Book Review: “A Ladder to the Sky”

A Ladder to the Sky

John Boyne

Hardcover, 366 pages

Publication Date: August 9, 2018

Publisher: Hogarth Press

Genre: Literary fiction

I seem to be behind the times when it comes to John Boyne. The Irish author is well-known for “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas,” which was turned into a popular film. His 2017 novel, “The Heart’s Invisible Furies,” won Book of the Month’s Book of the Year award as well as the Goldsboro Books Glass Bell award, in addition to nominations for several other awards. Once I heard the rave reviews surrounding his newest release, I decided it was time to figure out why everyone loved him so much.

After finishing “A Ladder to the Sky,” I understand why they do. Boyne wrote a novel so full of effort, intrigue and intelligently put-together plot lines, that I constantly found myself in awe of his storytelling abilities.

I have to say, though, the blurbs for this book are misleading. I thought “A Ladder to the Sky” would be a story about a young man who tricks an old author into revealing life secrets he then uses in a novel of his own. While this does occur, it takes up a small part of the book and then goes on even further. The majority of the book was unexpected and a continual string of surprises, but Boyne pulls it off masterfully.

The aspiring author who steals the secrets of someone much more accomplished is a British man named Maurice Swift. After turning someone else’s life into a novel, Maurice experiences fame for the first time in his life and becomes obsessed with it. His desire to continue being famous causes him to make a series of increasingly rash and violent decisions. He is narcissistic, very likely psychopathic and an excellent villain at the center of “A Ladder to the Sky.”

If I were to say anything less than positive about Boyne’s novel, it would be about the amount of stress I felt while reading. It reminded me of when I read “Gone Girl” over Christmas break. The stakes were so consistently high throughout the text I could barely keep my eyes on one sentence at a time. I kept wanting to skim ahead a few pages so I could see how it all turned out instead of having to deal with the suspense. I managed not to give in to this temptation and read without skipping ahead, but the tense aspect of many plot points made for anything but a comfortable read.

I chalk this up to Boyne’s writing skill as well. Being able to stress out your reader is a mark of well-developed writing, I am sure. And besides the stress, this was a joy to read. I know I can pick up any of his prior novels and have a good read. Boyne’s ability to write such a spanning tale—“A Ladder to the Sky” takes place over multiple decades—while never losing sight of its own story is a truly great feat, indeed.

Paige Holmes is a junior journalism major from Topeka, KS. Reading is her favorite thing to do because it teaches one how to think, imagine and live. Paige believes there is no better way to learn something or be entertained than by reading a book. Her favorite genre of books is fantasy/thriller and her favorite book is ‘Opening Moves’ by Steven James.

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