Hadrian the Seventh

The novel is a thinly-veiled portrait of the author, as he is unexpectedly chosen to be Pope. The new Pope (Hadrian) has previously been an overlooked genius, hamstrung by poverty, circumstance, and the ill-will of others. After his elevation, he proceeds to remake the world in his own image, and astonish the conventional cardinals in the meantime.

A weird, uneven book. I picked it up because it was much admired by Charles Williams (my boy), and it's easy to see why. CW himself was a brilliant but eccentric writer, always concerned with getting by, and never achieved popular (or widespread critical) success.

Noted on February 17, 2016