The Last Pope

Rating:
Summary: Overrated and Disappointing
Review: Everyone who reviews this book writes about the principal characters. What about some of the lesser ones, like the evil, scheming Father Benetto for whom being a priest means the ladder to power, maybe even the papacy? Or the horrid Sister Andrea, consumed with jealousy? Putting a couple of real nasties like these into the book made it fun to read. I liked the weird
and cadaverous monk Dimitry. He's stupid, uneducated, awkward and ugly, but somehow you can't help liking him. It's the interplay of characters like these that, for me, made this book such interesting reading.

Rating:
Summary: REINCARNATION?
Review: I found The Last Pope an absolutely fascinating book because it raised the question as to whether Cardinal Ignatius Heriot's extraordinarily vivid dreams, set in one historical period were memories of former lives and the cardinal endlessly reincarnated, or merely symptomatic of guilt? Also was the priest who rebels against the Vatican perhaps actually a second coming and the prostitute who becomes his disciple truly Mary Magdalene? Or just an analogy? These two thoughts represented by the truly interesting characters of Francesca and Heriot lifted the book right up out of the just very good into by far the best novel I've read this year.

Rating:
Summary: REQUIRED READING
Review: I found this book better than any other that takes place in the Vatican. It has a really human story that gets hold of you and doesn't let you go. Will the first American candidate for the papacy become pope or not? And will the gentle priest who defies the powers to be. end up excommunicated? What will happen to his lovely, (...) consort? You don't get answers until the very end. If you read this book at bedtime I guarantee you won't get to sleep until you finish it. It's terrific

Rating:
Summary: Great Reading!
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed reading and recommend this book.
Very insightful as to the nuts and bolts of the Vatican.

Rating:
Summary: I'm not Catholic, which is probably why I liked it.
Review: I'm not Catholic, so I was really interested in the information about the Vatican, and I'd just read Angels and Demons so that's why I picked this one up. Not a stellar read, but it was interesting to learn a little more about the Vatican and it's conclave.

Rating:
Summary: Only for a long flight to San Jose, CA
Review: Somewhat interesting, but I should have known that there was trouble brewing when I spotted a typographical error in the second paragraph of the dust jacket of the book. The main character's name was mis-spelled. The book reads like a dream...disjointed, rambling, and out of focus...probably best forgotten the next day. Good for a flight across country, but only if you have already read the day-old Tribune that you found at the airport. This book seemed to have been created from the cuttings of the editing floor of another book and stitched together with a very fine piece of twine. Two stars if you have little else to read on your journey.

Rating:
Summary: A Summer Skip It Read
Review: The plot is transparent. The characters are straight out of an HBO movie. The only value to this is the history of the conclave and the Vatican and all of that was better told in Shoes of the Fisherman or even in Angels and Demons. This is simply not a good read - even for the beach.

Rating:
Summary: A Summer Skip It Read
Review: The plot is transparent. The characters are straight out of an HBO movie. The only value to this is the history of the conclave and the Vatican and all of that was better told in Shoes of the Fisherman or even in Angels and Demons. This is simply not a good read - even for the beach.

Rating:
Summary: A Must Read for 2004
Review: This book is full of surprises. Set inside the Vatican during a Papal conclave, its richness comes from the many stories within a story - fascinating historical flashbacks in the form of nightmares that torture one of the lead candidates for the Papacy. As the different factions within the Church - represented by the Cardinals from all over the world - meet head on, the protagonist, a popular American Cardinal, has to face a decision about his relationship with Francesca Berenson, a former high class call girl who has become the consort of a maverick priest in America. It brings out all the issues dividing the Church today, from celibacy to women's equality. In my view, this is the best novel and thriller, with the Vatican as the background, that has ever been written. I loved every word of it.