A Ladder to the Sky
A Novel
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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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Richard Cordery
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Nina Sosanya
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Laurence Kennedy
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By:
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John Boyne
About this listen
"A satire of writerly ambition wrapped in a psychological thriller... An homage to Patricia Highsmith, Oscar Wilde and Edgar Allan Poe, but its execution is entirely Boyne’s own." (Ron Charles, The Washington Post)
Named one of the Best Books of the Year by The Washington Post and Minneapolis Star Tribune
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 20th 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.
Praise for A Ladder to the Sky
"Boyne's mastery of perspective, last seen in The Heart's Invisible Furies, works beautifully here.... Boyne understands that it's far more interesting and satisfying for a reader to see that narcissist in action than to be told a catchall phrase. Each step Maurice Swift takes skyward reveals a new layer of calumny he's willing to engage in, and the desperation behind it...so dark it seems almost impossible to enjoy reading A Ladder to the Sky as much as you definitely will enjoy reading it." (NPR)
"Delicious...spins out over several decades with thrilling unpredictability, following Maurice as he masters the art of co-opting the stories of others in increasingly dubious ways. And while the book reads as a thriller with a body count that would make Highsmith proud, it is also an exploration of morality and art: Where is the line between inspiration and thievery? To whom does a story belong?" (Vanity Fair)
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- By: John Boyne
- Narrated by: Stephen Hogan
- Length: 21 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 7,102
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 6,460
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 6,429
Cyril Avery is not a real Avery - or at least that's what his adoptive parents tell him. And he never will be. But if he isn't a real Avery, then who is he? Born out of wedlock to a teenage girl cast out from her rural Irish community and adopted by a well-to-do if eccentric Dublin couple via the intervention of a hunchbacked Redemptorist nun, Cyril is adrift in the world, anchored only tenuously by his heartfelt friendship with the infinitely more glamourous and dangerous Julian Woodbead.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Outstanding. A Must listen.
- By Keith G on 09-04-17
By: John Boyne
-
At Home with the Templetons
- By: Monica McInerney
- Narrated by: Ulli Birve
- Length: 19 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 72
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 52
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 53
When the Templeton family from England takes up residence in a stately home in country Australia, they set the locals talking – and with good reason. From the outside, the seven Templetons seem so bohemian, peculiar even. No one is more intrigued by the family than their neighbours, single mother Nina Donovan and her young son Tom. Before long, the two families' lives become entwined in unexpected ways.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
A dreadful mistake
- By Julie on 11-14-10
By: Monica McInerney
-
The Sunday Philosophy Club
- An Isabel Dalhousie Mystery
- By: Alexander McCall Smith
- Narrated by: Davina Porter
- Length: 8 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 934
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 610
-
Story3.5 out of 5 stars 604
New York Times best-selling author Alexander McCall Smith, winner of the first-ever Saga Award for Wit, has entertained millions with his beloved No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency mysteries. Now this phenomenally popular author introduces a fresh series, brimming with the charm and humor his stable of dedicated fans can't get enough of.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Advice For Prospective Listeners
- By DCinMI on 02-18-13
-
Jane Bites Back
- By: Michael Thomas Ford
- Narrated by: Katherine Kellgren
- Length: 7 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 96
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 53
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 53
Two hundred years after her death, Jane Austen is still surrounded by the literature she loves, but now it's because she's the owner of Flyleaf Books in a sleepy college town in Upstate New York. Every day she watches her novels fly off the shelves along with dozens of unauthorized sequels, spin-offs, and adaptations. Jane may be undead, but her books have taken on a life of their own.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Utterly Rediculous
- By Tenaya on 05-29-10
-
What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours
- Stories
- By: Helen Oyeyemi
- Narrated by: Ann Marie Gideon, Piter Marek, Bahni Turpin
- Length: 7 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 155
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 133
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 135
In "Books and Roses", one special key opens a library, a garden, and clues to at least two lovers' fates. In "Is Your Blood as Red as This?", an unlikely key opens the heart of a student at a puppeteering school. "'Sorry' Doesn't Sweeten Her Tea" involves a "house of locks", where doors can be closed only with a key - with surprising unobservable developments. And in "If a Book Is Locked There's Probably a Good Reason for That Don't You Think", a key keeps a mystical diary locked (for good reason).
