The Delight of Being Ordinary

The Delight of Being Ordinary: A Road Trip with the Pope and Dalai Lama by Roland Merullo  367 pp.

When the Dalai Lama makes an official visit to the Vatican, Pope Francis comes up with the idea of a secret, unsanctioned road trip around Italy, the vacation that he is not allowed. He saddles his personal assistant and cousin Paolo with making the arrangements in less than 24 hours. Paolo helps the two holy men escape from the Vatican without their bodyguards. Rosa arranges for them to get them professional, movie quality disguises and borrows a friend's Maserati SUV for the journey. There is no real itinerary for the trip other than some vague and similar dreams the Pope and Dalai Lama have been having. They dodge the authorities and media who believe Paolo has kidnapped the holy men against their will and there is a reward on their heads. Paolo is increasingly neurotic and upset about some of the situations they find themselves in and neither the holy men nor his wife can calm his worries. The Pope and Dalai Lama are having a great time on their illicit vacation. The end of the journey is handled in a satisfactory way although I still wish I could to shake some sense into Paolo for some of his idiotic attitudes. 

The Order

The Order by Daniel Silva  496 pp.

In this, the latest Gabriel Allon tale, the suspicious death of the Pope distracts Mossad Director Allon from a much needed family vacation. Pope Paul VII, whose life was saved by Allon in The Messenger, dies in his chambers while his personal secretary, Archbishop Luigi Donati is away from the Vatican. Because of the circumstances of the death and missing items from the Pope's study, Donati believes the Pope was murdered. He calls on his friend Allon to help investigate and together they learn of a plot by the secret Order of St. Helena, an organization with connections to the Nazis, to place the candidate of their choice as Pope and bolster the rise of their cause in Europe. Silva draws from today's headlines for much of the story's background. I only hope he is not as prescient as he was about the Arab Spring events in Portrait of a Spy. I usually read Silva's books as soon as it comes out and then wait impatiently for a year for the next one. I waited a bit before starting this one and now only have to wait 11 months. The audiobook was read by my favorite narrator, George Guidall, who does an excellent job, as always.