Customer Reviews

The Last Pope A Novel

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Osborn's book is a cross between a criticism of the traditional Catholic Church and a liberal wish fulfillment of what he wants the Church to become. It lacks any real drama or tension, and as some of the other reviewers note, the ending is utterly non-surprising.

The book partially roots itself in a real event wherein a group of liberal Catholics took out a full-page ad in the New York Times and challenged the Church hierarchy to engage in a dialogue over contraception, women priests, etc. The Church shot it down, thus establishing the author's undercurrent that the Church is run by ignorant, tyrannical old men. I find the book's premise that the only "good" Catholic people are those who are young and open-minded, (and conveniently American), and that dialogue and free-thought will solve everything. If that's the case, then why is the book so one-sided?

As a case in point, early into the story, the main character has a litany of traditionally liberal Catholic questions: why is it wrong for a person to use contraception? Why does the Church stand in the way of a woman's right to choose? Osborn fails to present any sound theological justification for why the Church should change its view. It simply revolves around a loose, American feeling of "This is the way I feel." He forgets that if the Church is to maintain its identity as a holy institution founded by Jesus Christ for the purpose of bringing man back to God, then changes in Church philosophy need to be consistent with the core Church beliefs. But instead of logic, theology, or serious debate, the novel is reduced to "the Church keeps me from doing what I want." Where's the dialogue in that?

It's unsurprising, then, that the hero of the story is a young, American Cardinal whose background is from working with the poor, while the villain is an opulent European Cardinal portrayed as a gaunt and bitter old man with delusions of grandeur. The book has no real engagement or question of Church philosophy, but a simple stark contrast of "young is good, old is bad."

To potential readers, I say this: there's better books out there, even those that criticize the Church. (At least "The DaVinci Code" had a plot.) If you're a non-Catholic who wants to learn more about the Church, even from a critical standpoint, I suggest reading The Catechism of the Catholic Church so you can learn what the Church's official teachings are and WHY they teach it (unlike Gregory's book here, which just mulls over what they teach without the reasons why).

This was a major disappointment. I am a great fan of any "Vatican" novel and will read some mediocre stuff to get my fix. This, however, did not reach that standard! It is the first novel I have been tempted to give up when only half-way through. As for the suggestion that a bunch of feminist-minded nuns are trying to change the church, this compliments the book too much. There is a dream story that keeps appearing throughout the story but adds nothing. Page after page of some medieval drivel. Comparisons to Morris West - kidding? You might say I didn't like this one.

Based on the raving reviews here and from a friend, I purchased and read this book. I kept reading, waiting for the cliches to give way to whatever people raving about and, frankly, I never found it. It's not a bad book, but everything in it has appeared in other papal conclave-types of novels and usually done somewhat better. If you have not read "Shoes of the Fisherman," "The Last Conclave," and others of the genre, read this and enjoy it. If you have read them, you will probably be disappointed.

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.

I think there are some great reviews in this space that explain why this book is a dud mechanically, but I think that it's worth noting that in addition to simply being a poor piece of storytelling, The Last Pope makes no attempt to wrestle with the weighty issues the author's (quite liberal) characters so glibly pontificate on. If you're going to present, as desirable, a vision of a Church where women are priests, priests marry, and abortion is tolerated, you need to at least consider the fact that the Church is not merely a tool for the furtherance of its members' quality of life, but an organism and institution with its own reasons for being and governing principles. Osborn doesn't allow his (evilly) conservative cardinals the chance to explain why they might oppose some of the reforms his heroes champion. The book doesn't need to be totally fair, but Osborn should have at least pretended that it was something other than a hundred plus page bumper sticker for the Church's far-left wing.

Bad story; theological rubbish. Not worth picking up.

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.

If you enjoyed having the conservative Catholics as the bad guys in The Accidental Pope, the Day of Confession, and Angels and Demons, then this book is for you. However, if you think that such portrayals completely distort the conservative (that is, the Catholic) point of view, then don't buy this crap. As with all such books, he never gives the traditionalists' points of view or arguments. Rather, they are all simplified into power questions and are made heartless--you know, heartless conservatives, like John Paul II. Sad. Don't waste your money.

This book is a good read throughout, except for the climax. Without divulging the ending, be warned that the justification for the climax is totally insufficient. It was so weak that I checked to be sure that my copy had no missing pages. A major disappointment.
Also, you should be advised that there are a couple of especially gruesome scenes, bad enough to burn images into your memory.

For the most part I enjoyed this book. I found at times I couldn't put it down but had to continue to the next chapter. Then there were some times when I actually wanted to skip sections, especially during dream sequences. It brings you to the hopes of Dan Brown or Morris West but that lets you down. Nevertheless I did enjoy reading it and would recommend it.

Ignore those men behind the curtain who condemn this book as "trash," "lacking any plot," and "one-sided."

This is a fine thriller, with an intricate plot, fresh characters, a psychological dimension, and an interesting climax.

It is many times better than the Dan Brown book, Angels and Demons, which tackles some of the same themes but loses its way amidst science fiction, cloak 'n dagger, non-stop action hijinks.

Even if you are a conservative Christian, as I tend to be, you can still appreciate Cardinal Heriot's tortured and self-conflicted battle to save the Church from the worshippers of lucre and power that, to this day, tend to dominate the leadership. If the message to return to simple ways and become more Christ-like is too radical for some of these reviewers, then Jesus Christ himself is too radical.

Again, this book was a wonderful, well-plotted, extremely well character-developed novel. It is an excellent read for any occasion, intellectually engaging without being too erudite or off-putting.