Status
Available
Genres
Publication
London ; New York : Hogarth, [2018]
Description
Fiction. Literature. LGBTQIA+ (Fiction.) HTML:�A satire of writerly ambition wrapped in a psychological thriller . . . An homage to Patricia Highsmith, Oscar Wilde and Edgar Allan Poe, but its execution is entirely Boyne�s own.��Ron Charles, The Washington Post NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE WASHINGTON POST AND MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE Maurice Swift is handsome, charming, and hungry for fame. The one thing he doesn�t have is talent�but he�s not about to let a detail like that stand in his way. After all, a would-be writer can find stories anywhere. They don�t need to be his own. Working as a waiter in a West Berlin hotel in 1988, Maurice engineers the perfect opportunity: a chance encounter with celebrated novelist Erich Ackermann. He quickly ingratiates himself with the powerful � but desperately lonely � older man, teasing out of Erich a terrible, long-held secret about his activities during the war. Perfect material for Maurice�s first novel. Once Maurice has had a taste of literary fame, he knows he can stop at nothing in pursuit of that high. Moving from the Amalfi Coast, where he matches wits with Gore Vidal, to Manhattan and London, Maurice hones his talent for deceit and manipulation, preying on the talented and vulnerable in his cold-blooded climb to the top. But the higher he climbs, the further he has to fall. . . . Sweeping across the late twentieth century, A Ladder to the Sky is a fascinating portrait of a relentlessly immoral man, a tour de force of storytelling, and the next great novel from an acclaimed literary virtuoso. Praise for A Ladder to the Sky �Boyne's mastery of perspective, last seen in The Heart's Invisible Furies, works beautifully here. . . . Boyne understands that it's far more interesting and satisfying for a reader to see that narcissist in action than to be told a catchall phrase. Each step Maurice Swift takes skyward reveals a new layer of calumny he's willing to engage in, and the desperation behind it . . . so dark it seems almost impossible to enjoy reading A Ladder to the Sky as much as you definitely will enjoy reading it.��NPR �Delicious . . . spins out over several decades with thrilling unpredictability, following Maurice as he masters the art of co-opting the stories of others in increasingly dubious ways. And while the book reads as a thriller with a body count that would make Highsmith proud, it is also an exploration of morality and art: Where is the line between inspiration and thievery? To whom does a story belong?��Vanity Fair.… (more)
Media reviews
John Boyne's new novel, set in the literary world, features a psychopath so intriguing he'll keep you fascinated and appalled to the very end.
This is a hugely enjoyable novel about ambition, fraud, murder and the writing game from an author who, ever since global success of The Boy in the
Show More
Striped Pyjamas in 2006, has been fizzing with ideas, is a dab hand at telling a story and creates vividly arresting characters, too.
Show Less
As Picasso is once supposed to have said: good artists copy; great artists steal. It’s a motto by which Maurice Swift, the sociopathic and mesmeric antihero of John Boyne’s latest novel might well live his life.
User reviews
LibraryThing member jmchshannon
With A Ladder to the Sky, John Boyne is now one of my favorite authors and now has a place on my auto-buy list. His talent and creativity blow me away. Each of his novels that I have read is distinctively different, and he is just as comfortable and successful narrating from a little boy's
The main character in A Ladder to the Sky is completely unlike any of his previous characters by the mere fact that he is more the villain than the hero. You find yourself loathing Maurice Swift even though he has a tendency to raise good questions about intellectual property and ownership. Yet, for all your dislike of Maurice, the story is compulsively readable. You want to find out how he could possibly become an even more deplorable human than he has already revealed himself to be all while anticipating the moment when his peers realize the truth. It is a novel which makes you question the answer to the age-old question of how authors come by the ideas for their stories just as it makes you wonder about the veracity of the picture of the publishing world Mr. Boyne, through Maurice, presents. I loved every minute of it.
Show More
perspective from the 1940s as he is from a woman's in the present day. All of his characters are alive in a way that makes them more real than your neighbor, and his stories are always compelling regardless of complexity.The main character in A Ladder to the Sky is completely unlike any of his previous characters by the mere fact that he is more the villain than the hero. You find yourself loathing Maurice Swift even though he has a tendency to raise good questions about intellectual property and ownership. Yet, for all your dislike of Maurice, the story is compulsively readable. You want to find out how he could possibly become an even more deplorable human than he has already revealed himself to be all while anticipating the moment when his peers realize the truth. It is a novel which makes you question the answer to the age-old question of how authors come by the ideas for their stories just as it makes you wonder about the veracity of the picture of the publishing world Mr. Boyne, through Maurice, presents. I loved every minute of it.
Show Less
LibraryThing member pdebolt
The protagonist of this amazing novel is Maurice Swift, whose literary ambitions far exceed his writing talents. He has two goals in life: to be a world-famous writer and to be a father. The first is accomplished through using his good looks and guile to attach himself to those who have gained
This novel is another example of John Boyne's incredible talent in developing a fascinating plot with fully-developed characters. His books are immensely readable, difficult to put down and always memorable.