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
clever
- By jared rogerson on 03-15-18
By: Helen Oyeyemi
-
Past Imperfect
- By: Julian Fellowes
- Narrated by: Richard Morant
- Length: 16 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,183
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,034
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,026
Damian Baxter is hugely wealthy and dying. He lives alone in a big house in Surrey, England, looked after by a chauffeur, butler, cook and housemaid. He has but one concern--his fortune in excess of 500 million and who should inherit it on his death.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Read Snobs instead
- By cristina on 02-14-13
By: Julian Fellowes
-
The Golden Notebook
- By: Doris Lessing
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 27 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 530
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 439
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 436
Author Anna Wulf attempts to overcome writer’s block by writing a comprehensive "golden notebook" that draws together the preoccupations of her life, each of which is examined in a different notebook. Anna’s struggle to unify the various strands of her life – emotional, political, and professional – amasses into a fascinating encyclopaedia of female experience in the ‘50s.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Transcendent narration of a masterpiece.
- By @vmarinelli on 07-03-12
By: Doris Lessing
-
My Sister’s Lies
- By: S.D. Robertson
- Narrated by: Emma Pallant
- Length: 11 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 162
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 133
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 132
For a decade, Hannah’s life has been pretty close to perfect - she has a great job, she’s married to Mark, and her child-free existence means she’s free as a bird. The only sadness in her life is a fall-out with her sister Diane, who hasn’t spoken to her in over 10 years. But now Diane is on her doorstep - and this time, she’s got her teenage daughter, Mia, in tow. When Diane asks if Mia can stay with Hannah and Mark for a few days, Hannah is glad of the chance to get to know her niece. But as the days turn into weeks and Diane doesn’t return, Hannah begins to worry....
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
waste of time
- By BaronR on 07-27-19
By: S.D. Robertson
-
Murder at the Mill
- A Mystery (Iris Grey Mysteries, Book 1)
- By: M. B. Shaw
- Narrated by: Penelope Rawlins
- Length: 13 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 76
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 68
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 68
Iris Grey rents a quaint cottage in a picture-perfect Hampshire village, looking to escape from her crumbling marriage. She is drawn to the neighboring Wetherby family and is commissioned to paint a portrait of Dominic Wetherby, a celebrated crime writer. At the Wetherby's Christmas Eve party, the mulled wine is in full flow - but so are tensions and rivalries among the guests. On Christmas Day, the youngest member of the Wetherby family, Lorcan, finds a body in the water. A tragic accident? Or a deadly crime?
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Iris Grey Mysteries
- By Beatrice on 12-09-18
By: M. B. Shaw
-
A Happy Marriage
- A Novel
- By: Rafael Yglesias
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 11 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 88
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 56
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 55
A Happy Marriage is both intimate and expansive: It is the story of Enrique Sabas and his wife, Margaret, a novel that alternates between the romantic misadventures of the first weeks of their courtship and the final months of Margaret’s life as she says good-bye to her family, friends, children, and Enrique.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
A Difficult Review -- A Difficult Read
- By Lulu on 06-04-12
By: Rafael Yglesias
-
Thus Bad Begins
- A Novel
- By: Javier Marias, Margaret Jull Costa
- Narrated by: Robert Fass
- Length: 16 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 50
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 41
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 41
Madrid, 1980. Juan de Vere, nearly finished with his university degree, takes a job as personal assistant to Eduardo Muriel, an eccentric, once-successful film director. Urbane, discreet, irreproachable, Muriel is an irresistible idol to the young man. But Muriel's voluptuous wife, Beatriz, inhabits their home like an unwanted ghost, and on the periphery of their lives is Dr. Jorge Van Vechten, a family friend implicated in unsavory rumors that Muriel now asks Juan to investigate.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Fascinating plot, superb performance, psychological depth
- By Doctor George on 12-05-16
By: Javier Marias, and others
-
Last Rituals: A Novel of Suspense
- Thora Gudmundsdottir, Book 1
- By: Yrsa Sigurdardottir
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Wiley
- Length: 11 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 216
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 201
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 198
