Paul VI

Paul VI Alden Hatch 279pp.

Alden Hatch’s biography of the late pope, Paul VI is a nice tracing of the course of a man’s journey through the Catholic Church, up through his role as pope. The biography begins, conventionally enough, with Giovanni Battista’s birth and boyhood in the Italian Alps. From there, Hatch follows the young priest through his career and life working in and around the Vatican. Interestingly, the biography does not hit its high point in or around Battista’s election to the papacy, personally, that section felt rather dull (On further reflection, perhaps this shouldn’t surprise me, since the event itself is shrouded in a veil of extreme secrecy.) Rather, Paul VI is at its most interesting by far when it discusses Pope Paul VI’s management of the second Vatican Council. Hatch uses this as the final scene with which to end his biography.

Hatch’s writing is conversational to a fault, every element from Paul’s life feels like you’re listening to someone describing the life of a very close friend. It would have been easy, in this manner of book, to slip into a sort of bland devotional writing, but Hatch tactfully avoids this pitfall. Additionally, while I personally would have liked Hatch to at least dip his toes into the turbulent theological waters of the discussions at the council, I think that by taking a route around them, his book worked much more effectively.

Paul VI was a good book. Hatch’s style was relaxed and comfortable, lending itself to a very skillfully executed biography. The only complaint that I could make against it, and I’m stretching a bit here, is that it felt a little too easy and simple; but I enjoyed the book tremendously anyway. 

Would I recommend Paul VI? I’m not certain on this one. It was a good book, to be certain, but I think that its appeal is going to be limited to a somewhat niche audience. I suppose that if you’re interested in the history of the papacy, this is the book for you.

Score: 3.7/5

Would I keep this on my bookshelf? No.

-Mr. Cheddar