And thank you, O Lord, for speaking to us through the voting in the Conclave, and I pray that soon You will give us the wisdom to understand what it is You are trying to say.
That was a quick read. I’m sure it was longer, by word count, than a novella, but it read like one.
Cardinal Lomeli, recently denounced by his recently-deceased Pope as a mere manager, has to preside over the election of a new Pope, in the famed Conclave. It quickly goes full SUCCESSION, only with less swearing. It’s a slim structure, but the story cracks along, and Harris can clearly spin an attractive yarn in his sleep.
You think you can see the ending coming a mile off, but there’s a big twist at the end – it was signposted, but you don’t necessarily think Harris will go there. But he does. One suspects that the ending came first to Harris: it’s the posed question that the entire story radiates backwards from. It’s very well built, and one can sense Harris chuckling away as he gets to the bit that set the entire book up for him.
You can see why it’s going to be a film. The structure is slender, but it’s entirely sturdy enough to hang a standard screenplay off of, and there are five meaty parts for actors over sixty and one for Isabella Rossellini.