At a university in Reykjavík, the body of a young German student is discovered, his eyes cut out and strange symbols carved into his chest. Police waste no time in making an arrest, but the victim's family isn't convinced that the right man is in custody. They ask Thóra Gudmundsdóttir, an attorney and single mother of two, to investigate. It isn't long before Thóra and her associate, Matthew Reich, uncover the deceased student's obsession with Iceland's grisly history of torture, execution, and witch hunts.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
looking forward to Book 2
- By Dr. William J. Kass on 07-22-16
-
The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend
- By: Katarina Bivald
- Narrated by: Fiona Hardingham, Lorelei King
- Length: 12 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,063
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 968
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 968
It all began with a correspondence between two quite different women: 28-year-old Sara from Haninge, Sweden, and 65-year-old Amy from the small town of Broken Wheel, Iowa. After years of exchanging books, letters and thoughts on the meaning of literature and life, Sara, mousy, disheveled, who has never been anywhere in her life--has really lived only for her work in a beloved bookshop, which has just closed its doors for the last time--bravely decides to accept her unknown friend's invitation to visit. But when she arrives, she finds her house empty, the funeral guests just heading home. . .
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Disappointed - no depth & poor narration
- By Kelly on 01-28-16
By: Katarina Bivald
-
Despite the Falling Snow
- By: Shamim Sarif
- Narrated by: Shamim Sarif
- Length: 9 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 39
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 35
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 36
Now a major motion picture. After an early career amongst the political elite of Cold War Russia, Alexander Ivanov has lived in America for 40 years and has managed to bury the tragic memories surrounding his charismatic late wife, Katya - or so he believes. For into his life come two women - one who will start to open up the heart he has protected for so long; another who is determined to uncover the truth about what really happened to Katya all those years ago.
By: Shamim Sarif
-
Losing the Light
- A Novel
- By: Andrea Dunlop
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 10 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 93
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 85
-
Story3.5 out of 5 stars 84
When 30-year-old Brooke Thompson unexpectedly runs into a man from her past, she's plunged headlong into memories she's long tried to forget about the year she spent in France following a disastrous affair with a professor.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Right book for right time
- By Pamela G. on 08-06-18
By: Andrea Dunlop
-
The Road Home
- By: Ford Michael Thomas Ford
- Narrated by: Blake Somerset
- Length: 9 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 82
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 78
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 78
When a car accident leaves photographer Burke Crenshaw in need of temporary full-time care, he finds himself back in the one place no forty-year-old chooses to be--his childhood bedroom. There, in the Vermont home where he grew up, Burke begins the long process of recuperation, and watches as his widowed father finds happiness in a new relationship that's a constant reminder of everything Burke wants and lacks. Exploring local history, Burke discovers an intriguing series of letters from a Civil War soldier to his fianc.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
No need to check your scepticism at the door!
- By Orlando on 08-23-13
-
Open Your Eyes
- By: Paula Daly
- Narrated by: Emma Fenney
- Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 68
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 65
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 64
Jane Campbell avoids confrontation at all costs. Given the choice, she'll always let her husband, Leon, a best-selling thriller author, fight their battles. She'd prefer to focus on the good things in life: precious days with her two young children, a steady and loving marriage, their mischievously playful cat Bonita, and her fulfilling job as a creative-writing teacher. In Jane's eyes, life is altogether sweeter than any individual bump in the road. But when Leon suffers a brutal attack, Jane has to finally face reality.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Finally a book that held my interest
- By PollyAnna2 on 10-13-18
By: Paula Daly
-
Full Circle
- By: Michael Thomas Ford
- Narrated by: Blake Somerset
- Length: 17 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 92
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 86
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 84
History professor Ned Brummel is living happily with his partner of 12 years in small-town Maine when he receives a phone call from his estranged friend - Jack - telling him that another friend - Andy - is very ill and possibly near death. As Ned boards a plane to Chicago on his way to his friend's bedside, he embarks on another journey into memory, examining the major events and small moments that have shaped his world and his relationships with these two very different, very important men.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
To Every Season...
