Conclave: The bestselling Richard and Judy Book Club thriller

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You might become bored by this dutiful recounting of facts, or you may welcome every eploying all possible resources, Conclave doggedly sets out to provide readers with the fundamental satisfactions of story: of sequence, configuration and organisation.

I particularly enjoyed the details about the counting procedures, the braziers, and how the smoke was created! High” describes churches use of a number of liturgical, ceremonial, and traditional practices, often referred to by both High and Low adherents as “the bells and smells” associated with Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy. The story is narrated by Cardinal Lomeli, one of the Pope’s closest associates, who is tasked with the organisation of the conclave, just as he is struggling with a crisis of faith. Weaving dramatic interactions into the storyline, the reader is left to cheer on their favourite cardinal, in hopes that he will obtain the magic eighty votes. Given the simplicity of the plot, there is not much else I can mention in this review without giving too much away.One hundred and eighteen Cardinals from all over the world gather for this process, the College of Cardinals voting over and over until there is a clear choice. Will a traditionalist be elected, someone who will sweep away the reforms to the Roman Catholic Church that have been made over the previous 50 years? Adeyemi the African with strong views on the role of women and gay marriage, a man who believes that “homosexuals should be sent to prison in this world and to hell in the next” may well enter the history books as the first black pope and the first from the dark continent. The story is told through the eyes of Cardinal Lomeli who, as Dean of the College, is charged with overseeing the election process.

While the intricacies of institutional procedures may be fascinating to Robert Harris, they don’t necessarily provide the drama and entertainment demanded by the readers of fiction. From the embers of the deceased pope comes the cry the world has waited to hear: Habemus papam (We have a Pope)!But eventually it came free and he carried it on his outstretched palm to Tremblay, who took a pair of shears from the silver box – the sort of tool one might use to dead-head roses, thought Lomeli – and inserted the seal of the ring between the blades.

The Pope “had stayed [there] as a cardinal before the Conclave that elected him and had never moved out: one look at the luxurious apartment to which he was entitled . Just like our political system, where each side represents different positions, there are factions with varying opinions on the future of the church. While I think most readers will guess that the least likely candidate will make it in the end, the twist when it came was unexpected (at least to me). From the novel's beautiful cover to its last page that left me in complete surprise, I never wavered from being deeply involved. As more and more is revealed about the leading candidates, Lomeli finds himself in the uncomfortable position of investigating the various allegations that start to come to light.Despite all the precautions, there are always those who will go to great lengths to circumvent any system. It starts off well with an interesting premise about the conclave, but half way through it features an unnecessary nasty act and the end didn't feel clever so much as political. Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the Apostles' hands, he offered them money, saying, 'Give me also this power, that any one on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit'. It takes us through the process of electing a new pope, with detailed descriptions of the procedures, rituals and places, however, it also reminds us that participants of conclave may be driven by forces that are material rather than spiritual. On another day we visited Saint Peter’s Basilica and, as we were staying nearby, we often found ourselves wandering round the Piazza and the surrounding streets in the evening.

Conclave é um thriller que explora os efeitos do poder no seio da Cúria Romana e, colateralmente, denuncia luxos, riquezas e negócios. If you think this sounds surprisingly similar to the plots of several other of Harris’s novels then you’d be right. It was quite gripping, although you knew that the front runners were almost certainly not going to come through and that there would be twists and turns and surprises.He remembered riding with the Holy Father in this very car early in his papacy when two elderly monsignors had got in. Atheists and other non-believers should also find it a good read/listen, however, for their own enjoyment, they would benefit if they had formerly participated in, or recognised, the activities of the earlier Christian churches: the Roman Catholic Church, the Orthodox Catholic Churches, and “High”** versions of the Anglican, Church of England, and Episcopalian Churches. It didn’t help that by a third of the way through the story it was inevitable who the successful candidate was going to be, and by half way through the book I had spotted the twist in the tail that was to come.