A Ladder to the Sky
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A Ladder to the Sky
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Narrated by:
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Richard E. Grant
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Laurence Kennedy
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Richard Cordery
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Nina Sosanya
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By:
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John Boyne
About this listen
Random House presents the audiobook edition of A Ladder to the Sky by John Boyne, read by Richard E. Grant, Richard Cordery, Nina Sosanya and Laurence Kennedy.
A psychological drama of cat and mouse, A Ladder to the Sky shows how easy it is to achieve the world if you are prepared to sacrifice your soul.
If you look hard enough, you can find stories pretty much anywhere. They don’t even have to be your own. Or so would-be writer Maurice Swift decides very early on in his career.
A chance encounter in a Berlin hotel with celebrated novelist Erich Ackermann gives him an opportunity to ingratiate himself with someone more powerful than him. For Erich is lonely, and he has a story to tell. Whether or not he should do so is another matter entirely.
Once Maurice has made his name, he sets off in pursuit of other people’s stories. He doesn’t care where he finds them – or to whom they belong – as long as they help him rise to the top.
Stories will make him famous but they will also make him beg, borrow and steal. They may even make him do worse.
Critic reviews
"A deliciously dark tale of ambition, seduction and literary theft . . . compelling and terrifying, powerful and intensely unsettling. In Maurice Swift, Boyne has given us an unforgettable protagonist, dangerous and irresistible in equal measure. The result is an ingeniously conceived novel that confirms Boyne as one of the most assured writers of his generation." (Hannah Beckerman)
"Everything the wonderful Irish novelist John Boyne writes is special...a highly entertaining read" (Jake Kerridge)
What listeners say about A Ladder to the Sky
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- peterh
- 31-07-22
Fascinating... literally
I loved this. The third John Boyne I've listened to and so far easily the most inventive and intriguing; really drawing in - and that's saying something when the other two were The Heart's Invisible Furies and A History of Loneliness.
I felt something like a horrified fascination with the central character, which got deeper and deeper, with his monstrousness even bettered at one point by one of the more minor characters who seemed placed there to horrify even further. Bravo! I liked also the phasing of the four parts and the deliberately self-questioning, inward-looking jokiness that I thought I could read into it, and the nods to other authors/genres. Or is that simply John's inventiveness at play?
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 27-04-24
Another great John Boyle
I love his characterisation and the way everything always links together. Excellent at creating heinous but strangely relatable characters.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Bonzo Kane
- 06-09-24
Brilliant
This book is excellent. It’s my first JB book and there will be more to follow.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- karen sinclair
- 01-12-18
Superb
Another superb John Boyne novel. Great reading by Richard E. Grant. Not quite as goof as The Heart’s Invisible Furies - but almost!
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Pen Name
- 16-01-19
Great story.
this is a very well written book. If you like "The Good Liar", you'll love this!
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Tracie Angell
- 16-09-19
Excellent you must read this
I loved everything about this book. I have read many of John Boyne’s books he is by far my favourite author. This is an excellent read and although sad in places the last paragraph had me smiling!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- harperlee
- 06-11-19
Fantastic! Loved it.
Love John Boyne & Loved this book,brilliant main character, so horrible Narcissistic but intriguing.such a great story,kept me gripped,great narration. When I finished it I felt like I wanted to read it all over again.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jackie Burton
- 28-08-24
A great read!
This is my third John Boyle book in a row. This was a very original. I enjoyed it immensely and I highly recommend it!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Emma
- 17-08-18
Impeccably written as usual
Having read all of Boyne’s books, I was excited to start this one. I deliberately didn’t read the blurb so I had no idea what it would be about. The story was very original and whilst I found the first part a bit hard to get into, the rest was easy to listen to continuously (over 2 days.) Sadly it didn’t have the humour that I so loved in Crippen and The Heart’s Invisible furies and it was very hard to find anything to like about the main protagonist or even any of the other characters. That said, I enjoyed it and Boyne remains one of my favourites.
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Aideen O'Riordan
- 20-10-18
Loved this story and the performances. u
This is a fantastic story, the performances are utterly gripping. Found it hard to stop the audio
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1 person found this helpful