Show More
renown as authors; the second is met through a surrogate with a horrific conclusion. Maurice is totally without a conscience and capable of using anyone to further his own interests, the very definition of a psychopath. He disposes of them when they no longer serve his needs, leaving heartbreak and death in his wake.This novel is another example of John Boyne's incredible talent in developing a fascinating plot with fully-developed characters. His books are immensely readable, difficult to put down and always memorable.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Narshkite
Well that was freaking fantastic. For some time a friend of mine has been encouraging to me to read John Boyne. "He is bitchier than you, and even darker." Well despite that excellent recommendation, I just never seemed to get to it. I am an idiot, and my friend was 100% right. I am in love with
This is a twisty and twisted novel. As many have mentioned it rifs on The Talented Mr. Ripley, but perhaps even more so on All About Eve. I won't rehash the plot but I will say that I loved the focus on how writers get stories, and the sometimes troubling circumstances. All writers steal other people"s stories. Most writers have some empathy, and so they make those stories their own rather than simply commiting the story to paper with better grammar and style, but isn't recognizing, spiffing up, and making use of others' stories a true skill -- maybe even an art? If we accept that writers appropriate stories, then how much of a leap is it to stealing others' work? And then what must be done to keep one's literary bona fides intact. And then what must be done to cover one's trail. Maurice has his hands full with all these actions and questions, and what he has done and still.must do to keep the charade going. Turns out psychopaths can be wildly entertaining as they go about their business.
Boyne tells this story from so many perspectives and he never falters. Its not just different voices but entirely different writing styles. and all are pretty perfect. In a best among equals race though, the section where Maurice meets Gore Vidal is one of the best and funniest things I have ever read.
I will be reading more John Boyne, lots more.
Show More
this man's work. In. Love. This is a twisty and twisted novel. As many have mentioned it rifs on The Talented Mr. Ripley, but perhaps even more so on All About Eve. I won't rehash the plot but I will say that I loved the focus on how writers get stories, and the sometimes troubling circumstances. All writers steal other people"s stories. Most writers have some empathy, and so they make those stories their own rather than simply commiting the story to paper with better grammar and style, but isn't recognizing, spiffing up, and making use of others' stories a true skill -- maybe even an art? If we accept that writers appropriate stories, then how much of a leap is it to stealing others' work? And then what must be done to keep one's literary bona fides intact. And then what must be done to cover one's trail. Maurice has his hands full with all these actions and questions, and what he has done and still.must do to keep the charade going. Turns out psychopaths can be wildly entertaining as they go about their business.
Boyne tells this story from so many perspectives and he never falters. Its not just different voices but entirely different writing styles. and all are pretty perfect. In a best among equals race though, the section where Maurice meets Gore Vidal is one of the best and funniest things I have ever read.
I will be reading more John Boyne, lots more.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Bookmarque
Up until the very, very end this was a 4-star novel. I knocked it down ½ a star because I don’t believe that anyone in the publishing industry would take a manuscript from Maurice Swift on faith now he was in prison; his many crimes exposed. Having him still so self-unaware that he thinks he
But let me back up. Overall I enjoyed this book even though I wasn’t prepared to. I hesitated a lot over even starting it because it features a sociopath, and it’s a good depiction of one. Maurice is classic. First, he’s lazy. Second, he doesn't see other people as people, but only as objects to be used and manipulated for his own ends. Third, he honestly doesn’t see a thing wrong with anything he’s done.Even killing his wife and son directly, and contributing to the deaths of others who have only been his blind victims. No, Maurice isn’t someone I’d like to know, but Boyne made the story interesting and enjoyable despite that.
Using an emotionless psychopath as the hub to anchor highly emotional stories is a pretty good choice. Otherwise it would be tough to connect the secret homosexual longings of a German man in the late 1930s to a woman of color writer and teacher in the 1990s. Plus using Maurice as the tool he made of the people around him is pretty neat even if it wasn’t deliberate. Although the individual outlooks and internal struggles of Erick and Edith are very different, their destructions were equally gut-wrenching.
From my comfortable spectator’s seat it is hard for me not to judge them too harshly. They both had evidence of what Maurice really was right in front of them; especially Edith. She lives with his cruelty, idleness and selfishness and suffers at his intense mood swings and temper. No way would I put up with that, but she does. Had she taken the least precaution with her work, she might have prevented his theft. Of course she doesn’t see sending drafts to her editor as a precaution; what does she have to protect against anyway? She doesn’t see her husband as a threat and so not even an outline or a synopsis crosses her editor’s desk. So after Maurice pushes her down the stairs (nice foreshadowing with the busted railing, btw) it’s easy to subsume her work. The thing I didn’t like is that she was telling this tale in the first person from a coma she never wakes from. How would she have told it after Maurice pulled the plug? No, that didn’t work for me.
The interlude with Gore Vidal was fun and interesting. Maurice didn’t impress and Vidal wasn’t taken in, but it wasn’t a victory for either. More of a draw. Vidal didn’t lose any face, standing or suffer from his meeting Maurice, and Maurice didn’t add another victim to his growing list. Neither did he get all that bothered by his failure to make Vidal a conquest or by Vidal’s obvious contempt. If he couldn’t take the little asshole down a peg no one could and it sets Maurice’s character more firmly.
Finally we have what is obviously a set up from the beginning. Enter Theo Field, a 20-year-old student doing a thesis on Maurice. His introductory letter is the perfect hook - at once full of fan-boy flattery and plans to turn his paper into a book, Theo also mentions his father’s job at Random House and his own non-threatening choice of biographer rather than novelist. Of course the now degraded and solitary Maurice will meet with him. I quivered at the prospect of his comeuppance and I got it. Kinda (see first paragraph).