- By Donald on 10-01-13
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,424
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Esther Ann Hicks - Essie - is the youngest child on Six for Hicks, a reality television phenomenon. She's grown up in the spotlight, both idolized and despised for her family's fire-and-brimstone brand of faith. When Essie's mother, Celia, discovers that Essie is pregnant, she arranges an emergency meeting with the show's producers: Do they sneak Essie out of the country for an abortion? Do they pass the child off as Celia's? Or do they try to arrange a marriage - and a ratings-blockbuster wedding?
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Propelled into the priesthood by a family tragedy, Odran Yates is full of hope and ambition. When he arrives at Clonliffe Seminary in the 1970s, it is a time in Ireland when priests are highly respected, and Odran believes that he is pledging his life to "the good."
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5 out of 5 stars
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Part love story, part historical epic, part tragedy, The House of Special Purpose illuminates an empire at the end of its reign. Living in England with his beloved wife, Zoya, Georgy prepares to make one final journey back to the Russia he once knew and loved, the Russia that both destroyed and defined him. As Georgy remembers days gone by, we are transported to Saint Petersburg, to the Winter Palace of the tzar, in the early twentieth century - a time of change, threat, and bloody revolution.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Best book I have read in years!
- By Claudia Valeria Rion on 02-27-16
By: John Boyne
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Some Strange Music Draws Me In
- A Novel
- By: Griffin Hansbury
- Narrated by: Petey Gibson
- Length: 10 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 13
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 13
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Story5 out of 5 stars 13
It’s the summer of 1984 in Swaffham, Massachusetts, when Mel (short for Melanie) meets Sylvia, a tough-as-nails trans woman whose shameless swagger inspires Mel’s dawning self-awareness. But Sylvia’s presence sparks fury among her neighbors and throws Mel into conflict with her mother and best friend. Decades later, in 2019, Max (formerly Mel) is on probation from his teaching job for, ironically, defying speech codes around trans identity. Back in Swaffham, he must navigate life as part of a fractured family and face his own role in the disasters of the past.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Reads like a memoir
- By tribe8fan on 01-06-25
By: Griffin Hansbury
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Slade House
- A Novel
- By: David Mitchell
- Narrated by: Thomas Judd, Tania Rodrigues
- Length: 6 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,490
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,335
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 1,333
Down the road from a working-class British pub, along the brick wall of a narrow alley, if the conditions are exactly right, you'll find the entrance to Slade House. A stranger will greet you by name and invite you inside. At first, you won't want to leave. Later, you'll find that you can't. Every nine years, the house's residents - an odd brother and sister - extend a unique invitation to someone who's different or lonely: a precocious teenager, a recently divorced policeman, a shy college student. But what really goes on inside Slade House? For those who find out, it's already too late....
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3 out of 5 stars
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Grief is an amputation
- By Darwin8u on 10-29-15
By: David Mitchell
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The Boy at the Top of the Mountain
- By: John Boyne
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 38
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 35
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 35
When Pierrot becomes an orphan, he must leave his home in Paris for a new life with his aunt Beatrix, a servant in a wealthy Austrian household. But this is no ordinary time, for it is 1935 and the Second World War is fast approaching; and this is no ordinary house, for this is the Berghof, the home of Adolf Hitler. Pierrot is quickly taken under Hitler's wing and thrown into an increasingly dangerous new world: a world of terror, secrets, and betrayal from which he may never be able to escape.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent story
- By Sandy Horwitz on 09-13-23
By: John Boyne
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The Book of Essie
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- By: Meghan MacLean Weir
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Esther Ann Hicks - Essie - is the youngest child on Six for Hicks, a reality television phenomenon. She's grown up in the spotlight, both idolized and despised for her family's fire-and-brimstone brand of faith. When Essie's mother, Celia, discovers that Essie is pregnant, she arranges an emergency meeting with the show's producers: Do they sneak Essie out of the country for an abortion? Do they pass the child off as Celia's? Or do they try to arrange a marriage - and a ratings-blockbuster wedding?
