Da Vinci Code

[incka]

I think this book goes in this category, anyway...

I'm slightly more than half way through it and really enjoying it, however I have yet to see why it was at the top of both the amazon and new york times bestseller list for so long - Can someone please enlighten me.

[Ou Be Low hoo]

I have no idea either! It's starts off pretty intriguing then degenerates into a middle-of-the-road thriller...just like any crap by Clive Cussler - Ugh!

[Io.]

Dear Incka,

Quite simply, I believe the answer is controversy. You only have to count the number of spin-off "the /real/ da Vinci code's" to realise that there are a number of people who feel offended by the novel. 'The Da Vinci code' has also received a lot of press because Dan Brown is currently having an intellectual property lawsuit filed against him for the plagiarism of an idea first put forward by Michael Baigent, Henry Lincoln, and Richard Leigh in 'Holy Blood, Holy Grail.' (For more information, try http://news.scotsman.com/uk.cfm?id=42132005 (Here) detailing another new lawsuit). The book is also to be made into a film starring Tom Hanks, I believe as the protagonist.

I'd be happy to discuss the book further, if anyone wants to take the offer up.

Io.

[eflo]

Dear Incka,

Quite simply, I believe the answer is controversy. You only have to count the number of spin-off "the /real/ da Vinci code's" to realise that there are a number of people who feel offended by the novel. 'The Da Vinci code' has also received a lot of press because Dan Brown is currently having an intellectual property lawsuit filed against him for the plagiarism of an idea first put forward by Michael Baigent, Henry Lincoln, and Richard Leigh in 'Holy Blood, Holy Grail.' (For more information, try http://news.scotsman.com/uk.cfm?id=42132005 (http://Here) detailing another new lawsuit). The book is also to be made into a film starring Tom Hanks, I believe as the protagonist.

I'd be happy to discuss the book further, if anyone wants to take the offer up.

Io.

For some reason, when I click on your link Io, it redirects me here (http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html). :confused: Weird. I wonder if it's a Firefox thing. :D When I type the url in manually, everything works out alright. Interesting article nevertheless. I've never read The DaVinci Code, so I can't take you up on your offer. Please feel free to share your thoughts though!!

[Unregistered]

this is interesting.. Was just listening to NPR this morning and they were talking about all the tours that people are taking of Europe. All based on Dan Brown! I guess if it inspired people to take a look at these great things, then good. Although I can't say I completely admire the guy. I myself feel that he may be a little on the "crooked" side. But who really knows.

[lifetaster]

Sorry for the above post not having a name attached to it... kinda forgetful about passwords...etc.
At any rate.. also curious if anyone has read any of these other books that people keep saying Dan Brown is stealing from?

[mazarane]

lifestaster- congratulations- you're now eligible to become a member of the prestigious "oops that was me" club- entrance in the cafe :)


In answer to your question, personally not. I read a book by a couple of the authors of "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" and I imagine it would make an interesting read, but I doubt I'd take it all that seriously.

[lifetaster]

I'm a firm believer that all of that should be taken with a very very large grain of salt...

Just curious about if they were OK reads... someone suggested reading Umberto Eco's Focault's Pendulom (spelling on that may be slightly colored...or just plain offf) after reading Brown.... enjoyed Eco alot more.

[Stewart]

someone suggested reading Umberto Eco's Focault's Pendulum after reading Brown....

That was probably me - I'm a firm believer Brown is crap whilst Eco's novel rules the roost in conspiratorial history novels. Eco's even has real facts. ;)

[Stewart]

curious if anyone has read any of these other books that people keep saying Dan Brown is stealing from?

I have a copy of The Holy Blood & The Holy Grail by Baigent, Leigh, and Lincoln. I also have a copy of The Gnostic Gospels by Elaine Pagels, and a translation of The Nag-Hammadi Library.

