Review [English Version]: Conclave

by: Nabila Rhapsodios 

PRODUCT INFO

Title: Conclave

Author(s): Robert Harris

Publisher: Vintage Books/Penguin Random House

Language: English

Year Published: 2016

Page(s) Number: 290  

PROLOGUE

Theatrical Movie Poster

The 2024 movie Conclave, starring Ralph Fiennes, was the first thing I learned about. I clearly have no idea that the movie is an adaptation of a decade-old novel. My opportunity to watch the movie hasn't come yet, but I’m sure it will one day. I passed the days as usual until I asked the clerk about the availability of the novel at the bookstore while I was strolling the area just for fun a few months ago. To my surprise, that bookstore is selling the Conclave novel. I’m not going to let the chance slip away, so without thinking much, I buy it.

PLOT

The Pope died late at night. News of the Holy Father’s death shook the entire Casa Santa Maria, including Lomeli, the Dean of the College of the Cardinals. The next morning, the entire world knows about this death news. Lomeli, with help from his colleagues, intends not to lengthen the Sede Vacante much longer, commencing the Conclave behind the closed doors of the Sistine Chapel within less than three weeks after the Pope’s death. Lomeli counts one hundred and eighteen cardinals from all over the globe who will cast their votes in the world’s most secretive election. In this Conclave, many secrets, aspirations, ambitions, and rivalries are borne within those holy men. Over the next grueling seventy hours, one of those pious men will become the most powerful figure in the Catholic church.

MY IMPRESSION

Robert Harris

Although Robert Harris’ Conclave was published in 2016, the novel is interesting for three consecutive events from 2024 to 2025. The movie, the death of Pope Francis, and the new Conclave that put Leo XIV at the helm of the Catholic church. So, it is with these events that I write a review of the Conclave novel. First, the good.

1. Lomeli’s a compelling main protagonist who depicts the Conclave ritual, the church’s law, and the conflicts of the clergy quite accurately. He has imposter syndrome, which gets the better of him near the end of the book, and his nervousness about managing the surprising responsibility during a personal crisis of faith and ambition is written really well.
2. Some of the other characters are surely interesting and thoughtful, who represent a good range of nationalities, genders, traits, and viewpoints, especially Monsignor O’Malley, Sister Agnes, Benitez, Tedesco, Tremblay, and Adeyemi. They reveal the inner workings of the papal electoral process and the dreams of those at the highest levels of the Catholic church. They, with Lomeli's portrayal, make the book significantly powerful through its quiet exposure of the gap between professed faith and human behavior.
3. Considering how the plot revolves around a closeted election and limited story branching and action, it doesn’t hamper my excitement while reading the novel until the last page. Because Robert Harris throws enough material to keep me happy and concentrated, and he also knows how to progressively accelerate the plot's tempo, which is a surprise. It’s an engaging, fast-paced novel that has a well-designed plot.
4. I always admire someone who spends a great deal of time doing deep research for their works, be it novels, movies, animations, et cetera. In the afterword, Robert Harris writes that he was permitted to visit the arenas used during a Conclave that are habitually off-limits. No wonder the description of the setting, the clergy's tensions, the food, the utensils, the paintings, and everything else is spot on. The pomp and circumstance of the Conclave never become dull, which is quite a feat of imaginative writing, given the liturgical excesses of the Catholic church.

The good stops there. Then, there’s an out-of-the-field twist in the ending—a major character twist that shifts the entire narrative in an unexpected direction. It is the kind of revelation that completely reframes what came before, rather than a simple plot surprise or thematic subversion. To me, it feels absurd and ruins the entire atmosphere. The circumstances established earlier go right down the drain, leading to an implausible ending. I think that Robert Harris tried so hard to be respectful of Catholicism that he just got demotivated. Resorting to deception doesn’t strike me as the right approach. I wish the ending had just been a straightforward story of intrigue.

The verdict is I’d give Conclave an 8.8 out of 10. I’d have given it nine stars or rates, but had to deduct to eight for the odd ending. I can still recommend it, with a disclaimer, as I believe most people will be troubled by this type of ending, as I am. Be forewarned.

-FIN-

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