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5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 338
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Part love story, part historical epic, part tragedy, The House of Special Purpose illuminates an empire at the end of its reign. Living in England with his beloved wife, Zoya, Georgy prepares to make one final journey back to the Russia he once knew and loved, the Russia that both destroyed and defined him. As Georgy remembers days gone by, we are transported to Saint Petersburg, to the Winter Palace of the tzar, in the early twentieth century - a time of change, threat, and bloody revolution.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Best book I have read in years!
- By Claudia Valeria Rion on 02-27-16
By: John Boyne
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Some Strange Music Draws Me In
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 13
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 13
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Story5 out of 5 stars 13
It’s the summer of 1984 in Swaffham, Massachusetts, when Mel (short for Melanie) meets Sylvia, a tough-as-nails trans woman whose shameless swagger inspires Mel’s dawning self-awareness. But Sylvia’s presence sparks fury among her neighbors and throws Mel into conflict with her mother and best friend. Decades later, in 2019, Max (formerly Mel) is on probation from his teaching job for, ironically, defying speech codes around trans identity. Back in Swaffham, he must navigate life as part of a fractured family and face his own role in the disasters of the past.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Grief is an amputation
- By Darwin8u on 10-29-15
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The Boy at the Top of the Mountain
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 38
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 35
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When Pierrot becomes an orphan, he must leave his home in Paris for a new life with his aunt Beatrix, a servant in a wealthy Austrian household. But this is no ordinary time, for it is 1935 and the Second World War is fast approaching; and this is no ordinary house, for this is the Berghof, the home of Adolf Hitler. Pierrot is quickly taken under Hitler's wing and thrown into an increasingly dangerous new world: a world of terror, secrets, and betrayal from which he may never be able to escape.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent story
- By Sandy Horwitz on 09-13-23
By: John Boyne
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More than I Love My Life
- A Novel
- By: David Grossman, Jessica Cohen - translator
- Narrated by: Gilli Messer
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- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 65
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 58
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 56
More Than I Love My Life is the story of three strong women: Vera, age ninety; her daughter, Nina; and her granddaughter, Gili, who at thirty-nine is a filmmaker and a wary consumer of affection. A bitter secret divides each mother and daughter pair, though Gili—abandoned by Nina when she was just three—has always been close to her grandmother.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Disappointing
- By T. Imaging on 11-30-21
By: David Grossman, and others
-
The Wall
- By: John Hersey
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 29 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 32
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 26
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 26
Riveting and compelling, The Wall tells the inspiring story of 40 men and women who escape the dehumanizing horror of the Warsaw ghetto. John Hersey's novel documents the Warsaw ghetto both as an emblem of Nazi persecution and as a personal confrontation with torture, starvation, humiliation, and cruelty - a gripping and visceral story, impossible to pause.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Fascinating
- By Phil on 06-14-21
By: John Hersey
-
The Echo Chamber
- By: John Boyne
- Narrated by: Richard E. Grant
- Length: 14 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 283
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 253
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 251
The Cleverley family live a gilded life, little realising how precarious their privilege is, just one tweet away from disaster. George, the patriarch, is a stalwart of television interviewing, a 'national treasure' (his words); his wife, Beverley, a celebrated novelist; and their children, Nelson, Elizabeth, Achilles, various degrees of catastrophe waiting to happen. Together they will go on a journey of discovery through the Hogarthian jungle of the modern living where past presumptions count for nothing and carefully curated reputations can be destroyed in an instant.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
Delicious, Witty, Hysterical!!
- By Wendi on 09-04-21
By: John Boyne
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The Wildest Sun
- A Novel
- By: Asha Lemmie
- Narrated by: Imani Jade Powers
- Length: 8 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 14
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 14
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 14
When tragedy forces Delphine Auber, an aspiring writer on the cusp of adulthood, from her home in postwar Paris, she seizes the opportunity to embark on the journey she's long dreamed of: finding the father she has never known. But her quest—spanning from Paris to New York’s Harlem, to Havana and Key West—is complicated by the fact that she believes him to be famed luminary Ernest Hemingway, a man just as elusive as he is iconic. She desperately yearns for his approval, as both a daughter and a writer, convinced that he holds the key to who she's truly meant to be.
