Morris West has written numerous popular works concerning the Catholic Church and its relationship to the world. Lazarus is a short spy/drama/popular religious thought novel.The hero, Pope Leo XIV, learns that he must undergo major coronary bypass surgery. He muses on the prospect of Lazarus-like coming back from death after surgery and wonders what impact the experience will have on his reign. In the meantime, an Arab terrorist squad plots to assassinate the Pope for a number of nebulous reasons. The Pope's surgeon is Jewish (with a Lutheran lover) so the Mossad enters the fray to prevent the killing. Sounds like a mess.
The irony for the Pope comes from his manner of ascension to the throne of St. Peter. He had orchestrated the downfall of his predecessor who had revealed personal communications from God. Naturally this worried the Curia, and he was removed gracefully. Now Pope Leo is having a change of heart himself. He had been known as an immovable and hard conservative, totally inflexible in matters of doctrine. The manner and mechanism of his change is what makes the book interesting; the intrigues and terrorism add spice. Despite its somewhat bizarre plotting the philosophical musings make it engrossing.
