The Pope's Guest: A Novel

Ilya is the uncouth, uneducated son of ardent Communist workers who becomes a war hero in the Red Army. After the war he experiences a radical conversion to Christianity and becomes a priest, but also eventually a KGB general and Metropolitan of Leningrad. Captivated by the prophecy of Russia's return to Christianity contained in the appearance of the Virgin Mary to a few simple shepherds in Portugal, Ilya decides he must make overtures to the new pontiff in an effort toward ecumenical collaboration that will facilitate the fulfillment of the prophecy. When he leaves for Rome, his KGB superiors plot to have him assassinated, and the Mafia contacts involved also plot the assassination of John Paul. Dostoevsky meets Le Carré in this rich tapestry of intrigue, betrayal, heroism, and faith. There is the stuff of a thriller here, but it is a serious novel written in a richly varied style.