Theo’s skillful manipulation is a thing of beauty with Maurice as its victim. From his eager-to-please fawning to his adoption of Maurice’s dead son Daniel’s looks, habits and dress, Theo plays Maurice perfectly. Over time Maurice can’t believe that he’s being so disrespectful, but can’t dislodge himself from the hook - a biography of his genius is the least he is due.
It’s during this period that Maurice’s advanced alcoholism brings his downfall. Not only does he start to mistake Theo for Daniel, he starts to reveal his crimes, some knowingly and brazenly (such as using Erick’s confidences and bringing about his disgrace and death), and others almost by accident (Edith, his first murder and Daniel, his second). When he realizes what he’s done it’s too late and Theo has all the evidence he needs.
Evidence? What kind of thesis is this? What kind of book? The vengeful sort. He reveals his true identity and aim; Erick’s grand-nephew and the downfall of Maurice Swift. His own fame and fortune is another one and it’s neat that he will make it by the tragedy of another, even if it’s richly deserved.
As I said, there is some comeuppance, but it isn’t convincing. It’s enough that Maurice is in jail. Not that he minds, but teaching creative writing? Even in prison it’s a stretch. And the new book is just silly. Change that one thing and this would be a great book.
Show More
could pass one off again is the right choice; Mauice will never change, but why the sudden condemnation of the publishing industry? That’s the only sense I could make of it. Either they are still dupes who learn nothing from past mistakes, or they are unethical jerks who will publish anything regardless of authenticity so long as it makes them money. And since there isn’t a hint of that anywhere else in the book, it was a really odd thing to include.But let me back up. Overall I enjoyed this book even though I wasn’t prepared to. I hesitated a lot over even starting it because it features a sociopath, and it’s a good depiction of one. Maurice is classic. First, he’s lazy. Second, he doesn't see other people as people, but only as objects to be used and manipulated for his own ends. Third, he honestly doesn’t see a thing wrong with anything he’s done.
Using an emotionless psychopath as the hub to anchor highly emotional stories is a pretty good choice. Otherwise it would be tough to connect the secret homosexual longings of a German man in the late 1930s to a woman of color writer and teacher in the 1990s. Plus using Maurice as the tool he made of the people around him is pretty neat even if it wasn’t deliberate. Although the individual outlooks and internal struggles of Erick and Edith are very different, their destructions were equally gut-wrenching.
From my comfortable spectator’s seat it is hard for me not to judge them too harshly. They both had evidence of what Maurice really was right in front of them; especially Edith. She lives with his cruelty, idleness and selfishness and suffers at his intense mood swings and temper. No way would I put up with that, but she does. Had she taken the least precaution with her work, she might have prevented his theft. Of course she doesn’t see sending drafts to her editor as a precaution; what does she have to protect against anyway? She doesn’t see her husband as a threat and so not even an outline or a synopsis crosses her editor’s desk.
The interlude with Gore Vidal was fun and interesting. Maurice didn’t impress and Vidal wasn’t taken in, but it wasn’t a victory for either. More of a draw. Vidal didn’t lose any face, standing or suffer from his meeting Maurice, and Maurice didn’t add another victim to his growing list. Neither did he get all that bothered by his failure to make Vidal a conquest or by Vidal’s obvious contempt. If he couldn’t take the little asshole down a peg no one could and it sets Maurice’s character more firmly.
Finally we have what is obviously a set up from the beginning. Enter Theo Field, a 20-year-old student doing a thesis on Maurice. His introductory letter is the perfect hook - at once full of fan-boy flattery and plans to turn his paper into a book, Theo also mentions his father’s job at Random House and his own non-threatening choice of biographer rather than novelist. Of course the now degraded and solitary Maurice will meet with him. I quivered at the prospect of his comeuppance and I got it. Kinda (see first paragraph).
Theo’s skillful manipulation is a thing of beauty with Maurice as its victim. From his eager-to-please fawning to his adoption of Maurice’s dead son Daniel’s looks, habits and dress, Theo plays Maurice perfectly. Over time Maurice can’t believe that he’s being so disrespectful, but can’t dislodge himself from the hook - a biography of his genius is the least he is due.
It’s during this period that Maurice’s advanced alcoholism brings his downfall. Not only does he start to mistake Theo for Daniel, he starts to reveal his crimes, some knowingly and brazenly
Evidence? What kind of thesis is this? What kind of book? The vengeful sort. He reveals his true identity and aim;
As I said, there is some comeuppance, but it isn’t convincing.
Show Less
LibraryThing member msf59
“The more you read, the more you write, the more the ideas will appear. They’ll fall like confetti around your head and your only difficulty will be deciding which ones to catch and which to let fall to the floor.”
“You’ve heard the wonderful news, I presume?” “No. Has Mr. Trump
Maurice Swift is young, handsome and utterly charming. He also possesses an unbridled ambition to become a famous writer. The key component he lacks, is talent. Using, his other beguiling attributes, he will find a way and does. This is the rise and inevitable fall of Maurice, as he moves through the years, climbing toward success leaving heartache and devastation in his wake.
I loved Boyne's previous novel, The Heart’s Invisible Furies and he has done it again here. The writing is strong and assured, an author at the top of his game, delivering a literary All About Eve, with a much nastier and ruthless streak. Highly recommended.
