Conclave by Robert Harris

Conclave by Robert Harris
I really struggled with the start of this book and on several occasions wanted to walk away. But since it was for my book club (and I hate going to book club out of the know) I persevered, and boy I’m glad I did. After you get past the first 20% (which is mostly backstory and info dumps) it becomes a page turner. I had to know who was chosen!

The basis of the book is the Pope dies and a new one must be chosen. Throw in a few suspicious acts leading up to the Pope’s death and some questionable Cardinals and you’ve got yourself an interesting read, with a wicked twist at the end. It’s also insightful as you learn about Catholic Church and how the Pope is chosen (the cover says it all, ‘THE AMBITION OF MEN’). To me it still appears to be an archaic institution that has wreaked havoc throughout the centuries, and will continue to do so without any care. But hey, this is fiction so we can’t take it too literally … or can we??