of the ongoing world war at the time, the economy goes into recession, and builders like George are forced into a tight spot. George ends up leaving his wife and children in the search for timber to continue his building work. However, instead of timber, George goes off and begins to live a very different lifestyle. He meets other women and does other jobs to sustain himself along the way, totally abandoning his wife and children.

He gets remarried in the little town of Bucoda to a lovely woman named Annette. He's taken in and welcomed wholeheartedly by her family after lying that he had no living family members. However, after some years, Annette dies, as do her parents, and George is left alone once again. This does not deter George, and soon he finds love again, this time with a lady named Ruth. They get married and have children. Then comes an unexpected twist. What has become of George's abandoned family? And will they ever discover what happened to their father as he got on a train in search of timber?

A Cheat and a Liar by Bruce Spurdle is a very lengthy book describing the life of George Douglas Morris, who seems to be directly related to the author, Bruce Spurdle. We see details of his life, from when he abandons his family to each lady he gets involved with. We are led through the effects of World Wars I and II and how they generally affected both people and the economy.

The only highlights of this book for me were the tidbits concerning the war. I gained insight into the state of affairs, economy-wise, during the war period. I was also able to get a picture of what led to the nuclear bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Sadly, I had a lot of issues with this book. I have read many books on historical fiction, so I expected a lot from this book. However, from the very basic characters to the tacky plotline, I had a hard time getting into the flow of the book. The protagonist, George, also seemed to have everything going for him despite his dishonest lifestyle. There is also the issue of highly unnecessary details, which I found in the book; for example, the scene where George meets a random girl at a bar and sleeps with her before suddenly traveling for Bucoda did not seem necessary to the story's plot. There was also a continuous repetition of details already mentioned in the book that only added to the length. I felt the continuous mention of George and Ruth's prospective marriage after their engagement was utterly unnecessary. Then, there was the issue of characters that simply fell off, and we were left wondering what happened to them—for instance, with Stephen, the man Beth was dating. In the end, I felt more relieved that I'd finally finished this book. Also, the errors I found in this book deterred my reading experience, proof that this book was not professionally edited.

I hardly enjoyed reading this book. Perhaps if the author had cut off most of the unnecessary scenes that added little substance to the plot of the story and given us a little insight into what had propelled George to act as brashly as he did, I might have given this book a higher rating. However, I'll rate this book 3 out of 5 stars. If you happen to have some free time you're looking to kill, then maybe you'd enjoy reading this book. Also, if you're interested in history, this book is for you.

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A Cheat and a Liar
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[Prodigy5]

I enjoyed reading your review, your point were listed our very well. I cannot wait to read the book so that I can see what your points.

[ahsan javed 3]

I enjoyed reading your review, your point were listed our very well. I cannot wait to read the book so that I can see what your points

[Edit_or]

Cheating and lying are to me the worst attributes a human can possess! Nevertheless I totally enjoyed your review; it is detailed.

[Chenelle Gordon]

The book "A Cheat and a Liar" by Bruce Spurdle is based on the life of George Douglas Morris, a builder who abandons his family during the trying times of World War I and engages in a dishonest lifestyle. The book describes Morris's involvement with other women, his remarriage, and the twist that reveals whether he reconnects with his abandoned family. The book includes unnecessary details that add little to the story and repetitive details that increase its length. I, the reviewer found the historical facts about the impact of war and the economy insightful but found the book disappointing overall. As the reviewer gave the book a rating of 3 out of 5 stars.