BookBrowse Reviews Conclave by Robert Harris

Summary |  Excerpt |  Reviews |  Beyond the book |  Read-Alikes |  Genres & Themes |  Author Bio

Conclave by Robert Harris

Conclave

by Robert Harris
  • BookBrowse Review:
  • Critics' Consensus (9):
  • Readers' Rating (1):
  • First Published:
  • Nov 22, 2016, 304 pages
  • Paperback:
  • Jul 2017, 416 pages
  • Rate this book

About This Book

Reviews

BookBrowse:


Conclave is a fascinating fictional roller-coaster ride through the process of electing a new Pope.
This review is available to non-members for a limited time. For access to our digital magazine, free books,and other benefits, become a member today.

Although best known for his fact-based historical thrillers, in Conclave, best-selling author Robert Harris conjures up the modern-day world of the Vatican populated by fictional but very believable characters. The sudden death of the Pope turns Cardinal Lomeli's ordered world upside down. Lomeli is the member of the Vatican staff responsible for managing the highly ritualized process, known as the papal conclave, that will elect the new Pope.

Although at first the number of names, titles, and religious terminology is a little overwhelming, Harris quickly establishes the world of the Vatican and the main players. Almost in the manner of a country-house crime novel, the author carefully assembles his cast and lets the fun begin. There is an Italian conservative contingent, that favors Cardinal Tedesco, rather than the liberal Cardinal Bellini, who is Lomeli's favorite to be the next Holy Father. Then there is Cardinal Adeyemi, an African and potentially "the first black Pope," although the smooth-talking Canadian, Cardinal Tremblay, may have something to say about that. And finally there is also the Cardinal of Baghdad—secretly appointed by the recently deceased Pope—whose arrival nearly throws Lomeli's careful plans awry.

What follows is a gripping page-turning read. The process of the conclave involves eligible cardinals (in this case, 118) meeting in the Sistine Chapel and carrying out a series of secret ballots until one among them takes a majority of votes and can be declared the new Pope. As each round fails to provide a definitive outcome, tensions rise. Politics, scandals – sexual and financial – play their part and Lomeli, almost against his will, is forced to investigate his fellow Cardinals while finding his own name appearing in the ballots with increasing support.

The attention to detail and fulsome description of the key locations of the novel – primarily the Sistine Chapel and the Casa Santa Marta where the Cardinals all sleep and eat for the duration of the conclave – bring this story to vivid life. Even if this conclave is fictional, the novel has wonderful authenticity. Places and characters are believable and convincing, and although the ending may stretch credulity a little, Harris succeeds in the delicate balance of placing absorbing fiction within a real setting.

Particularly enjoyable is the unique way in which the Vatican maintains tradition in the modern world. "It might have been a scene from the sixteenth century," Lomeli thinks as the Cardinals arrive in Rome for the conclave, "except for the noise of their wheeled suitcases, clattering over the cobbles."

This highly recommended novel is a fine blend of information and insight into the rituals of the conclave, and is perfectly matched with a tense and dramatic plot.

Reviewed by Kate Braithwaite

This review was originally published in The BookBrowse Review in January 2017, and has been updated for the August 2017 edition. Click here to go to this issue.

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Beyond the Book:
  A Whiff of Papal Controversy

Read-Alikes

Read-Alikes Full readalike results are for members only

If you liked Conclave, try these:

  • The Ninth Hour jacket

    The Ninth Hour

    by Alice McDermott

    Published 2018

    About This book

    More by this author

    Rendered with remarkable lucidity and intelligence, Alice McDermott's The Ninth Hour is a crowning achievement of one of the finest American writers at work today

  • The Bone Clocks jacket

    The Bone Clocks

    by David Mitchell

    Published 2015

    About This book

    More by this author

    An elegant conjurer of interconnected tales, a genre-bending daredevil, and master prose stylist, David Mitchell's new novel, The Bone Clocks, crackles with invention and wit.

We have 6 read-alikes for Conclave, but non-members are limited to two results. To see the complete list of this book's read-alikes, you need to be a member.
More books by Robert Harris
Search read-alikes
How we choose read-alikes

BookBrowse Book Club

Book Jacket
Death at the Sign of the Rook
by Kate Atkinson
Jackson Brodie returns in a gripping new mystery! Welcome to Rook Hall. By night’s end, a murderer will be revealed.

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket

    The Magician of Tiger Castle
    by Louis Sachar

    The author of Holes returns with a magical adult debut about forbidden love and a kingdom on the brink of collapse.

  • Book Jacket

    This Here Is Love
    by Princess Joy L. Perry

    Three people—two enslaved, one indentured—struggle to overcome the limits and labels of their painful shared pasts.

  • Book Jacket

    A Club of One's Own
    by BookBrowse

    Dreaming of starting or reviving a book club? A Club of One’s Own is the essential guide to doing it right.

Win This Book
Win All the Men I've Loved Again

All the Men I've Loved Again by Christine Pride

Christine Pride's solo debut explores a woman's love triangle in her 20s that unexpectedly resurfaces in her 40s.

Enter

Book
Trivia

  • Book Trivia

    Can you name the title?

    Test your book knowledge with our daily trivia challenge!

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

T T O the T

and be entered to win..

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.