I wouldn't say he stole the ideas as the story had been circulating for years covering all the usual haunts of conspiracists and grail seekers: Rennes-le-Chateau, for example. Baigent, Leigh, and Lincoln were dismissed when their book first came out although, like The Da Vinci Code it caused a storm in a teacup. The reason for such a dismissal is that they took some historical facts and then just jumped to a conclusion without offering proof or evidence to support it. Brown has read this and learnt how to jump to his own inventions of history - the book is riddled with "facts" that are, to say the least, tedious connections; an example being that the Olympic rings were some ancient mystical reference when, in fact, the Olympic rings were a relatively recent invention and represent the five different colours represented in every nation that competes' flag. The colours of the rings are these colours.

There are also incidents of "immaculate research" where he states such drivel as England is the only country in Europe where people drive on the left - he has obviously forgotten about Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Wales, Malta, and Cyprus. He got his police forces wrong in England; and Teabing refers to football as soccer.

Add to bad writing, cardboard characters, and an apalling narrative, you have a book that will only be noticed with financial backing that's aimed at American womens' reading groups but, with a bit of money to give it spin, has made it global.

[lifetaster]

Add to bad writing, cardboard characters, and an apalling narrative, you have a book that will only be noticed with financial backing that's aimed at American womens' reading groups but, with a bit of money to give it spin, has made it global.

I agree 100% with this! Money seems to cover a multitude of sins. *sigh*

[Cultural Warrior]

I'm an incredibly balanced human being, and so will begin by praising The Da Vinci Code, and Dan Brown, before I criticise it... I thought the structure was good, the sort of book that delivers a hook at the end of every chapter.

Aside from that... I can't believe that such drivel is being published. There's no need to talk about the quality of the writing, I think that speaks for itself, and the wooden characters... Tom Hanks shouldn't go anywhere near the movie, each part is tailor made for Keanu Reaves.

The ideas and 'intellectual' propery of the book are so flawed it is unbelievable. When Teabing talks about the Nicene Creed it is laughable. He says that the gathering was to decide whether or not Jesus was divine, and when it came to a vote it was a very close call. Firstly, Jesus divinity was never called into question by the early church, that is a complete fabrication, they were discussing the nature of Jesus divinity, i.e. how the Son related to the Father and the Holy Spirit. And as to 'close votes' if 118 to 2 is close, then I'm a fan of Dan Brown's writing.

The 'facts' page at the begining is also completely ridiculous.
I'm not going to bang on anymore about this waste of papyrus. To keep typing would be a waste of the human blood I'm using for ink.

[Jezebel]

I think this book goes in this category, anyway...

I'm slightly more than half way through it and really enjoying it, however I have yet to see why it was at the top of both the amazon and new york times bestseller list for so long - Can someone please enlighten me.


Psychological manipulation of the masses. The DaVinci Code is the newest trend and people are easily manipulated into believing that they MUST follow trends. Whether or not the book is good doesn't really matter. Is tickle me elmo really a superior toy? Do millions of women even like the Gucci bags they spend hundreds of dollars on? Quality doesnt matter when it comes to trends and marketing. The DaVinci Code is a cash cow plain and simple- and it's working beautifully.

[musi]

Being pressed on by the masses of those, who have already read Da Vinci Code, me and my Mom read it. and right after that we read "Angels and Demons". so now two plots are somehow a little mixed in my head, but i must say that by the end i was truly tired of that kind of writing. seriously. it was like one character always told very long stories, each time stressing the same point he meant to stress (that sucks), over and over repeating everything.:bad:
second of all, it is a typical screenplay book for a movie. it has so many movie words, that would look really cool on screen and besides, the "intense" moments look a little artificial.:bad:
that was about both books.

as for Da Vinci Code itself, it is an open criticism of politics of Catholic Church. of how somebody burned all the evidence and bla-bla-bla. the funny part is that we cannot prove anything now, so we eaither must believe it or not. as for Leonardo's "Last Supper", i was truly impressed. the woman sitting next to Jesus can be argued, however the hand with the knife is real.:good:
the PHI number is also good (oh, is it from Da Vinci Code?). i tried it on myself. i am harmonized.:)

if Dan Brown hadn't added so many stereotypical things from the movie to his book, it would be a great one, really. but now when reading it, i can directly picture it all on the screen - a really typical action movie with a mystery to solve.

and i think he was paid for the quantity of words, because half can be cut down for certain.