“You’ve heard the wonderful news, I presume?” “No. Has Mr. Trump
Show More
died?” Maurice Swift is young, handsome and utterly charming. He also possesses an unbridled ambition to become a famous writer. The key component he lacks, is talent. Using, his other beguiling attributes, he will find a way and does. This is the rise and inevitable fall of Maurice, as he moves through the years, climbing toward success leaving heartache and devastation in his wake.
I loved Boyne's previous novel, The Heart’s Invisible Furies and he has done it again here. The writing is strong and assured, an author at the top of his game, delivering a literary All About Eve, with a much nastier and ruthless streak. Highly recommended.
Show Less
LibraryThing member kimkimkim
John Boyne has created the most perfect “Despicable Me” character in Maurice Swift. He is a boy who arrives in other people lives, preys upon their weaknesses, sucks out their story, recreates it as his own, reaps the laurels, ultimately destroys the host and moves on to the next always
The story is told by varying characters and what makes the writing so extraordinary is that it fits the author’s definition of what a writer does: “ ‘Uses his or her imagination. Tries to understand how it feels to be alive in a moment that never existed with a person who never lived, saying words that were never spoken aloud’ “
But where to find a title that fits - sometimes it is drawn from a proverb and only at the end does it all make perfect sense. The title, the characters, the writing, simply superb.
Thank you NetGalley and Crown Publishing for a copy of this most amazing book.
Show More
justifying his rightness, never admitting his treachery. Well, that may not be totally accurate as early in the story Swift states that being a success is all that matters and he would do whatever it takes to succeed. Who would have thought that it would be that and that and that.The story is told by varying characters and what makes the writing so extraordinary is that it fits the author’s definition of what a writer does: “ ‘Uses his or her imagination. Tries to understand how it feels to be alive in a moment that never existed with a person who never lived, saying words that were never spoken aloud’ “
But where to find a title that fits - sometimes it is drawn from a proverb and only at the end does it all make perfect sense. The title, the characters, the writing, simply superb.
Thank you NetGalley and Crown Publishing for a copy of this most amazing book.
Show Less
LibraryThing member techeditor
If you can get your hands on a book by John Boyne, do it. I’ve read four, and they are all great. Now I’ve read another, A LADDER TO THE SKY, and it proves once again what a master he is at writing both plot- and character-driven literature. Every sentence is so well written I wanted to reread
This novel is about a bad guy, a really, really bad guy, a psycho: Maurice. He lurks among the writing community. He fancies himself a great Prize [sic]-worthy author of fiction. And he is a good writer, but his stories are boring. So he cannot become a recognized author who can at least get on the short list for The Prize [sic] unless, as he sees it, he inserts himself into the lives of successful authors. He uses and abuses, as the saying goes. And he’ll do anything. (I capitalized "The Prize" because it is spelled that way in the book.)
Through his characters, Boyne often says what I often say when I review a book: the writing may be good, but that is not enough. A good book is also driven by a plot. Without that, the book is boring. And that is Maurice’s problem: he cannot come up with plots. He needs story ideas. And he’ll stop at nothing.
A LADDER TO THE SKY is, in a way, difficult to read because one bad thing after another happens. Now and then, though, someone is wise to Maurice. Unfortunately, his beauty attracts both men and women, so he gets away with years of exploitation.
Do yourself a favor and read A LADDER TO THE SKY.
Show More
it.This novel is about a bad guy, a really, really bad guy, a psycho: Maurice. He lurks among the writing community. He fancies himself a great Prize [sic]-worthy author of fiction. And he is a good writer, but his stories are boring. So he cannot become a recognized author who can at least get on the short list for The Prize [sic] unless, as he sees it, he inserts himself into the lives of successful authors. He uses and abuses, as the saying goes. And he’ll do anything. (I capitalized "The Prize" because it is spelled that way in the book.)
Through his characters, Boyne often says what I often say when I review a book: the writing may be good, but that is not enough. A good book is also driven by a plot. Without that, the book is boring. And that is Maurice’s problem: he cannot come up with plots. He needs story ideas. And he’ll stop at nothing.
A LADDER TO THE SKY is, in a way, difficult to read because one bad thing after another happens. Now and then, though, someone is wise to Maurice. Unfortunately, his beauty attracts both men and women, so he gets away with years of exploitation.
Do yourself a favor and read A LADDER TO THE SKY.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Slevyr26
Oh John Boyne, you genius. Another brilliant novel. Maurice is so reprehensible that I cannot force myself to give this 5 stars because I hated him so much, but maybe because I hated him so much and that emotion was triggered in me, it deserves 5 stars? I'll have a think.
LibraryThing member janismack
Another interesting story by John Boyne. A callus and ambitious writer will do anything to be a success. He’s not a bad writer but he has no good stories to write about, that is his problem. He’s so delusional, he has no qualms about stealing other writers ideas. Maurice Swift does get his due
Show More
but not in the way you would think. Show Less
LibraryThing member Berly
Maurice wants to be a writer, and although he puts words together well, he falls short on inspiration. So he gets to know people, uses them for ideas, feeds his ambition. He is a handsome man. How much can he get away with? For the reader, the moral questions arise. All ideas are inspired by
The main character, Maurice Swift, is a narcissist. A psychopath. No two ways about it. I hate him. But I have to know, how far will he go? I loved how multiple narrators tell his story: we learn of Maurice and the publishing world through their viewpoints, their hopes, their desires. His pawns will be remembered long after their tales have ended and Maurice has moved on. This is definitely a tale of dark morals. Thought-provoking, well-told, very memorable and a surprising page-turner.
