A host of characters populates Lazarus, and West constantly shifts the point of view among them to give readers a varied perspective on the action. As one might expect, the author's primary focus is on Pope Leo XIV, formerly Cardinal Ludovico Gadda, an Italian who has succeeded the mystic Gregory XVII upon the latter's abdication. Gregory had thrown the Church into turmoil by claiming to have had a private revelation of the end of the world, and by proposing radical alterations in the way the Church should conduct its affairs. Leo XIV, a hard-line traditionalist who has worked to reaffirm the traditional teachings and practices of the Church, undergoes a spiritual experience as a result of his heart surgery. One of the central concerns in Lazarus is Leo's attempt to reverse the policies he established before his surgery; he finds considerable opposition both from within and...