[majime_na_yuki]

Oh, the DaVinci Code: the it-book of the moment. I have to admit, I read it because I have a bit of a weakness for conspiracy theories...Ahem, but anyway, I did enjoy this book - at first. It had a nice, suspensful flow to it; it didn't come close to compensating for the mannequin-like characters, but I was willing to overlook that, for the most part. (Oh, what really annoyed me about the characterization was the rushed, obligatory, lifeless romance between Sophie and Langdon thrown in at the very end of the book like an afterthought. Ah, it was simply dreadful.) When I finished the book, I realised that the cause of my enjoyment of it was the not the quality of the prose nor plot (obviously), but the possibility that the theories behind this tale were true. And the fact is, most of them are not. There never even was a Priory of Sion, a fact that blows apart most of the potential veracity of Brown's book...Ah, I really hate this book: it's a shame that it ever found its way into the zeitgeist of the past few years.

[Stewart]

and i think he was paid for the quantity of words

Because it certainly wouldn't have been for the quality. Worst writing in the world (after Sean Wright (http://www.seanwright.co.uk)) and some of the clumsiest arrangements of words (combined with cliches) that I have ever had the misfortune to read.

The quanity, typically, is irrelevant. Authors get paid an advance and also royalties.


the possibility that the theories behind this tale were true. And the fact is, most of them are not. There never even was a Priory of Sion, a fact that blows apart most of the potential veracity of Brown's book.

The Holy Blood & The Holy Grail appeared a few decades ago with its ridiculous assumptions. The authors did some research and then jumped to their conclusions which made them the laughing stock of the literary community. Dan Brown probably found this book in a bargain bin and (knowing nothing of the story behind it) used it as the backbone of his novel.

That is, of course, if he actually wrote The Da Vinci Code, something he's unwilling to swear under oath in court.

[Winifred]

I agree that this book has a lot of stylistic flaws, and probably should have at least acknowledged the Holy Grail book-although whether a novelist can be sued for "plagiarizing" a book aiming for non-fiction is a separate and interesting thread of its own-but let me play Devil's Advocate here.
The huge appeal of this book for me-and I hope for others- was its recognition of a basic gap in the Christian pantheon, as it were. I am back at church after a break of many years, but I must say, I still feel invisible as a woman all the way through the liturgy. Father, Son, Holy Ghost, and .......? I think the book works as a sort of cultural anima thing, however flawed otherwise. My take on it is that the persistant idea of the patriarchial church suppressing the female has graduated from Joseph Campbell to popular novel. I'm not sure that's a bad thing at all.
The cardboard love story(great description!), on the other hand....

[Stewart]

Here's my full review:

The success of The Da Vinci Code is certainly a literary anomaly. Both unexpected and unexplainable, the sheer volume of sales is surprising as the book is not, in my opinion, well written, intelligent, or original.



It begins in Le Louvre, Paris, with some of the clumsiest writing I've ever seen. Classics such as describing the eyes and hair colour of a silhouette are par for the course here as a museum curator of considerable renown (and how many curators have you heard of?) is murdered. From there, enter our cardboard hero, Robert Langdon, who will solve the mystery armed only with a similarly cardboard French girl and the author's help. Off he goes solving puzzles you and I solved pages ago (sometimes even chapters) despite us laymen not being schooled in his esoteric field. Throw in a couple of lame baddies, a historical secret, and the 'thrill' of the chase and you have The Da Vinci Code - a children's novel marketed at adults.



The book is fast paced, its 500 plus pages are quickly digested, although this is because the author writes such short chapters that there's a lot of blank space when one chapter ends a few lines into the page. Throughout, it uses one plot device: the cliffhanger. Fair enough, it gets you reading through the book but the author could have used more literary tactics in order to develop his story.



There are a number of places, however, where the book falls down: the writing, the characters, and the history. At times, it seems, Brown has raided a factbook of dubious authenticity and tried to cram as much of its content into his book without even deliberating over its relevance to the story at hand.



Firstly, the writing: It's simple and unemotional. There are many clumsy instances where the author says something which is simply not possible (see the silhouette comments above) or jars i.e. 'Silas prayed for a miracle and little did he know that in two hours he would get one'. You are left wondering if the author is, in parallel to the dubious facts, trying to squeeze in as much content as possible from his Little Book of Bad Cliches.