Show More
something or someone, but when does it become theft? And what about telling someone else's story, especially if it is told to you in confidence? So you change a few names. Is it enough? What if it has negative repercussions for them? Where is the line? The main character, Maurice Swift, is a narcissist. A psychopath. No two ways about it. I hate him. But I have to know, how far will he go? I loved how multiple narrators tell his story: we learn of Maurice and the publishing world through their viewpoints, their hopes, their desires. His pawns will be remembered long after their tales have ended and Maurice has moved on. This is definitely a tale of dark morals. Thought-provoking, well-told, very memorable and a surprising page-turner.
Show Less
LibraryThing member dbsovereign
Rooting for the scoundrel is difficult, but knowing that novels rarely allow karma to be done away with completely, kept me reading. The nefarious Swift is a wonderfully deplorable man who we find ourselves loving to hate. The way he just rather saunters from loathsome deed to outrageous
Evil personified can be very captivating - almost like visiting with the rich and famous - which we also do in this novel when Gore Vidal steps in for a few pages. Vidal calls our spade a spade in his own inimitable way. I purchased this book at full price, but do not consider this fact to be essential to my own semi-unbiased assessment. Overall - loved it.
Show More
rationalization is despicable. Consider this book to be a warning about the criminally conceited and how power corrupts. Also, one that reminds us that we each have our own secrets. Evil personified can be very captivating - almost like visiting with the rich and famous - which we also do in this novel when Gore Vidal steps in for a few pages. Vidal calls our spade a spade in his own inimitable way. I purchased this book at full price, but do not consider this fact to be essential to my own semi-unbiased assessment. Overall - loved it.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Michael_Godfrey
A twenty-four hour read, rare for me these days, that had me breathless, even held me awake and reading during the night. Boyne's creative mastery as he depicts the slow unravelling of a loathsome psychopath (294, and yes, protagonist Maurice Swift would have noted the tautology) is exquisite - all
Show More
that the protagonist's art could never be. The artistic, sociological and legal conundrums that Maurice Swift throws our way are deeply unsettling. There is some redemption of victims, some schadenfreude, but, because: life, they remain incomplete. A true psychopath, Swift learns nothing from the exposure of his evil. We are left with grating teeth and a desire to deliver a fatal dose of vicarious vengeance long after the final sentences die away. Humour (Boyne's reference to Donald Trump at 314 is most satisfying), irony (Swift's characterisation of writers at 304 is brutally self-revealing and gives rise to the declaration of the title on 305), an unusually successful excursion into first person death-narrative, respectful glimpses into imagined lives of historical figures (Gore Vidal and Howard Austen), and unrelenting narrative energy combine to make Ladder to the Sky perfect therapy in a world in which the leadership uncannily, disturbingly resembles the heinous anti-hero of Boyne's unsettling tale. Show Less
LibraryThing member Susan.Macura
I have read a number of this author's books - primarily his young adult books that were wonderful. However, I had never read any of his books for adults until this one. In this tale we meet a man who will do whatever it takes to achieve his life's dream - being a successful writer. It is amazing
Show More
what he was willing to do to achieve success, even after everyone discovered the truth about him. Boyne has created a character with absolutely no redeeming qualities. This was an excellent book. Show Less
LibraryThing member muddyboy
This novel should be titled The Plagiarist as this is what it is about. The primary character, Maurice Swift, spends his whole life building his literary career by stealing ideas and stories from other authors he has known over the years. To keep his reputation he is not above murder if needed. The
Show More
book has an interesting premise and the author is a skillful writer but the book is pretty predictable once you see what is going on. That said, I enjoyed the novel and think it is worth reading. Show Less
LibraryThing member breic
A writer can't write, so instead he steals other writers' stories. Doing whatever horrible things are necessary, escalating as the novel progresses. Amusingly—aptly—this novel's story itself is stolen from, or at least heavily inspired by "The Talented Mr Ripley." That gives this two levels of
The writing is fine, the characters believable. Maurice Swift is believably horrible, but the changing viewpoints mean that we aren't drowned in Swift's sociopathy. It is not tedious. I read nearly all in one sitting, which is rare for me.
Show More
"meta" (1. the writer character writes his own memoir of stealing "Other People's Stories," 2. Boyne stealing from Patricia Highsmith). That's funny, but still it means that this novel is largely predictable and not ever shocking. Ripley is a more powerful tale. The writing is fine, the characters believable. Maurice Swift is believably horrible, but the changing viewpoints mean that we aren't drowned in Swift's sociopathy. It is not tedious. I read nearly all in one sitting, which is rare for me.
Show Less
LibraryThing member ErickaS
Maurice Swift is the most loathsome protagonist, and I was smitten with his vileness.
John Boyne has created another masterpiece with A Ladder to the Sky. Maurice, self-centered beyond redemption, is an aspiring writer. The barrier to his success is that he lacks the talent of original thought.
John Boyne is a rare author who has created such a despicable main character who also captures the reader’s enthusiasm. Maurice’s shamelessness is juxtaposed with his victims’ inexplicable adoration which creates tension that never waivers. The ending is a resounding smash.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to Penguin First to Read for this advance copy in exchange for my review.
John Boyne has created another masterpiece with A Ladder to the Sky. Maurice, self-centered beyond redemption, is an aspiring writer. The barrier to his success is that he lacks the talent of original thought.
