Play Book Tag discussion

When I read A Ladder to the Sky by John Boyne, I was very curious about who might have inspired the character of Maurice (the unethical ambitious author). Now, I really want to know if John Boyne met Dan Mallory, who wrote The Woman in the Window under the name A.J. Finn. Mallory is an editor turned author, with a long history of lying to colleagues and others.

I really like both books, and anyone who likes psychological thrillers or suspense would probably like both of these books. I will not give away any spoilers, or information beyond what you could read in the blurbs, but be aware, that if you read about Dan Mallory, you will likely see spoilers about his book.

The New Yorker article (see link below) is fascinating reading in itself. I got very strong vibes of Maurice when reading about Dan Mallory. Not from the details, but from his character, personality, all his lies, and kissing up to people who could help him.

The ethical side of me says - don't read a book written by a slimeball. But having heard Shonda Rhimes describe herself as a liar, I recognize that making up stories is what writers do. And he wrote a good one.

SPOILER ALERT - this article contains spoilers about Woman in the Window (most are in the last half of the article):
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/20...

Wow ..... Easy decision for me ... Not gonna read his books.

Wow, that New Yorker article is fascinating - thanks for the link! This got me really intrigued so I tried to find the answer and all I could come up with (fwiw) is that Boyne has denied it on Twitter: https://twitter.com/john_boyne/status...

Have added A Ladder to the Sky to my TBR though, it looks amazing.

Nikki wrote: "Wow, that New Yorker article is fascinating - thanks for the link! This got me really intrigued so I tried to find the answer and all I could come up with (fwiw) is that Boyne has denied it on Twit..."

Thanks Nikki, I'm following Boyne now on Twitter. His answer does suggest Maurice was inspired by one person. He could have said he was based on many people, or his imagination. So I'm still curious.

Book Concierge wrote: "Wow ..... Easy decision for me ... Not gonna read his books."

In all fairness, Mallory has been called a liar, but (as far as I know), he hasn't been accused of plagiarism. Though with his pants on fire, he's pretty naked to the world, so we may soon find out more.

Another author I read recently - Johann Hari was accused of plagiarism as a journalist. I don't think he copied whole pieces, but he was careless when citing the source of quotes.