...there is only one possible word to describe Robert Harris’s new novel, and it is this: unputdownable ... The information isn’t always easy to digest – for the reader or for the writer. As always with Harris, there is a lot of backstory and exposition ... in Conclave the sequence is very simple and pleasing indeed: the pope dies, the cardinals gather, there is the first ballot, there is the second ballot, there is the third ballot, and so on, each stage being accompanied by another twist, some new mystery or complication.
Since the cardinals deliberate in secret and tell no tales, Harris can give his imagination a long leash ... A surprise result is almost de rigueur for an election novel, and Harris does not disappoint. Not only do the cardinals choose a dark horse, but the new pontiff guards an astonishing secret. Regardless of whether you have faith in God, the Church, or neither, Conclave will keep you richly entertained.
The politics of pope-picking clearly captivates Harris, a former political reporter, as it indubitably captivates many of us. The book is filled with procedural and historical detail...Harris has done his research, and it shows, though he is also careful to situate his story in the contemporary world. That tension adds to the ambience ... the twist at the end is about as dramatic an incorporation of the modern cultural conversation about gender and sexuality as can be imagined ... Harris has written a gripping, smart book. The only quibble, ironically enough, is that it could have used a touch more soul.
...it has an element of light relief. There is none of the same savagery and open warfare to control the Roman empire. Instead, there is guarded political intrigue ... This is Harris’s 10th novel and he has mastered the hidden clockwork of suspense ... The moral message of Conclave, though, is somewhat less striking than the pleasure of reading it. Like one of Graham Greene’s 'entertainments,' Conclave treats a serious topic with a deft touch.
Conclave has a stately, dignified air, yet it quietly pulsates with intrigue. This may not be a rip-roaring page-turner, but Harris’ clever plot machinations slowly draw you in ... Ambition, sex scandals, financial corruption and terrorism all rear their ugly heads. And Harris saves one whopper of a surprise for the final pages. Could there be a recount? Nah. But a sequel? Maybe.
Before unleashing the answers to these crucial questions, Harris gives us a few splendidly satirical pictures of the workings of the Vatican, not least in the matter of ecclesiastical pelf ... Harris, the writer, loves the maneuverings and machinations of power-mongers, but he is just as superb here in showing men of true faith wrestling with the legitimacy of their own wishes and trying to fathom God’s will as events unfold ... All in all, Conclave is not one of Harris’s best works; still, the political aspects of papal selection, the pressure of the 'news cycle,' and the wheeling and dealing and backstabbing are excellently realized and put forward with a good deal of sardonic wit.
This is not to say that reading Conclave evokes a been-there-done-that ennui. The suspense inherent in finding out who will become pope is a surefire way to keep the reader turning pages, the author’s strong writing freshens the familiar with color, and his keen sense of character humanizes the baroque proceedings ... Harris’ wise choice to tell his story from Lomeli’s point of view adds suspense and warmth to the proceedings ... Conclave is not the best thriller Harris has ever written. But the machinations surrounding the papal election will surely fascinate and hold many readers.
Mr. Harris’s plotting is deft; there are as many ingenious twists as in an Agatha Christie novel. Yet all are credible, and the sense of tense seriousness is never disturbed ... Conclave can be read as a thriller. It is indeed a thriller and a very good one, written with the authority that comes from the combination of scrupulous research and a sympathetic imagination. So it is more than a thriller; it is a novel of ideas, and one in which the author’s characters are tested, some diminishing, others growing as the story unfolds. I couldn’t imagine this theme being better treated.