The characters, despite travelling with them for the duration of the book, never developed. They 'ooh-ed and ah-ed' their way through the startling revelations and that's about it. Their dialogue was intolerable, at times, and there were occasions when you just couldn't believe what was coming out of their mouths: Englishman saying 'soccer', French girl saying 'spring break'. It's Americanism after Americanism with these people despite only one character being American; surely, if you do as much research as Dan Brown claims to have done, you would find out how your characters speak. Another ‘joy’ is the utter shock on one character's face - who has just been told a stream of pseudo-history wher she hardly flinched- as she learns that 'rose' is an anagram of 'Eros'.



It's the facts, however, that really let this book down. It claims from the start that a number of things (such as art, documents, locations) are accurate which, with the author's supposed research, you hope to believe. And then you are inundated with Paris the wrong way around, the wrong police forces running about, French cops commanding the British cops, England being the only country in Europe where they drive on the left (conveniently forgetting Scotland, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Wales, Cyprus, and Malta), and other such nonsense as British knights carrying ID cards which pronounce them above the law.



That's the errors but, as I've said before, there are times when you feel the author is just including stuff to pad the book. Common sentences are 'Robert Langdon was surprised how many people didn't actually know...this or that' or 'Robert Langdon often smiled when he thought about how few people knew...this or that'. Place descriptions don't fare much better, unfortunately, as they are out of the story's context and read like 'copy and pastes' from tourist websites.



All in all, I've found the book to be like marmite; there are those that love it and those that hate it. I proudly place myself in the latter camp.



The pace, I enjoyed. The book, I didn't. Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco covered this topic back in the 1980s - it's nothing new. Brown is just recycling the poor 'The Holy Blood & The Holy Grail' as fiction. Bad history meets bad fiction - it's a marriage made in Heaven.



If you want some no-brain beach reading - and haven't read this yet - then give it a try; it's airport tat! Don't, however, believe a word of it, as it is, for the most part, nonsense. If, however, you are looking for a great novel that deals with similar topics, and has a great reread potential, then read the aforementioned Foucault's Pendulum - it's superior in every way.

[Noe24]

Uhm i enjoyed it very much when i was reading it, but i got a lil bit dissapointed with its end.

I was expecting a lot more. All in all, a good book.

[~*~Inwë Mithrandír~*~]

When I was reading the book, I was thinking what the main characters might discover in the end... and I was right :) I really enjoyed the book, it was very well written, but I agree with you when you say that the end was a little disappointing... It was a little too predictable...

[Knyaz]

its a best seller, because its controversial, it deals with Jesus, religion thus many people would want to read it just to see what the fuss is all about

[Watson]

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who was underwhelmed with the Da Vinci Code. Stewart has done a pretty thorough job of pointing out its flaws so I wont bother repeating them. Has anyone else noticed how similar all Dan Brown's books are? They all seem to have the generic 'baddy that's not really a baddy' and the 'friend that turns out to be a wrong un'. Not the worst author I've read but not far away

[Lizzie]

I can't say anything on the subject as I have yet to read. :p

I want to though, I've only heard good things about it.

[Bliss]

I enjoyed it but it is light reading. It took a few hours, did not have to think much, just let myself wander. I was not looking for literary genius when I picked this book up just something to take me away for a couple of hours. It worked it, it was a relaxing read for me.

I have never read any of his other books so I can not really comment on his writing technique or style.

[classicn]

I read this one because of all the hoopla. The topic sounded interesting and it was available at the local library.

I liked it. It hooked quickly and didn't have any excessively slow points. I think I was able to enjoy it due to these factors:

I'm a firm believer that not every book is, or is even trying to be Anna Karenina.

The essential theme doesn't offend any of my deeply held beliefs.

I believe that a good book is approachable. My definition of a good book is not one that has a stylistic perfection, but one that is read (and enjoyed) by the masses.

Controversy is always great for sales. As far as the facts go, my copy did say 'fiction' on the spine. Caveat Emptor!

Kevin S. Peterson
Classic Novels In 5 Minutes a Day!
http://www.classic-novels.com