Robert Harris 'Conclave'
May 2nd, 2025 20:33![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
neo_ultraAs I quite liked the film, I decided to give the book a go. Maybe it was not the best idea - after watching the film it was difficult to view the book as a separate work of fiction, so I could only compare it to the film, and somehow I liked the film better. Maybe because I saw it first, maybe not, who knows.
The pacing of the book felt a bit off - the beginning was slow, but at the end it felt like everything started happening at once , got resolved too fast and there were not enough insights into the thoughts of the characters, where in the beginning there were pretty much only thoughts, no action.
The book was also less dramatic for my tastes, the big speeches that ruined Tedesco's chances and elevated Benitez were tamer and understated in the book, to the point where I thought that Tedesco wasn't actually all that wrong. In the film at least he completely revealed himself as a xenophobic warmonger. In that sense the characters in the book have more depth and complexity... But I missed Tedesco's diabolical vape!
The book also showed more insight into the main character's (he is named Lomeli in the book) psyche. He was shown like such a decrepit wreck in the book that I really preferred the film version where I didn't need to read about his failing memory, aching knees, doubts, prayers and speculations whether he had missed out by never having sex and now he couldn't even if he wanted to. He is older in the book so maybe that is why his attitude towards other people sometimes feels patronising.
The relationships between characters were better in the film, the main character and Bellini were better friends in the film, in the book they felt estranged. But one thing the book did better was explain Benitez's success - in the film he was a mysterious unknown quantity, but in the book people knew of his work and respected him, so it was not so unrealistic that he got votes when all other candidates fell through.
The big twist was somehow less believable to me in the book. You mean all his life Benitez thought his oversized clitoris was a penis? Wow, this is why we need sex ed. You pee from a penis, that is literally why it is called 'pee-nis'! Where did Benitez think pee came from then? And if he basically had female plumbing, where did the period blood go? I don't get it, although I'm not going to google how it works, either. Anyhow, the film felt more believable to me - people generally don't know what organs they have inside, so it is easy to overlook it, if there is something weird in there.
But all in all, the book was entertaining too, although I probably would have liked it more if I hadn't seen the film.
The pacing of the book felt a bit off - the beginning was slow, but at the end it felt like everything started happening at once , got resolved too fast and there were not enough insights into the thoughts of the characters, where in the beginning there were pretty much only thoughts, no action.
The book was also less dramatic for my tastes, the big speeches that ruined Tedesco's chances and elevated Benitez were tamer and understated in the book, to the point where I thought that Tedesco wasn't actually all that wrong. In the film at least he completely revealed himself as a xenophobic warmonger. In that sense the characters in the book have more depth and complexity... But I missed Tedesco's diabolical vape!
The book also showed more insight into the main character's (he is named Lomeli in the book) psyche. He was shown like such a decrepit wreck in the book that I really preferred the film version where I didn't need to read about his failing memory, aching knees, doubts, prayers and speculations whether he had missed out by never having sex and now he couldn't even if he wanted to. He is older in the book so maybe that is why his attitude towards other people sometimes feels patronising.
The relationships between characters were better in the film, the main character and Bellini were better friends in the film, in the book they felt estranged. But one thing the book did better was explain Benitez's success - in the film he was a mysterious unknown quantity, but in the book people knew of his work and respected him, so it was not so unrealistic that he got votes when all other candidates fell through.
The big twist was somehow less believable to me in the book. You mean all his life Benitez thought his oversized clitoris was a penis? Wow, this is why we need sex ed. You pee from a penis, that is literally why it is called 'pee-nis'! Where did Benitez think pee came from then? And if he basically had female plumbing, where did the period blood go? I don't get it, although I'm not going to google how it works, either. Anyhow, the film felt more believable to me - people generally don't know what organs they have inside, so it is easy to overlook it, if there is something weird in there.
But all in all, the book was entertaining too, although I probably would have liked it more if I hadn't seen the film.
