Conclave

Yes, I am picking this up after the film and I appreciate how it re-worked the second half of the novel in order to maintain the momentum of tension and drama. Still had a lot of fun reading it; proof that boys are not less drama than girls, etc. Should have been an anime actually.

I enjoyed this Robert Harris novel but it did lag in places.

I initially thought this was a solid 4 star read with a simple but so well executed plot however the twist at the end really did push this up to 4.5 stars! For such a simple plot with a small location and cast this book was amazing. I am so excited to see the film but truly do not see how they can replicate the inner turmoil and struggles

« i do not seek the papacy. i dread it. »

as one of my most anticipated movie releases of the year i only learned very late that there was a book, which i had to read before watching it and i'm glad i did.

i know i'm not supposed to mention the cursed book whispers angels and demons.... but it remains my favourite book and is what got me interested in conclaves and how they work.

i grew up in a catholic household so a new pope has always been quite a big event and while i do not really care about the religious aspect of it i do care about the historical one? and the 'logistics' side of it. i thought this was well researched, and you could definitely feel that the author got to have a hands-on experience as mentioned in the acknowledgments. i loved the atmosphere harris built, the tension, the confusion.

i'm a sucker for plot twists and while i expected some in this i was completely shocked at others. i could not put this book down, i read it all in almost one sitting. i was afraid i wouldn't enjoy it that much because i thought the beginning was a bit slow, especially the enumeration of the cardinals, but once the plot got started it hooked me completely.

now i cannot wait to finally watch the movie!