Conclave

A good look, not only at the inner workings of the high levels of the Roman Catholic Church, but at those of the deeply flawed human beings who make it up.Although the protagonist, Cardinal Mulrennan, is one of the most visible members of the hierarchy, he prefers another life among the least of the members of the Church. Particularly moving is his work in an abbey in New Mexico serving troubled priests. All his life he is haunted by the early death of his alcoholic mother. As much as he feels for priests who are alcoholic, addicted or sexually compulsive, his compassion extends to those damaged by them. What a refreshing change!Not so pure are the motivations of of the ultra-conservative organization Evangelium Christi. Shades of Opus Dei here, only beneath the veneer they are up to no good. And yet the head honcho's secret, that he himself was sexually abused while in a Catholic orphanage, prevents him from being a one-dimensional bad guy.A great page-turner, difficult to put down!

I only take the time to write about a book if I hate it or love it. I loved this one. Conclave is one of those 'It's way past time to go to sleep but I can't put this down' books. I loved getting to peek behind the doors of the Vatican to see the inner workings of the church. I also cared about these characters, even the villians. It was a bit like the television series 'West Wing' only with priests rather than politicians. The main character, an American Cardinal, was especially engaging. Intensely spiritual but with feet of clay, a leader but reticent to lead, possessed of both great pride and great humility, he was a complex and surprising character. I was sorry to part company with him at the end of the book, but if any story deserves a sequel, it's this one. When the next real-life conclave occurs (in the not so distant future I expect) I'm going to feel like I have an insider's track. And perhaps life will end up imitating art. Treat yourself to this book - it's excellent.

Conclave is a good read even if you are not catholic. I found it highly interesting to go behind the walls of the Vatican and see how succession is arranged for the pope. The characters are interesting and their lives are revealed in snippets of information that make you anticipate the next piece of the story. The humanity and struggle of priests to find their own truth and define their own beliefs is also clearly revealed in this story. Worth the read.

Nelson DeMille endorsed this book with the word "old-fasheioned." Conclave is old-fashioned in the sense that if one is looking for an expose of the Roman Communion, he will be disappointed. Moreover, if one is looking for the salacious or a slam dunk on human frailty and if one takes joy in watching someone get his comeuppance, Conclave will also disappoint. The protagonist is a familiar figure because he is real, however extraordinary. It was a pleasure to walk with him, get in his head, struggle with his struggles and watch his pain and resolve, joy and obedience. I not only believe there are Tim Mulrennan's in the world, I even know some.Conclave proabably won't appeal to Evangelicals except to "prove" how rotten is Rome. However, it should easily find a home in the hearts of readers who just love a good story and, perhaps, those who appreciate a Roman Catholic writer with a keen eye for the abuse of power and at the same time, a love of true religion. (By the way -- I'm not Roman Catholic, but I confess to being Episcopalian.)

I just couldn't wait until I started reading this book. I am counting down as to when the sequel will be published. Once I started to read the book - I couldn't put it down. Greg Tobin is a great writer who gives the reader an "inside" view of what happens when the Cardinals of the Catholic Church gets together to elect a new Pope. This a very timely book. It shows that Cardinals are just like normal people that have their own personal problems that they have to deal with. I have been a Catholic all my life and from this book I learned things that I didn't know about the Church. I would recommend this book to anyone that wants to learn more about the Catholic Church. There were parts of the book that while I am reading made my cry.