A Ladder to the Sky
Complex
Dark
Unpredictable

A Ladder to the Sky

John Boyne2018
A seductive, unputdownable psychodrama following one brilliant, ruthless man who will stop at nothing in his pursuit of success 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.
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Jordan@jordanfischerr
4 stars
May 28, 2024
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karol tang@karolrtang
4 stars
Nov 16, 2023
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Vilandra@vilandra
4 stars
Mar 17, 2023
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Cierra Conner@cconne17
3.5 stars
Mar 4, 2023
Complex
Thought provoking
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Sebastián@chevy
4 stars
Oct 5, 2022
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Celeste Richardson@cecereadsandsings
4 stars
Aug 11, 2022
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courtney garrison@simplycourtney
4 stars
Aug 10, 2022
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Nooshin@nooshin
1 star
Mar 30, 2022
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Cariena@cariena
4 stars
Mar 9, 2022
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Jennifer Dieter@jdeets03
5 stars
Dec 30, 2021
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María Belén@mbferreyra
3 stars
Dec 13, 2021
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Pepper@pepperoni
5 stars
Nov 1, 2021
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Laura@lastblues13
3 stars
Aug 28, 2021
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Andrea Hak-Kovacs@andreareads
4 stars
Mar 22, 2024
Edgy
Easy read
Refreshing
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Gemma McCarthy@geesmcc
5 stars
Aug 21, 2022
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julia@lastautumn
5 stars
Dec 19, 2021
Bold
Dark
Unpredictable
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Lennox Johnson @bookish_rex
4 stars
Dec 16, 2021
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Shivam@impalala
3 stars
Jun 20, 2024
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Heather Margaret@heatherdarling
5 stars
Jun 9, 2024
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Ditipriya Acharya@diti
4 stars
May 31, 2024
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Marc Bacvanski@mbacvanski
5 stars
Dec 18, 2023
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Kyle Curry@kcurry24
4 stars
Nov 22, 2023
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Jannis M@jmm
5 stars
Jun 13, 2023
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Kate Hall@katethegreat
5 stars
Feb 16, 2023