20181027_135313.jpgHappy Thursday!  Today I have a review of John Boyne’s newest, much-anticipated release, A Ladder to the Sky, publishing via Crown and Hogarth on November 13, 2018!

My Thoughts:

My first book by John Boyne, and I’d say it’s rather impressive! 

Maurice Swift is at the center of this story. He is a handsome fellow and people like him; however, he only cares about success. His own, as a writer. At any cost.

The story begins in West Berlin in 1988. Swift is a waiter in a hotel when he meets famous novelist Erich Ackermann. While he makes fast friends with Ackermann, he takes advantage and lures a scandalous secret about his behavior during World War II. 

Swift sees this as free fodder for the book he wants to write. That begins his path to success, and onwards and upwards he travels until he no longer knows the truth from fiction, or even who he is anymore. 

Wow, Swift is a character you will quickly love to hate. As much as I disliked him, completely abhorred him, I was entranced with his story and had to know how far he would go for his next story. 

Boyne’s writing is what everyone says it is. Smooth, buttery, intricately detailed, smart, and completely absorbing. Maurice Swift made my skin crawl with his hatred for humankind (and probably himself) and his complete moral disregard. When a character turns your stomach in that way, you know you’ve been on a powerful journey. 

Thank you to Crown Publishing and Hogarth Books for the complimentary ARC. All opinions are my own. 

Synopsis:

The new novel from the beloved New York Times bestselling author of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas and The Heart’s Invisible Furies , a seductive Highsmithian psychodrama following one brilliant, ruthless man who will stop at nothing in his pursuit of fame

Maurice Swift is handsome, charming, and hungry for success. 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…

Have you read A Ladder to the Sky, or is it on your TBR? Happy Reading! ~ Jennifer THR