Customer Reviews

The Accidental Pope: A Novel

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

Sometimes you pick up a book because it looks interesting, or because you read everything a particular author has written. Sometimes books suprise you, sometimes they disappoint. I bought this book because of its unlikely (and seemingly humorous) premise, and kept reading because it turned out to be a good read.

The book, co-authored by the former U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican, examines the papacy of Pope Peter II, who just happens to be an American fisherman who happens to be a laicized Catholic priest. While on the surface the premise seems almost ludicrous, by the middle of the book it no longer seems to be outside of the realm of the possible. Pope Bill, as he likes to be called, has to deal with the scrutiny of the world press, a stunned curia which cannot believe that they elected him, and, of all things, his children living at the Vatican. The authors use the new pope to examine the role and position of the Catholic Church as it moves into the third millenium. Pope Bill's actions and proclamations, while disturbing to the traditional-bound cardinals in the book, "play well in Peoria" and reflect the type of progressive thinking that the authors (not to mention many contemporary Catholics) seem to believe should prevail in the church today.

While the story moves along well for the most part, the authors do get bogged down in a few places and miss several opportunities for an interesting expansion of the story. For example, the pope's oldest daughter, who had been agnostic (at best) since her mother's death, has a sudden and stunning conversion in the story. Unfortunately, there is virtually nothing said about this change nor how it affects the father-daughter relationship. In addition, there are superfluous plot devices (the romance between Colleen and Jan, for instance) that seem to be tossed in a fillers while other issues--such as the novelty of an American pope--are left almost unexplored. Most disconcerting, however, is the irregular and maddening way in which the authors discuss but never fully reveal the contents of the letter from Bill's predecessor. At times, it seems that the authors simply forgot where they had left off in the story and started writing anew, leaving out key details that result in plot holes. But beyond these minor quibbles, the book is very entertaining.

This book will definitely be of interest to those interested in the inner workings of the Vatican and to those wondering what role the Catholic Church might be able to play as the new century begins.

I wanted to like this book because Ray Flynn is a fellow Catholic and a fellow Bostonian, and the basic idea of a pope being elected who is a widower with children has a lot of potential. Unfortunately, there are too many problems. The writing is very uneven; in places it isn't bad, but much of the dialogue is wooden and awkward. The theology is startlingly bad, especially in a work purportedly by a former ambassador to the Vatican. Or perhaps it was very badly edited. In any case I stopped reading altogether when I reached the point two thirds of the way through where the Eucharist was casually said to be symbolically the Body of the Lord (not REALLY!). That, of course, is the Protestant position; it has no place in a book that's supposed to be about Catholics.

Considering the election problems currently making headlines, the idea behind this novel by the former Ambassador Ray Flynn is more probable then not. A Cape Cod fisherman, Bill Kelly, becomes Pope by either accident or divine intervention. With a family of four children, the widower and former priest accepts the position, the cardinals expected him to reject. As with all novels there is a "bad guy" a cardinal who expected to be pope. However, as a read for a rainy afternoon, when you would rather NOT watch the mess on the election, this novel is a fine way to pass the time. The insight to the inner workings of the Catholic Church or the reference to the Department of State as " Foggy Bottom," won't gain Ambassador Flynn any admires, but these assides give the book a more interesting turn. You can immediately know which character is Mr. Flynn, and very good one too. Yet, the essence of the story is to bring humanity to an office that seems remote to many, not just the faithful. A man with four children, who seems more human in his theology, adds character to a position long considered one held only by "old" men. By the end of the book, the reader wishes that " Pope Bill" really existed as his ideas have great merit. Give this one a try, you never know when fiction will become fact!

This novel has what is easily the worst-written opening chapter I've read since I stopped reading creative writing assignments. I nearly put the book down at that point, but I have a tradition of reading a "pope novel" every August and this was this year's book.

The characters are largely two dimensional, but show some unrealized promise (unlike, say the characters in Andrew Greeley's White Smoke, who are irredeemably two dimensional). It's kind of amusing at times to spot the obvious substitutions. The most amusing of which is Flynn's Father Farrell, an obvious parody of Andrew Greeley for whom Flynn has little sympathy.

It wasn't until I was finished that I read the dust jacket and discovered that Flynn was a former ambassador to the Vatican. It explains the prominence of the US ambassador to the Vatican in the narrative (in this case, it's a fictionalized version of Richie Daley who's been made virtually a saint(!)).

In the whole the novel is a pretty quick read, handicapped largely by an effort to tackle too much in the space that's allotted so that no plot points really get developed. Flynn's manifesto for the church is an interesting mix of progressive and conservative, although he manages to miss out on some doctrinal points: Trivially, camerlengo is misspelled throughout, and the feast of the Assumption appears both in its correct month and also in December (I assume that Immaculate Conception was meant here). A bit more significantly, one central plot point turns around the idea that the status of children from an annulled marriage is an unresolved question (it's not--they're legitimate).

Still, I managed to laugh at the humor (intended and unintended) and it wasn't a bad way to spend a weekend's reading. I would suggest getting it at the library though.

