A dark and compelling read, John Boye's latest novel introduces us to the despicable yet interesting character of Maurice an attractive young man who wants to be a famous writer and he uses and abuses his contacts and family to get exactly what he wants in life

After reading the blurb of this novel I wasn't too sure if I wanted to read this one or not as the story line just didn't appeal to me but John Boyne writing always lures me in and I just had to purchase a copy as I figured this one would be worth discussing even if the story didn't appeal to me.

I did enjoy the book and found the character of Maurice horrible but fascinating and so well written. Spanning three decades the story is told by different narrators which was entertaining in itself and the first section of the novel was my favourite. The age old question that writers keep getting asked ". Where do you get your ideas from is at the heart of this story and John Boyne takes the idea and has a little fun with it.
Having read quite a few of Boyne's novels A ladder to the sky while not my absolute favourite is certainly worth reading and a great story that I enjoyed from start to finish. There is suspense and dark humour in this one and I did enjoy the little mention of the character of Maud Avery from [bc:The Heart's Invisible Furies|33253215|The Heart's Invisible Furies|John Boyne|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1490803456s/33253215.jpg|51438471].

This is one that I think bookclubs would enjoy disecting as lots to discuss in this one. ( )

***NO SPOILERS***

A Ladder to the Sky is the story of villain Maurice Swift, a writer desperate to achieve literary fame but lacking the necessary skill. For others in a similar situation the dream would remain a dream forever, but Maurice is different. Where he is skilled is in conning people, and he wields his charm and cunning to attain his heart’s desire: his life is punctuated by carefully orchestrated encounters with famous writers that he can potentially seduce. John Boyne placed readers inside this disturbing man’s mind in some sections; in others, he placed them in the mind of Maurice's _targets (or would-be _targets). These varied perspectives show specifically how this dishonest character operates as he ages from twenty-two at the beginning to sixty-something by the end.

This is a bleak story. Readers spend 362 pages immersed in the world of Maurice, and a few other minor (but just as unscrupulous) villains play their parts too. All of these characters cause unspeakable harm to their victim(s), cementing this as a book with a very cynical view of humankind. This isn’t a criticism, though; Boyne wanted to write about the dark side of humanity and he achieved what he set out to do. The result is an engaging read that surprises and piques curiosity throughout. He especially deserves praise for making his main character a villain. Because readers are naturally biased against villainous characters, centering an entire story on one is bold, and a thorough fleshing-out and a detailed backstory is necessary to humanize them.

Maurice as he presents himself to the world is well fleshed out. As he interacts with others, his swagger comes through vividly, as does his confidence in his good looks. Dialogue is natural, so he’s easy to hear too. He's slick, and how he can cast a spell on people is obvious. However, he’s a simple villain, coolly psychopathic, with no guilt, regret, doubt, or even an ounce of fear to inhibit him. Boyne spent a lot of time on the portrayal, mostly in showing how Maurice works hard to con all kinds of people, but he neglected to explore what truly compels this character to crave fame so much that he’ll engage people in long, elaborate cons. There was no probing of the character’s inner life so readers could appreciate the context for the evil behavior, or sympathize with him on some level. This would have been a fuller story with some of this background--or, if he was born that way, what his childhood looked like. Maybe Boyne intended for his villain to really be this simple, but when all is said and done, Maurice seems like a caricature.

Despite this flaw, A Ladder to the Sky as a whole does have dimension and complexity. What drives it is obviously the interesting philosophical question that’s no doubt been debated since books were first written and published: To what extent do writers own stories? Also confronted is the subject of morality. Most of the underhanded behavior in this story (whether from Maurice or others) is inarguably immoral, but some behavior raises the question of whether youthful impulsiveness or a noble end goal can exempt the culprit.

The book pushes readers to ponder these things--but via an intense, tragic story that can be emotionally draining. A Ladder to the Sky is superbly written and smartly organized, but reading about an unapologetically abhorrent person and the pain he causes others is just hard. To say this book is enjoyable doesn’t sound right. It’s more like it’s captivating to see just how far the main character will go in each new situation with new characters. It’s definitely not a book for everyone and not one many readers will care to revisit. ( )

Book 228
Loaned to me by John Baldwin. Lesley Baldwin tell him I absolutely loved it. A ladder to the Sky by John Boyne (boy in striped pyjamas). The book starts in 1988 and spans maybe 30 yrs. My favourite character was the homosexual Erich and I loved the description of him watching his naked friend swimming (afraid his "desire would be all too visible"). As time moves on the main character Maurice develops and so does the language and plot.
Recommend to Janet Elizabeth Conway Leslie Moffitt Hey Anne Boyce any of you readers!
10/10 ( )

Fantastic read, absolutely knocked my socks off. The portion that is told from the point of view of Edith was really intense, it felt like I was holding my breath for the whole chapter. I love what the author did with the characters, the plot, the writing, every bit of it worked for me. Highly recommend. ( )

It took me a long time to get into this book, in part because of all of the hustle and bustle of the holidays, but also in part because I just did not care for it at first. Had it not been written by John Boyne, whose “The Heart’s Invisible Furies” was among my favorite books of 2017, I might have simply abandoned it. But after the holidays, I sat down with it, determined to see it through to the end. I am glad I did. Brilliant writing and storytelling and well worth my time. If I have any criticism at all it would be that, in my view, Mr. Boyne broke a cardinal rule of writing: grab your readers from the beginning. Had this been his first novel and I had not loved the first book of his I read, I might have abandoned this, given the now immense to-read pile that has amassed during the last several months as we dealt with family matters. I suppose successful writers can get away with breaking the rules though, and the payoff in the end was nothing short of masterful. The main character, Maurice Swift, is one of the most despicable, fully-developed characters, I have ever encountered in literature - a train wreck of a human being from whom I could not divert my eyes. I might have given it less than five stars because of how I was not grabbed at the start, but four stars was too low, so five it is. ( )