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. (Pub Date: Nov 13, 2018)
My first Boyne that doesn't get five stars. Far from it, unfortunately.
Maurice is an ambitious young man who wants to be famous and to become a father. He's always wanted to write a novel but faces problems creating the story itself, that's when he befriends a famous author and finds out he has a real story that would be perfect to put on paper, even if that could destroy his friend.
The book could actually be divided in three parts, that summary only covers the first, as Maurice's ambition doesn't stop there. It's narrated from various point of views and we just reach Maurice's later in the final third. Even though I found those characters relatable enough, I had issues connecting to the main story. The third narrator, a female writer with obvious issues of Imposter Syndrome, was supposed to be the easiest one to relate, for example. And yet, it was the slowest part of the book. It only really started feeling good after her part. There wasn't improvement enough, though.
Boyne's writing style is fabulous, it's incredibly pleasing, and that's what saves the book from being actually bad. But the plot... it talks so much about writers it felt a little embarrassing wondering how much that wasn't from Boyne's own experience or even a self insertion.
For a while, before the final third, I was wondering if Boyne took one character from The Heart's Invisible Furies (the adoptive father) and transplanted here to be Maurice. This is only my third book by him so maybe that's just his pattern for character—very probable—, but I couldn't not comment this thought. I don't know why I loved the former and never really got to care enough for the latter. Not even enough to want him damned in hell for his actions—though he deserves it.
The thing is that this isn't that bad. The writing is great, as mentioned. The characters are round and diverse. We have a female character and I didn't see any of the usual "this is a woman written by a man" irritating quirks. There's lots of food for thoughts, as all Boyne's books. We have plot twists, ironies etc, you'd also expect from Boyne. It's just not interesting enough. Definitely not one I'll recommend to those who don't know this author.
Of course, as I reached the middle and still felt unamused, I did what I rarely do—I checked the reviews. I'm aware most fell in love with this book, so there's a high chance you will, too. But I don't recommend it, unless you're a fan. I love Boyne and I don't regret this.
Honest review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.
Rating: 3 out of 5.
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