Show More
Blessed with movie star good looks, Maurice charms older, esteemed writers into becoming his mentors, using them for what he can, then dumping them, often with devastating consequences. As the novel progresses, Maurice’s ambition grows into a monster that he must keep feeding. John Boyne is a rare author who has created such a despicable main character who also captures the reader’s enthusiasm. Maurice’s shamelessness is juxtaposed with his victims’ inexplicable adoration which creates tension that never waivers. The ending is a resounding smash.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to Penguin First to Read for this advance copy in exchange for my review.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Beamis12
Boynes, Hearts Invisible Furies turned out to be my favorite book of last year. In that one he gave me a character I absolutely loved, in this one he does the opposite. Here, he gives us a character, one loves to hate, a young man devoid of any redeeming characteristics. Maurice Swift, a man who
Now I am the type of reader who enjoys being given a character who tugs at my heart, someone in which I can hope for cherish. But....I also say if you can't give me that, then give me some stellar prose, or a plot that is intriguing, pulls me into the story. And.....yes that is definitely the case here, this plot pulled me in, like watching a train wreck I couldn't pull away. Can beauty alone, present a blind that allows one to excuse another's actions? Do those who are extremely good looking have an unfair advantage, treated differently than those who do not? Apparently so. This is a book where it would be so easy to give away part of the plot, so I will stop here. The less said the better I this case.
Boyne, to me is an amazing writer. He writes so many different types of books, but though I have not yet read all of his, the ones I have, did not let me down. I look forward to seeing ehere he takes me next.
ARC from bookbrowse.
Show More
thinks that anything he does is justified. Nothing is his fault.Now I am the type of reader who enjoys being given a character who tugs at my heart, someone in which I can hope for cherish. But....I also say if you can't give me that, then give me some stellar prose, or a plot that is intriguing, pulls me into the story. And.....yes that is definitely the case here, this plot pulled me in, like watching a train wreck I couldn't pull away. Can beauty alone, present a blind that allows one to excuse another's actions? Do those who are extremely good looking have an unfair advantage, treated differently than those who do not? Apparently so. This is a book where it would be so easy to give away part of the plot, so I will stop here. The less said the better I this case.
Boyne, to me is an amazing writer. He writes so many different types of books, but though I have not yet read all of his, the ones I have, did not let me down. I look forward to seeing ehere he takes me next.
ARC from bookbrowse.
Show Less
LibraryThing member KateVane
After loving The Heart’s Invisible Furies, I was looking forward to reading John Boyne’s latest novel.
A Ladder to the Sky is the story of an attractive young man, Maurice, who wants to be a writer. He uses his looks and charm to attach himself to a series of successful authors across the world.
Boyne is having fun with the well-worn question, ‘Where do you get your ideas from?’ and wondering what would happen to an author who could write good prose but couldn’t invent a story of his own. I’m not sure I accept the premise – I’ve read plenty of literary novels where the prose is gorgeous but the story weak and unrealised and that doesn’t seem to stop them winning awards. But it’s a fun idea and a playful treatment.
I loved the black comedy and Maurice’s trajectory through literary circles. It’s a world that’s familiar to me from the days when I was on the fringes of traditional publishing, albeit at a lower level. I think the constant hustling, the fine line between adoration and envy, the comparisonitis are due to the fact that the conventional markers of success – salary, job title, professional qualifications – are absent so your status is always shifting. The intriguing question is why Maurice, with his good looks and easy opportunism, doesn’t inveigle himself into a more glamorous and lucrative business.
Perhaps the same things that make people want to write and be among writers – the love of the craft, the desire to belong to a world of books and ideas – apply to him too. It suggests that his passion for literature is genuine, even if the rest of him is a lie.
A few real writers make an appearance in the novel which is fun and adds to the writerly in-jokiness of the thing. There is an interlude written from the point of view of Gore Vidal which is quite entertaining if you’re a fan, and works by Maude Avery, the fictional novelist from The Heart’s Invisible Furies, are namechecked.
The irony, of course, is that Maurice is constantly inventing in life, with his trail of deceit and manipulation. But it seems Maurice can’t get to the end, and that’s true of this novel as well.
In the later part of the book we learn about key events from Maurice’s point of view. This only works if he has something to add, a radically different perspective, an intriguing justification. He doesn’t. Boyne also has an annoying tic of writing dialogue scenes as if they were verbatim, which means he often repeats at length stories the reader has already read. Why he can’t just write ‘I told him about the death of my mother’ and move on, I don’t know.
Maurice was most interesting when seen through the eyes of others, when he had the dark allure of a cool, calculating psychopath. When you start learning what he thinks himself, it’s quite banal. Perhaps that’s the intention, he is, after all, a man who can’t make up a story, but that and a slightly laboured twist meant that, for me, the end of the book didn’t live up to the rest.
*
I received a copy of A Ladder to the Sky from the publisher via Netgalley.
This review first appeared on my blog katevane.com/blog
A Ladder to the Sky is the story of an attractive young man, Maurice, who wants to be a writer. He uses his looks and charm to attach himself to a series of successful authors across the world.
Show More
He builds his own career as a novelist by stealing stories from them, while leaving a trail of destruction in his wake.Boyne is having fun with the well-worn question, ‘Where do you get your ideas from?’ and wondering what would happen to an author who could write good prose but couldn’t invent a story of his own. I’m not sure I accept the premise – I’ve read plenty of literary novels where the prose is gorgeous but the story weak and unrealised and that doesn’t seem to stop them winning awards. But it’s a fun idea and a playful treatment.
