Conclave by Robert Harris

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A very interesting novel that tells the story of the selection process after the Pope dies. 90% of the book is highly intriguing, thrilling, page turning, but the final 10% gives a twist that seems silly and unnecessary. 

Conclave is told through the narration of Jacopo Cardinal Lomeli, who tries to facilitate the selection process after the current Pope passes away. The process is completely new to me and very interesting. There are several people competing for the post: Joshua Cardinal Adeyemi, Joseph Cardinal Tremblay, Aldo Cardinal Bellini, Goffredo Cardinal Tedesco, Vincent Cardinal Benítez. All of them have their strong suits and shortcomings. Some people also like to vote for the protagonist, Cardinal Lomeli, who openly says he doesn't want to be the next Pope.

As secrets uncover and events happen, different Cardinals take the lead of the poll but no Pope is selected after several rounds because the minimum vote isn't met. Lomeli continues to try to get there, because it doesn't look good to take so long, but he can't openly sway the votes. At the sixth ballot, so much dirt has been discovered on each of them that Lomeli becomes the top choice. Now Lomeli considers perhaps he should just do it, and cast a vote for himself for the first time in the seventh round. But a coordinated attack happened in the Vatican City right before the seventh round, making some of them not vote for Lomeli due to Lomeli's claim of not wanting the post. 

Eventually, Cardinal Benítez got enough votes and becomes the Pope. When Lomeli was looking into Benítez's past, he finds out that Benítez is intersex. This is supposed to be a big twist for the book, but it has been hinted at throughout the book so it shouldn't surprise most people. Benítez had planned on having surgery but ended up canceling the surgery because he believes his identity is part of God's plan. THE END.

Honestly, I think the ending is awful. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I have nothing against intersex or any LGBTQ+, but to use it as some big reveal plot device is just silly. This would have been a great book if they just told us from the get go when introducing his character. This reminded me of The Empusium, which also uses an intersex person as some big twist at the end, but at least that's more productive because the sacrifice was supposed to be men only, and by using an intersex person, it ended the curse for good. For Conclave, it doesn't serve a purpose other than shock value, and to use intersex as shock value feels wrong to me. Due to this reason, I'm giving this book a 3 out of 5.

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