A ladder to the sky
a novel
Readers rate it 4.1 (78 on Hardcover)
362 pages · Released 2018 · Hogarth
Content report card
A ladder to the sky parent’s guide: what’s inside
Violence
Language
What it offers
Positive role models
Educational value
A note for parents
This is a sophisticated literary novel for adults that explores dark psychological themes including ambition, manipulation, and betrayal—not a children's or YA title. The protagonist is morally corrupt and unloveable, using people for personal gain, and the narrative rewards cynicism rather than virtue. While LGBTQ+ themes are present and central to the character, the overall content—including sexual situations, mature psychological complexity, and the protagonist's predatory behavior—makes this appropriate only for mature teen readers at minimum and primarily for adults.
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From the publisher
Aspiring writer Maurice Swift, whose desire for fame exceeds his talent, uses a chance meeting with celebrated novelist Erich Ackermann in a West Berlin hotel in 1988 to obtain secrets about Ackermann's wartime activities, which becomes material for his first novel. Once Maurice has had a taste of literary fame, he kno... Aspiring writer Maurice Swift, whose desire for fame exceeds his talent, uses a chance meeting with celebrated novelist Erich Ackermann in a West Berlin hotel in 1988 to obtain secrets about Ackermann's wartime activities, which becomes material for his 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.
Shelved under
- Authors
- Betrayal
- Ambition
- Novelists
- Fame
- Fiction
- New York Times reviewed
- Fiction, psychological
- FICTION / Literary
- FICTION / Psychological
- FICTION / LGBT / Bisexual
- Ferro-Grumley Award for LGBTQ Fiction Finalist
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ISBN 9781984823014 · Hogarth