內容簡介
《穿條紋衣的男孩》作者約翰‧波恩全新力作
《天才雷普利》和《妻子》的完美驚悚結合，打造貓捉老鼠般的懸疑與狡詐
「這是一部向派翠西亞‧海史密斯、王爾德和愛倫‧坡致敬的作品，但又充滿波恩獨特的寫作風格。」－《華盛頓郵報》
英俊又迷人的Maurice Swift一心只想成名。偏偏他最缺乏的就是天賦，但他絕不會讓這種小事阻礙他的前途，畢竟好的故事到處都有，不一定非得是他的原創作品。
1988年他在西柏林的一家飯店擔任服務生，也因此讓他遇到千載難逢的機會：巧遇知名小說家Erich Ackermann。很快地他和這位富有權力和名望，卻又非常寂寞的老作家混熟，誘使他透漏了一生中隱藏已久的祕密，一個和大戰時期有關的秘密。這簡直就是Maurice的絕佳故事題材。
終於Maurice嚐到成名的甜頭，他知道再也沒有任何理由可以阻擋他放棄向上爬的機會。搬到阿瑪菲海岸時和小說家戈爾·維達爾鬥智，在曼哈頓和倫敦展現他欺騙和操弄人心的天份，憑藉著冷血登上權威的巔峰。但當他越爬越高，他也注定將越跌越深…。
故事時空橫跨20世紀末期，這部小說宛如一幅迷人的畫像，描繪了一個無情和缺乏道德的男子，高超的故事敘述，絕對是約翰‧波恩近期最完美的傑作。
《天才雷普利》和《妻子》的完美驚悚結合，打造貓捉老鼠般的懸疑與狡詐
「這是一部向派翠西亞‧海史密斯、王爾德和愛倫‧坡致敬的作品，但又充滿波恩獨特的寫作風格。」－《華盛頓郵報》
英俊又迷人的Maurice Swift一心只想成名。偏偏他最缺乏的就是天賦，但他絕不會讓這種小事阻礙他的前途，畢竟好的故事到處都有，不一定非得是他的原創作品。
1988年他在西柏林的一家飯店擔任服務生，也因此讓他遇到千載難逢的機會：巧遇知名小說家Erich Ackermann。很快地他和這位富有權力和名望，卻又非常寂寞的老作家混熟，誘使他透漏了一生中隱藏已久的祕密，一個和大戰時期有關的秘密。這簡直就是Maurice的絕佳故事題材。
終於Maurice嚐到成名的甜頭，他知道再也沒有任何理由可以阻擋他放棄向上爬的機會。搬到阿瑪菲海岸時和小說家戈爾·維達爾鬥智，在曼哈頓和倫敦展現他欺騙和操弄人心的天份，憑藉著冷血登上權威的巔峰。但當他越爬越高，他也注定將越跌越深…。
故事時空橫跨20世紀末期，這部小說宛如一幅迷人的畫像，描繪了一個無情和缺乏道德的男子，高超的故事敘述，絕對是約翰‧波恩近期最完美的傑作。
A seductive, unputdownable psychodrama following one cunning, ruthless man who will stop at nothing in his pursuit of success
“Clever, chilling, and beautifully paced; a study of inner corrosion that Patricia Highsmith herself could not have done better.” -- The Times (London)
Maurice Swift is handsome, charming, and hungry for fame. 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…
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.