Review: A Ladder to the Sky (2018) by John Boyne

A Ladder to the Sky is different from my usual reading which leans toward the hardboiled and noir. But members of several book groups on Facebook mentioned Boyne often enough that I decided to give him a try. I am glad I did because I greatly enjoyed this twisted saga of a man's ambitions.

Maurice Swift wants nothing more than to be an acclaimed author. He has the drive but unfortunately lacks the talent. What he is skilled at is appropriating other people's stories as his own. Maurice is a character the reader has to despise. His actions, what he does to people makes you want to see him brought down...hard.

Click on cover to
view on Amazon

The book has an interesting structure. There are three, first person narratives. These narratives are separated by two second person interludes that highlight an event in Maurice's life. I don't want to say much about the first person narratives because it might spoil the story but it isn't giving anything away to say that the first shows Maurice as a young man beginning his ascent. Just to entice you, the first interlude has Maurice spending the night in Gore Vidal's villa. With Vidal's acerbic wit, this was a fun bit. As I read the first narrative, I thought of Patricia Highsmith's Thomas Ripley. Like Ripley, Maurice is immoral and likely a psychopath.

I'm not sure how to do justice to Boyne's style but the three narratives in three voices and the two interludes flow into a compelling story that is difficult to put down. This is an excellent story about obsession, delusion, and the craft of writing. A Ladder to the Sky is likely to remain one of my top reads of 2019.