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4 out of 5 stars
-
delightful, quirky story!
- By Redpen on 03-08-24
By: Asha Lemmie
-
The Brothers K
- By: David James Duncan
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 28 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 36
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 35
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 35
Once in a great while a writer comes along who can truly capture the drama and passion of the life of a family. David James Duncan, author of the novel The River Why and the collection River Teeth, is just such a writer. And in The Brothers K he tells a story both striking and in its originality and poignant in its universality.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Just couldn't go on
- By Susie B on 03-14-24
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When God Was a Rabbit
- By: Sarah Winman
- Narrated by: Sarah Winman
- Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 42
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 41
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 41
Young Elly's world is shaped by those who inhabit it: her loving but maddeningly distractible parents; a best friend who smells of chips and knows exotic words like 'slag'; an ageing fop who tapdances his way into her home, a Shirley Bassey impersonator who trails close behind; lastly, of course, a rabbit called God. In a childhood peppered with moments both ordinary and extraordinary, Elly's one constant is her brother Joe. Twenty years on, Elly and Joe are fully grown and as close as they ever were. Until, that is, an earth-shattering event that threatens to destroy their bond for ever.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Ordinary, Magical Adventures
- By Billye Kay on 12-06-24
By: Sarah Winman
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Ways and Means
- By: Daniel Lefferts
- Narrated by: John Skelley
- Length: 16 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 13
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 12
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 12
Young, handsome, intelligent, and gay, he hopes to escape his Rust Belt poverty and give his mother a better life by pursuing a career in high finance. But by the spring of 2016, Alistair’s plan has come undone: His fantasy banking job has eluded him, he’s mired in student debt, and in his desperation he’s gone to work for an enigmatic billionaire whose ambitions turn out to be far darker than Alistair could have imagined. By the time Alistair uncovers his employer’s secret, his life is in danger and he’s forced to go on the run.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Wow!
- By Justin L. Conforti on 03-04-24
By: Daniel Lefferts
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No One Ever Asked
- A Novel
- By: Katie Ganshert
- Narrated by: Jorjeana Marie
- Length: 12 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 612
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 549
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 551
When an impoverished school district loses its accreditation and the affluent community of Crystal Ridge has no choice but to open their school doors, the lives of three very different women converge: Camille Gray - the wife of an executive, mother of three, long-standing PTA chairwoman, and champion fund-raiser - faced with a shocking discovery; Jen Covington, the career nurse whose long, painful journey to motherhood finally resulted in adoption; and 22-year-old Anaya Jones - the first woman in her family to graduate college and a brand-new teacher at Crystal Ridge's top elementary school, unprepared for the powder-keg situation....
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5 out of 5 stars
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Thought Provoking
- By Tamara on 06-22-18
By: Katie Ganshert
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A Traveler at the Gates of Wisdom
- A Novel
- By: John Boyne
- Narrated by: Tim McInnerny
- Length: 15 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 111
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 92
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Story4 out of 5 stars 94
This story starts with a family. For now, it is a father and a mother with two sons, one with his father’s violence in his blood, one with his mother’s artistry. One leaves. One stays. They will be joined by others whose deeds will determine their fate. It is a beginning. Their stories will intertwine and evolve over the course of 2,000 years. They will meet again and again at different times and in different places. From Palestine at the dawn of the first millennium and journeying across 50 countries to a life among the stars, their destinies remain the same....
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4 out of 5 stars
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AD 2016
- By Warren on 08-24-20
By: John Boyne
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All Our Yesterdays
- A Novel of Lady Macbeth
- By: Joel H. Morris
- Narrated by: Angus King, Ell Potter
- Length: 10 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 5
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 4
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Story5 out of 5 stars 4
Scotland, the 11th Century. Born in a noble household and granddaughter of a forgotten Scottish king, a young girl carries the guilt of her mother’s death and the weight of an unknowable prophecy. When she is married, at fifteen, to the Mormaer of Moray, she experiences firsthand the violence of a sadistic husband and a kingdom constantly at war. To survive with her young son in a superstitious realm, she must rely on her own cunning and wit, especially when her husband’s downfall inadvertently sets them free.
