ALadderTo The Sky

John Boyne Doubleday €15.99

Maurice Swift is a young would-be novelist from Yorkshire with little talent but boundless ambition. Trading on his good looks, he establishes himself by latching on to a gay older writer, whom he ruthlessly exploits and discards before then moving on to another. When, in middle age, he finds his career stalled, he resorts to even more extreme measures – including murder. The Dublin author’s sprightly yarn offers a damning portrait of the literary world. It should be required reading for anyone tempted to try their luck as a writer.