I loved the black comedy and Maurice’s trajectory through literary circles. It’s a world that’s familiar to me from the days when I was on the fringes of traditional publishing, albeit at a lower level. I think the constant hustling, the fine line between adoration and envy, the comparisonitis are due to the fact that the conventional markers of success – salary, job title, professional qualifications – are absent so your status is always shifting. The intriguing question is why Maurice, with his good looks and easy opportunism, doesn’t inveigle himself into a more glamorous and lucrative business.
Perhaps the same things that make people want to write and be among writers – the love of the craft, the desire to belong to a world of books and ideas – apply to him too. It suggests that his passion for literature is genuine, even if the rest of him is a lie.
A few real writers make an appearance in the novel which is fun and adds to the writerly in-jokiness of the thing. There is an interlude written from the point of view of Gore Vidal which is quite entertaining if you’re a fan, and works by Maude Avery, the fictional novelist from The Heart’s Invisible Furies, are namechecked.
The irony, of course, is that Maurice is constantly inventing in life, with his trail of deceit and manipulation. But it seems Maurice can’t get to the end, and that’s true of this novel as well.
In the later part of the book we learn about key events from Maurice’s point of view. This only works if he has something to add, a radically different perspective, an intriguing justification. He doesn’t. Boyne also has an annoying tic of writing dialogue scenes as if they were verbatim, which means he often repeats at length stories the reader has already read. Why he can’t just write ‘I told him about the death of my mother’ and move on, I don’t know.
Maurice was most interesting when seen through the eyes of others, when he had the dark allure of a cool, calculating psychopath. When you start learning what he thinks himself, it’s quite banal. Perhaps that’s the intention, he is, after all, a man who can’t make up a story, but that and a slightly laboured twist meant that, for me, the end of the book didn’t live up to the rest.
*
I received a copy of A Ladder to the Sky from the publisher via Netgalley.
This review first appeared on my blog katevane.com/blog
Show Less
LibraryThing member Castlelass
Maurice Swift has always wanted to be an acclaimed author. He is obsessed with it. He can write well. The only problem is that his books are boring. He has trouble coming up with ideas. What to do?
This is not a book for anyone looking for a likeable protagonist. We spend a lot of time in the head
I am quite surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. In addition to an entertaining story, albeit dark and disturbing in parts, it is also a clever send-up of the world of book prizes. It is hard to say too much without spoiling. It is well-written, well-crafted, the characters are deeply drawn, and the execution is brilliant!
This is not a book for anyone looking for a likeable protagonist. We spend a lot of time in the head
Show More
of a narcissist. We also get the perspective of Swift’s wife and an acclaimed author he met early in his career. The perspectives are chosen to gradually reveal Swift’s character and schemes. I am quite surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. In addition to an entertaining story, albeit dark and disturbing in parts, it is also a clever send-up of the world of book prizes. It is hard to say too much without spoiling. It is well-written, well-crafted, the characters are deeply drawn, and the execution is brilliant!
Show Less
LibraryThing member nivramkoorb
This is my first John Boyne book but it won't be my last. This story started slowly but ended up being an engrossing well written story. The main character is Maurice Swift and we are introduced to him in West Berlin in 1988. He is English and is an aspiring author. The problem is that he doesn't
Show More
have any plot ideas so he has to steal other people's plots etc. Boyne does a fascinating job of telling the story that covers almost 30 years through the thoughts of 3 narrators. Maurice is a classic villain and though you may hate him there were times that I actually bought some of his rationale for his actions. The book also does a good job of looking at the whole publishing author prize winning industry. If you enjoy a good villain, then you will love this book. Show Less
LibraryThing member PinkPurlandProse
Many thanks to Netgalley, Crown Publishing and John Boyne for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are 100% my own and independent of receiving an advanced copy.
Get ready to dive into a tale of deceit and subterfuge as you discover what make Maurice Swift tick. All Maurice wants to
This character reminds me a bit of “The Talented Mr. Ripley”. As I learned more about Maurice, I realized this wasn’t so much an arc of this character’s descent into evil, rather, he is so cold, calculated, and unfeeling, with psychopathic tendencies, that I realized he doesn’t have a moral centre at all. His wife, Edith, wonders if he ever loved her. She couldn’t believe that even in the beginning it wasn’t a real love. The relationship with his son really illustrates how he is incapable of emotion. Claiming he always wanted a son as much as he wanted to become a writer, he finds a surrogate and along comes Daniel. Daniel is a perfect child, but reality does not live up to what Maurice thinks and he says that “he always had expected to feel unadulterated love for a child…but things hadn’t quite worked out that way”. No parental feelings of love developed, even his own child can’t stir his heart. Psychopaths can only copy the outward actions of people, because they don’t have the emotions to guide them. Watching Maurice’s story unfold and following his rise and fall is thrilling and beautiful.
Boyle has a unique voice. I love the way this was written. Suspenseful, but not in a whodunit kind of way. It flows beautifully and I was so excited to keep reading. The characters are rich, well drawn and you can’t help but feel for Maurice’s victims, even those who should have known better. My heart broke for Erich, Dash, Edith, but mostly for Daniel. Gore Vidal was delicious. Yes, Maurice doesn’t have any redeeming qualities, but I was still drawn in by him. His ability to pick his targets and like a spider, spin a web that they are powerless to escape from. The ending was completely satisfying, everything I could hope for. This was just a great read and I enjoyed every bit of it.