I had wanted to like this book very much, and expected that a former ambassador to the Vatican would have some interesting insights, but I was greatly disappointed. The work is very ill informed. Camerlengo is misspelled throughout. The writer stresses that a layman cannot be elected pope, which is incorrect. Cardinals don't know what to do if a non-bishop is elected pope, but this is clearly provided for in the rules they are all very familiar with. Top churchmen set aside liturgical and other requirements without any particular reason. The pope is greeted at the airport by an African cardinal who dresses in loincloth and tribal gear because this sort of common touch is supposed to be worth 100,000 converts. A man who was trained and served as priest does not know the difference between an encyclical and a rescript, or between a priestly and an episcopal ordination. The pope sets aside other Vatican business to work strenuously for days with a number of cardinals to prepare for a public audience and Christmas homily that each consists of a few folksy remarks, but then tries off the cuff to solve the major problems of the church and the world. Despite his pastoral experience, he tells a gay man looking for some compassion that perhaps AIDS is God's punishment on homosexuals. All these sorts of things are more implausible than that a widowed laicized priest with children could be elected pope. Flynn uses the book to lambaste the State Department professionals who presumably gave him a difficult time as a political appointee, but there is a parallel theme here also that the common man off the street off the top of his head can address the world's problems better than the Vatican if he just acts like the common man with common sense and decency. The weakness of that plot is matched here by the weakness of the writing as well. What a shame.

This book addresses an issue fairly unknown to American Catholics - church politics. I lived in Rome while attending a Catholic University for about six months, and the amount of politicking in the church was a real eye-opener to me. It also opened my eyes to the fact that my idea of the church was vastly different from the reality in Rome.

This is not a book for Catholics who are looking to affirm their faith, although there are many touching moments. This is not a book mocking the Catholic faith, either. It addresses problems within the modern church, and is quite obvious in condemning the lack of attention shown to the problems in Africa.

That is perhaps the biggest problem in this book - lack of sublety. "Pope Bill" is a little too saintly, as a widower who is just trying to support his family as a fisherman. "Cardinal Robitelli" is too unpleasant, the African Cardinal is too stereotypical - it's all too obvious.

I enjoyed this book until "Pope Bill" travelled to Africa, against the advice of all his advisors. It became very obvious what was going to follow at that point; and everything then happened as I thought it would. The ending was predictable, and not very satisfying. All in all, it was too contrived for my taste, but thought-provoking.

This book is very entertaining, until, that is, the new Pope's kids arrive in Rome. Then it degenerates into a theological tome discussing religious issues for pages on end. Eventually, it gets back to the story and plods towards the obvious conclusion. The story idea is intriguing. There was much more story potential than ever used. The writing was in need of a strong editor. Overall, a disappointing effort.

Not since I read the first few novels of the Joshua series have I seen such Polyannaish plotting. An ex-priest, fulfilled husband and father (whose wife has conveniently died, making it easier to leave his home to become pope), common sense, salt-of-the-earth American and Christian, becomes pope. He hurriedly goes about solving (or at least presenting solutions to) some of the major issues facing the Catholic church today before he dies of a mysterious virus he contracts in Africa. Give me a break!

The more you know about the Catholic church, the wiser you are to the issues, the closer you are to the inside, the more implausible - even ridiculous - the whole thing becomes. Not only do the details distract (the spelling of camerlengo) but they actually distort. Two "cardinal" points: contrary to the plot, a laymen can be elected pope and the children of an annulled marriage are legitimate. The theological issues of marriage and homosexuality cannot be resolved so simplistically either, although I do agree that the Church still hasn't found the answer yet, and how one integrates a married clergy with a celibate clergy is not even addressed in the book. (The solution of the Easter rite, I believe, is that only the celibates can advance to becoming bishops.)

The obvious references to actual persons - Fr. Farrell as Andrew Greeley, to name just one egregious example - and the vindetta against career diplomats and the State Department brings the whole level of the book down significantly. I won't even comment on the portrayal of the pope's children or the dialogue. The only reason I gave it two stars is that the book does make a hopeful statement in the right direction while offering a light, if slightly tart, summer refreshment.

The plot of this book sounded so good--a Cape Cod fisherman who is a former priest, once married and now widowed, is elected to the Papacy. What a shame the writing did not live up to this interesting premise. The first half wasn't too bad--the excitement and novelty clouded the holes in the story and the awkward writing.

But once Bill Kelly became Pope and moved to Rome, the story became incredibly heavy and the writing got even worse. There were so many editorial errors that one wonders if it was ever proofread. The depiction of the Pope's children was terrible, not age-appropriate at all. It is as if the writers knew nothing about kids!

The dialogue was the worst - it was almost embarrassing to read it, it was so stilted. It was a struggle to finish this book and I had to skim much of the last fourth.

Even as a "retired" Catholic I found much misinformation about the Catholic religion.

This book is one of the best books i have ever read.Ray makes you feela as if you are involved with the story. This is a good quick read and keeps you on your toes a must for anybody who likes books or wants to learn somenthing.