A Ladder to the Sky: A Novel

Written by John Boyne

Narrated by Richard E. Grant, Richard Cordery, Nina Sosanya and Laurence Kennedy

“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

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
• Release date: Nov 13, 2018
• ISBN: 9781984846198

John Boyne

John Boyne (Dublín, 1971) se formó en el Trinity College y en la Universidad de East Anglia (Norwich). El niño con el pijama de rayas (Salamandra, 2007), su novela más famosa, obtuvo dos Irish Book Awards y fue finalista del British Book Award, se ha traducido a cincuenta y siete idiomas y ha vendido once millones de ejemplares en todo el mundo. En España, fue galardonada con el Premio de los Lectores 2007 de la revista Qué Leer y permaneció más de un año en las listasde libros más vendidos. Entre la amplia obra narrativa de Boyne, publicada por Salamandra, destacan también Motín en la Bounty, La casa del propósito especial, La apuesta, El ladrón de tiempo, En el corazón del bosque, El pacifista, El secreto de Gaudlin Hall, Las huellas del silencio, Las furias invisibles del corazón y Todas las piezas rotas.

Reviews for A Ladder to the Sky

[castlelass · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

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 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!

[whisper1_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

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 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.

[bibliophageoncoffee · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is the second John Boyne book that I've read and loved. I may have to add him to my list of favorite authors if I read one more book of his that's this good.

[jreynolds1959 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

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 then drops them.
Does he climb that ladder to the sky?

[nog_5 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Rapidly becomes cartoonish and implausible. Boyne has a knack for structure and dialogue, but here he is unable to create more than one-dimensional characters (who for the most part are naive and clueless) in service to a silly plot line. Swift is fashioned as perhaps the most unbelievable sociopath in modern fiction. If this is typical of what is considered serious literature these days, I may have to stick with the classics I haven't read yet. (Also, I was disgusted at the conceit that he could put words in the mouth of Gore Vidal as part of this enterprise.)

[sashig-751155 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Must read! This book will suprise youp with its twists and turns. A fuller review will be posted after bookclub meeting in early Feb.

[msf59 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

“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 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.

[kcshankd · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Ugh, very hard to read as this is a truly awful story, well done. I really rather I hadn't read it - felt obligated by trusting the editors of the Indiespensable series at Powells.

[runner56_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A colourful, lusty comical look into the life of one Maurice Swift, who is both flamboyant and arrogant, in his attempt to become a world famous novelist. The only problem is that Swift had zero talent as an author and resorts to plagiarism to achieve his aims. As a narcissist he has no consideration or indeed cares about the needs and welfare of others and is quite happy to to sacrifice his closest friends to achieve his misguided aims and ambitions. Lovely lyrical writing by one of Ireland's finest authors and I enjoyed immensely.

[rmarcin-630843 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

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 stops at nothing to achieve his goal, and if anyone gets in his way, he destroys them.

#ALadderToTheSky #JohnBoyne

[nivramkoorb · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

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 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.

[muddyboy · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

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 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.

[slevyr26 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

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.

[janismack · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

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 but not in the way you would think.

[sbojo32 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

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 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.

[pdebolt_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

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 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.

[susan.macura · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

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 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.

[dbsovereign · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

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 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.

[breic-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

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 "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.

[erickas-3 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

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. 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.

[nancyadair-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

John Boyne's novel The Heart's Invisible Furies was one of my favorite books of 2017. If the protagonist of Furies was sympathetic, the main character in Boyne's new book A Ladder to the Sky offers readers an entirely different type of character. For Maurice Swift uses everyone to advance his obsession to become a lionized writer of prize-winning books. On his way to the top, he breaks hearts and ruins and even ends lives. We despise him while finding him fascinating


The story has a noir quality as Swift's crimes become darker. I was reminded of The Talented Mr. Ripely by Patrician Highsmith. One feels almost guilty about how enjoyable it is to read about very bad people.

The people Swift has used as rungs up the ladder tell their stories, until the end when we finally hear from a declining Swift. It is a compelling story.

I received a free ebook from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.