Conclave by Robert Harris

"No one who follows their conscience ever does wrong, Your Eminence. The consequences may not turn out as we intend; it may prove in time that we made a mistake. But that is not the same as being wrong. The only guide to a person's actions can ever be their conscience, for it is in our conscience that we most clearly hear the voice of God."

         -Cardinal Benitez, from the novel
 

Conclave was recommended to me by a friend and fellow Presbyterian. Not knowing a great deal about Catholicism, it was at times confusing. However, I learned so much along with being drawn into a compelling drama.

The pope has died, and it falls to Cardinal Jacopo Lomeli as Dean of the College of Cardinals to manage the election of a new pope, the Conclave. He is the one to tell the story. One hundred eighteen cardinals gather from around the world to take part in the sacred and secretive election. To begin there are about 5 contenders, including one who would, if elected, be the first African pope in history. Before long, a "dark horse" who is a relatively unknown cardinal joins the Conclave. All the attendees are holy men, but with feet of clay and Lomeli begins to get hints of personal ambition but also scandal and corruption which are of great concern. Even after 7 votes, there is no clear choice. And then the eighth....

Conclave was a page-turner for me---a rating of 5---and I look forward to seeing the film soon.

Walking on Water by Richard Paul Evans

 

"I had always thought of my walk as an escape from the past, but now I could see that it was also an escape from my future---a future that I wasn't any more prepared for now than I had been when I first set foot outside my house in Seattle.

Would I ever be ready? Could one really ever be ready for the unknown? If the road has taught me one thing for certain, it is this---one never knows who or what the next mile will bring."

     -from the diary of Alan Christoffersen

Finishing this novel was bittersweet---I was happy to get Alan to Key West but sad to have finished the last book of The Walk series. No more to look forward to although I know Evans has other books to check out and I probably will. This one I will rate a 4, a bit lower than the others and I will tell you why.

At the end of book 4, Alan receives word that his father has had a heart attack in California so at the beginning of this 5th installment he flies to LA to be with him. Fully half this novel takes place there as Alan ministers to his father, finds and reads a family history he has been writing and receives instructions for his end-of-life. His friend Nicole reenters his life and is emotional support for him. I think this part of the book is interesting but not as compelling as his on-the-road narratives in which he meets such interesting characters. Thus a 4 rating.

The last half of the book was more interesting with Alan's Florida walk reaching several very familiar places---St. Augustine, Daytona Beach, Kennedy Space Center and eventually the Keys. He spotted a tiny key deer in Big Pine Key where we had seen them when we visited years ago. He finally reaches Key West, the farthest point, where friends Nicole and Kailamai are waiting to celebrate with him. I hope this isn't a spoiler; I believe the reader expects him to reach his destination at the end of the series. A surprise awaits which I will NOT reveal.

Big Trouble by Dave Barry

 

"[Matt and Eliot] lapsed into silence, each drifting off into jumbled recollections of the evening. At the Herk home, Anna, Jenny, and Nina were doing the same, as was Puggy in his tree. In each case, the recollections were surprisingly pleasant, considering that the evening had begun with somebody apparently trying to kill somebody."

     -from the novel

The first Page Turners selection of 2025, chosen for its brevity (less that 300 pages) and ease of reading, was quite amusing and, at times, ridiculous. After wading through East of Eden, it was a welcome change. Not much literary value, I would say, but good entertainment.

In and around Miami, take one homeless guy who moves into a deserted tree house near the home of Arthur Herk, an embezzling employee of an unethical company and an abusive alcoholic, and his wife and stepdaughter. Add in two totally inept hit men from New Jersey out to get Arthur plus two low-level criminals out to "improve themselves" to high-level. Mix in a couple of high school kids playing a game of "Killer" with a water gun, sometimes mistaken for the real thing. And let's not forget to add a self-proclaimed crime fighter, a watchdog that only watches for food, a giant toad and a 13-foot python named Daphne, not to mention some Miami PD cops and even the FBI. Sound wild? Well, it does take place in Flori-duh! 

This crazy story was a comedy of errors and reminded me of the "dumb crook" stories a deputy assigned to our elementary school used to tell the students, to their great amusement. I will rate Big Trouble a 3. I am curious to see what the group will think.

East of Eden by John Steinbeck

 

"Virtue and vice were warp and woof of our first consciousness, and they will be the fabric of our last, and this despite any changes we may impose on field and river and mountain, on economy and manners. There is no other story. A man, after he has brushed off the dust and chips of his life, will have left only the hard, clean questions: Was it good or was it evil? Have I done well---or ill?"

     -from the novel

I cannot remember if I ever read this novel before so when it was offered as an eBook at a discount, I decided I should take advantage. I surely wish I had noticed it was over 650 pages! (I prefer 450 or less.) The plot was intriguing enough to keep me reading but I thought I would never finish! It was very wordy, making for tedious reading. By the time I was 3/4 through, I had almost forgotten some of the beginning.

The title hints at the book of Genesis in the Bible and the plot is somewhat reminiscent of the story of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel. It is a family saga of the Trasks and the Hamiltons in the Salinas Valley of California. The Hamilton family, Samuel and his wife and 9 children, are one side of the story and closely connected to the Trasks. It seemed to me a Hamilton grandchild narrates some of the story. 

Adam Trask and wife, Cathy, likely represent the original residents of Eden, although I think Cathy---later Kate---is way more wicked than Eve ever was! Cathy gives birth to twin boys and promptly deserts them and their father. The Trasks have a hired Chinese man, Lee, who practically raises the two boys, later named Caleb and Aron (think Cain and Abel). He is very patient and very wise and was one of my favorite characters.

I have rated the book a 3. Guess I will check page counts before reading from now on.

A Step of Faith by Richard Paul Evans

 

"For the third time since I began, my walk has been delayed. In the beginning, I had considered these stops on my journey as interruptions---but I'm coming to understand that perhaps these detours are my journey. No matter how much I, or the rest of humanity wishes otherwise, life is not lived in smooth, downhill expressways, but in the obscure, perilous trails and rocky back roads of life where we stumble and feel our way through the fog of the unknown. Life is not a sprint. It was never meant to be. It is just one step of faith after another."

   -Alan Christoffersen's thoughts from the novel

I finished this 4th installment of The Walk series in two days. I am finding these novels to be page turners, looking forward to what will happen next to our sojourner, Alan Cristoffersen. Only one more book to go and I surely hope Alan makes it to Key West, his final destination.

Alan begins this leg of his journey in St. Louis where he has been diagnosed with a brain tumor. He learns he must have surgery, and his father takes him to Los Angeles for the operation and his recovery. After some time, maybe not enough, he flies back to St. Louis to restart his walk, much to his father's chagrin. 

As in the first 3 books, he meets some very unique characters. There is Pastor Tim who gives him a place to rest and shares a vision of his future. Later while walking through a bad storm, he is kindly offered a ride by a woman named Paige.

When he reaches Memphis, he visits Graceland. Funny because when we were in Memphis, we felt it was a must-see, also. The foreshadowing at the end of chapter 29 made me so curious: "If someone had told me what I would encounter on the next leg of my journey, I never would have believed them." As it turns out he met the leader of a cult who Alan called a "religious nut." I think that was an understatement!

Near the Okefenokee Swamp, Alan was offered a place to sleep (away from the snakes and gators) by Dustin who turned out to be a paranoid hermit. When he reached Folkston, Georgia, he plugged in his phone and there was good news and bad news. That's all you get from me...

Next is Walking on Water.