Get ready to dive into a tale of deceit and subterfuge as you discover what make Maurice Swift tick. All Maurice wants to
Show More
be is a writer. A writer and a father. But not just any writer, a famous bestselling, award winning author. He is an excellent writer, the only problem is that he doesn’t have any original ideas - not even one. Maurice’s ambition is not going to let a little thing like that stop him. Why should it? By using people, stealing their stories and leaving a trail of crushed spirits (and bodies) behind him, he manages to publish successful novels. How far will he go? Will he commit the ultimate sin to get his story? This character reminds me a bit of “The Talented Mr. Ripley”. As I learned more about Maurice, I realized this wasn’t so much an arc of this character’s descent into evil, rather, he is so cold, calculated, and unfeeling, with psychopathic tendencies, that I realized he doesn’t have a moral centre at all. His wife, Edith, wonders if he ever loved her. She couldn’t believe that even in the beginning it wasn’t a real love. The relationship with his son really illustrates how he is incapable of emotion. Claiming he always wanted a son as much as he wanted to become a writer, he finds a surrogate and along comes Daniel. Daniel is a perfect child, but reality does not live up to what Maurice thinks and he says that “he always had expected to feel unadulterated love for a child…but things hadn’t quite worked out that way”. No parental feelings of love developed, even his own child can’t stir his heart. Psychopaths can only copy the outward actions of people, because they don’t have the emotions to guide them. Watching Maurice’s story unfold and following his rise and fall is thrilling and beautiful.
Boyle has a unique voice. I love the way this was written. Suspenseful, but not in a whodunit kind of way. It flows beautifully and I was so excited to keep reading. The characters are rich, well drawn and you can’t help but feel for Maurice’s victims, even those who should have known better. My heart broke for Erich, Dash, Edith, but mostly for Daniel. Gore Vidal was delicious. Yes, Maurice doesn’t have any redeeming qualities, but I was still drawn in by him. His ability to pick his targets and like a spider, spin a web that they are powerless to escape from. The ending was completely satisfying, everything I could hope for. This was just a great read and I enjoyed every bit of it.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Sbojo32
Ladder to the Sky is the second John Boyne book I've read (The Heart's Invisible Furies was one of my favorite reads for 2018). Boyne's writing is amazing, although I did not enjoy this story as much as The Heart's Invisible Furies. What's interesting is that Boyne chose to write this book
Maurice is introduced early in the book, although at that point, it is not clear that Maurice is the main character. Rather, the book goes through all of the people that influenced Maurice's career. The reader gets insight into his head and how he justifies all of his actions.
It's hard to like a book with such an awful main character, but I did like this one. Boyne is an amazing writer and I devoured this book. It did start a bit slow, but once I got to the second part, I couldn't put it down. I would highly recommend this to others, especially those who liked any of Boyne's other works.
Show More
detailing a character who is, in a word, despicable.Maurice is introduced early in the book, although at that point, it is not clear that Maurice is the main character. Rather, the book goes through all of the people that influenced Maurice's career. The reader gets insight into his head and how he justifies all of his actions.
It's hard to like a book with such an awful main character, but I did like this one. Boyne is an amazing writer and I devoured this book. It did start a bit slow, but once I got to the second part, I couldn't put it down. I would highly recommend this to others, especially those who liked any of Boyne's other works.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Whisper1
Normally, I very much like the books of John Boyne, but this one fell flat. One dimensional characters with a story line that somehow never delivered the story of Maurice Swift, a con who develops relationships with authors, and then not only copies the story line, but outlines secrets in the life
Moving on, Swift finds another author to copy and ruin.
Only two stars for this one.
Show More
of the author. In one case, leading to the tragedy of a well-known author when his life is splayed and copied.Moving on, Swift finds another author to copy and ruin.
Only two stars for this one.
Show Less
LibraryThing member rmarcin
I was fascinated by the stories told by the real writers in this novel, but I didn't like Maurice Swift at all, which is why I didn't rate this book very highly. It just wasn't for me.
Maurice is a manipulative thief and an evil person, bent on one thing - to be recognized as a great writer. He
#ALadderToTheSky #JohnBoyne
Maurice is a manipulative thief and an evil person, bent on one thing - to be recognized as a great writer. He
Show More
stops at nothing to achieve his goal, and if anyone gets in his way, he destroys them. #ALadderToTheSky #JohnBoyne
Show Less
LibraryThing member JReynolds1959
Maurice Swift has two desires to accomplish with his life. He wants to become a world-renowned writer and become a father. Maurice goes about these endeavours meticulously and unscrupulously. He is a very good-looking man and uses that to attach himself to some very important people. Uses them and
Does he climb that ladder to the sky?
Show More
then drops them. Does he climb that ladder to the sky?
Show Less
Awards
Dublin Literary Award (Longlist — 2020)
Publishing Triangle Awards (Finalist — Ferro-Grumley Award for LGBTQ Fiction — 2019)
Irish Book Award (Nominee — Novel — 2018)
Kerry Group Irish Fiction Award (Shortlist — 2019)
BookTube Prize (Finalist — Fiction — 2019)
Chicago Public Library Best of the Best: Adults (Selection — 2018)