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5 out of 5 stars
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excellent read and performance
- By Christine Stolz on 03-30-24
By: Joel H. Morris
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Circling the Sun
- A Novel
- By: Paula McLain
- Narrated by: Katharine Lee McEwan
- Length: 12 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,422
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,957
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,949
This powerful novel transports listeners to the breathtaking world of Out of Africa—1920s Kenya—and reveals the extraordinary adventures of Beryl Markham, a woman before her time. Brought to Kenya from England by pioneering parents dreaming of a new life on an African farm, Beryl is raised unconventionally, developing a fierce will and a love of all things wild.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Pro: It made me want to read "West With the Night"
- By Ilana on 08-01-15
By: Paula McLain
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Stay Where You Are and Then Leave
- By: John Boyne
- Narrated by: Euan Morton
- Length: 5 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 75
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 69
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 69
The day the First World War broke out, Alfie Summerfield's father promised he wouldn't go away to fight - but he broke that promise the following day. Four years later, Alfie doesn't know where his father might be, other than that he's away on a special, secret mission. Then, while shining shoes at King's Cross Station, Alfie unexpectedly sees his father's name on a sheaf of papers belonging to a military doctor. Bewildered and confused, Alfie realizes his father is in a hospital close by - a hospital treating soldiers with shell shock.
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5 out of 5 stars
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WWI Coming of Age Story
- By tooonce72 on 04-26-14
By: John Boyne
What listeners say about A Ladder to the Sky
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Reviews - 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
- Tammy
- 05-06-19
Excellent!
LOVED IT! Finally a book that I thoroughly enjoyed from beginning to end.
I listened to this book and at the beginning I had a slight hard time with the accent but once it got going, no problem and got sucked right in. What a great story. Book 2 I kind of figured what was going to happen but so much more happened that it was a small victory on my part. Book 3, now, that was crazy but I loved it. Probably my favorite book so far this year.
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7 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
- Barry S
- 02-18-19
Very very good.
Had zero expectations going into reading this, but from the beginning it was a unique and creative story that keeps you fully engaged through the last page. Will definitely be recommending it to friends, which I almost never do.
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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
- abigail2010
- 05-19-21
spectacular entertainment
Turns at every corner and definitely keeps your interest. The narrator's were phenomenal!! I would highly recommend!!
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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
- David Desilva
- 06-11-23
Great story and narration
I think the Hearts Invisible Furies was better but this was fantastic in its own right. Great twists at the end!
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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
- CAP
- 05-01-19
sensational, witty, malevolent, compelling.
narrators were well suited to the material. could not stop listening to discover what was next. oredering another Boyne npvel immediately!
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- krolik
- 07-22-21
sour story of unmitigated literary ambition
Morris Swift is a handsome ruthless cad intent on literary success, despite a problem coming up with good plots. The picture of the literary world from the 1990s to present seems dated and the author does not really explore the issues of whether there are any really new stories to tell , as Morris steals other writers' ideas and writes them as his own. Still Morris has some good lines, definite wit, as he makes his felonious career.
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2 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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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Victoria R. Shemaria
- 05-22-21
It’s a very long book and at times, confusing. Especially towards the end, when a lot is going on.
Seems it took a long novel to get the point across. I’m sure there are many points, but overall, summed up: You reap what you sow.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Tracy
- 01-14-19
enjoyable but predictable
it was highly predictable but well written and entertaining. it was performed quite well also.
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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
- DandyDM
- 10-09-19
Non Stop
This booked grabbed my attention from the start and never let it go. Truly exceptional.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Stevan Miller
- 11-24-21
Interesting but not a must read
Good book. It's exciting but not a must-read. If you have a few hours and want a good listen and don't have any other books on your list then go for it.
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