Reviews - Conclave | The StoryGraph

3.12k reviews for:

Conclave

Robert Harris

4.08 AVERAGE

sydkilgore's review against another edition

4.5

mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Too good. Already seen the movie a few times so I knew everything that would happen, yet I couldn’t put it down. Cardinal Lomeli is such a fascinating narrator to be inside the head of and I feel a deep affinity towards him. Wonderfully built tension and drama, though the ending feels a tad rushed and abrupt (felt the same with the movie), and I was kind of let down by Benitez’s speech to Tedesco compared to the screenplay.

I am curious about the page-to-screen nationality changes of the characters— Benitez from Filipino to Mexican, Bellini from Italian to American, Lomeli/Lawrence from Italian to English—when each nationality carries weighty political implications. I’m guessing it was largely a matter of casting, since Carlos Diehz was plucked from obscurity seemingly by divine intervention, and Stanley Tucci and Ralph Fiennes were the two biggest names in the project. But it does seem funny that in the book Lomeli slams England for its apostasy and notes that Tremblay being Canadian is an advantage for “seeming American without being American”, making it seem unlikely that an English or American cardinal would ever be a serious front-runner. But here we are in the age of Pope Leo, so anything’s possible!!

Sorry about all the book/movie comparison, but I think it’s inevitable given the uhhh increased cultural relevance of the movie this year. Both hold up on their own extremely well, but I would probably recommend watching the movie first to see if you’re into the high-drama Catholic intrigue, and THEN read the book to get 10x the juicy details.

ecliggott's review against another edition

4.0

I saw the film first, and rather wish I had read the book first, although either way the second thing I did would lack suspense. But Harris is such a good writer and the drumbeat of this book is so well crafted that I felt the tension even though I already knew the surprise ending. It's a great and timely story, with the current Pope's precarious health and the rift between the liberal and conservative wings of the Church as broad as it is everywhere else. The conclave that will be held in the Vatican this time will be just as fraught as this fictional one, but probably without the twist!

nellnellnell's review against another edition

3.0

Started quite monotonously, but quickly becomes surprisingly funny. Lomeli, for all he is, is such an entertaining grade A hater. I’d still say I prefer the movie, as the execution of the ending is way better.

meanieheadbookreviews's review against another edition

I don’t normally read books like this (airport novels), but the star-studded movie trailer recently dropped so I had to give it a shot. I was raised Catholic and always think Catholics are just normal Christians… then I’m reminded they’re not. Catholics be crazy. The premise: the pope dies unexpectedly, and a new pope must be elected. But the archaic process uncovers a lot of dark shit, including that the death of the previous pope may not have been from natural causes. The church’s stance on homosexuality is a plot point; the church’s stance on female ordination is an even bigger one. I had a very hard time keeping the characters straight—there are a lot of long, vowel filled names. And they all wear the same outfit. And are all old mostly white men. Very interchangeable. I’m thinking this might be a situation where the movie is better than the book. At least, I hope so with the cast in it. I think it’s gonna be Oscar fodder. The ending took a hard turn that I started to piece together in the last fifth of the book. Didn’t make the reveal less exhilarating. I’m very excited to see how the movie handles it.