Da Vinci Code

[3113]

So, the Da Vinci Code is getting this HUGE new print run (apparently), even though it's already sold a ton.

I've yet to read it, but I know it's all about a huge, historical conspiracy in the Catholic Church. So. Give me the low-down here. I know that run-away best sellers aren't always that well written...what I'm really curious about is why this one has struck a cord. Is it just a good read, or do you think it's that zeitgeist thing? How are the characters? Plot? Descriptions? Historical details? Does it play fast and lose or did the writer do some actual work in creating this reality?

I'm especially curious as it's evidently quite critical of religion in these religious times. Does it get away with that by being anti-Catholic? If it was, say, anti-Evangelical would it have failed? And IS it anti-Catholic? Is it because times are religious that a book about a religious conspiracy is popular? What do you who've read it think about it...as storytelling as as a phenomena?

Oh, and don't worry about telling me details and ruining the story. I've no real interest in reading it, and even if I did, I wouldn't feel bad about already knowing the story. But do warn others if there's going to be "spoilers."

 

[SEVERUSMAX]

Well, to sum it up, it claims that Jesus of Nazareth married Mary Magdalene and had descendents through her, and that this is an embarrassing secret to the Catholic Church, because it would suggest (to some, that is) that the proper leadership of Christianity would be in the hands of his descendents. To me, it's just an interesting novel. Being a pagan, it doesn't affect me one way or the other. I will point out, however, that Jewish men were historically expected to marry and father children, not be celibates like most people think of Jesus as being. That's another thing. It undermines the Catholic emphasis on celibacy. To be fair to the other side of the issue, however, he might have been an Essene, and Essenes WERE celibate.

 

[Liar]

Not sure what to think of it. I heard all the hooplah about it, so I read it, and was thorougly unimpressed. A decent run-of-the-mill quasi political/mystical thriller with cardboard characters. The themes are regurgitated old urban legends and freemason mythology that has been around for ages.

So I guess it must be a zeitgeist thing. Dan Brown was an able enough author that hit a good wave, the same way that JK Rowling did. Timing is a wonderful thing.

 

[Guest]

 

[impressive]

Not sure what to think of it. I heard all the hooplah about it, so I read it, and was thorougly unimpressed. A decent run-of-the-mill quasi political/mystical thriller with cardboard characters. The themes are regurgitated old urban legends and freemason mythology that has been around for ages.

Agree.

I was, however, impressed with the research involved.

 

[SEVERUSMAX]

Of course, if you read Jesus's words from the Gospels, they sound very much like Essene theology, so there may be a point to it. For instance, the communal life, the celibacy, the emphasis on eschatology, and the apparent pacifism were all traits of the Essene community. They were the most radical sect of Judaism in their time, in terms of being basically the Jewish version of monks (or, in, Jesus's case, friars, due to the itinerant nature of his career).

 

[entitled]

Guess i'm in the minority. i loved it.

It might have been because i bought it on a whim, cheap, while on vacation and it kept my mind occupied instead of dealing with inlaws during the WHOLE damned trip, or it could have been because i had just finished reading The Woman With the Alabaster Jar (about the Jesus/Mary Magdalene thing), or a number of other things. Or it could be the fact that i'm really not normal when it comes to tastes in what makes a good read. Whatever.

 

[sophia jane]

It's a crappy book. Any reader with a minimum of education can solve the "big riddle" within 30 seconds of reading the clue. The quality of writing is abysmal, the characters are stock cardboard, and it's bad. Really bad. It reaches new depths of badness, it's so bad. Yuk!

Tell us how you really feel, Jammies!

It's been a bit since I read it, but I remember the writing being average. The characters were pretty much just...there. I did however enjoy some of the theories presented, mostly because that kind of thing is interesting to me.

I have to say, if you're looking for a book with some interesting views of religion- read Lamb: the Gospel of Biff, Christ's childhood pal by Chirstopher Moore.

 

[Selena_Kitt]

A decent run-of-the-mill quasi political/mystical thriller with cardboard characters. The themes are regurgitated old urban legends and freemason mythology that has been around for ages.

Agreed.

I enjoyed it a lot, actually... it was yummy brain candy... even made me go read the rest of his, which was a mistake... :x

But I found DaVinci code worthwhile summer fare....

 

[Liar]

Agree.

I was, however, impressed with the research involved.

What research? All he referrs to was neatly packen in popular sience publications already. The authors of one of those books, 'Holy Blood Holy Grail', are currently suing Brown for plagiarism. (Although that seems ridiculous - this wasn't news when they wrote their book either.) I played a computer game in the late 90's (Gabriel Knight III or IV I think it was) that gave me just about as much insight in the myths as Brown is displaying. I've seen at least two different documentaries about it on TV at different times.

 

[Guest]

 

[CharleyH]

So, the Da Vinci Code is getting this HUGE new print run (apparently), even though it's already sold a ton.

It probably has a surge in print because of curiosity regarding the current plagerism case. Mr. Brown is said to have stolen much of the research in question.

(apologies to Liar, I didn't see that you later mention this fact. However, there is probably also a similar surge in their books. People enjoy comparing.

 

[Pure]

Jesus and Mary M was 'done' rather nicely by Kazantzakis.

Brown has somehow a gift for creating a page turner mystery-pot-boiler with an air of coming from deep research and revealing 'secrets'-- many of which were in the Holy Grail book, whose authors are suing Brown. I've only forced myself to read a few passages.

(I don't think the Holy Grail book is all that original either, it's the tone of *revealing the conspiracy* that gets to people.)

Many threads on Brown, but few have figured what he's got to sell to millions-- whereas our worthies have trouble with finding publishers, in most cases!
---

PS, I'd say Harry Potter is superior in plot, character, descriptions, though I've only read bits.

 

[CharleyH]

Jesus and Mary M was 'done' rather nicely by Kazantzakis.

Brown has somehow a gift for creating a page turner mystery-pot-boiler with an air of coming from deep research and revealing 'secrets'-- many of which were in the Holy Grail book, whose authors are suing Brown. I've only forced myself to read a few passages.

(I don't think the Holy Grail book is all that original either, it's the tone of *revealing the conspiracy* that gets to people.)

Many threads on Brown, but few have figured what he's got to sell to millions-- whereas our worthies have trouble with finding publishers, in most cases!
---

PS, I'd say Harry Potter is superior in plot, character, descriptions, though I've only read bits.

LOL

Although, I do wonder what originality is when basing a fiction on historical research (didn't think history was copywrited? ) or even sometimes non-fiction based on previous non-fiction. I once did my grade 13 (yeah we used to have it here) art thesis on how no style is really 'original' because it is aways an evolution or revolution of something prior?

 

[Quick-n-Dirty]

(I don't think the Holy Grail book is all that original either, it's the tone of *revealing the conspiracy* that gets to people.)

And yet...it doesn't really display that kind of tone, once you read it. It's mostly the buzz around it that talks of revelations more than the actual book, that actually repeatedly says "this is no big news, the idea of a Christ bloodline has been written about many times" (and even mentions the 'Holy Blood' book as one of those publications).

PS, I'd say Harry Potter is superior in plot, character, descriptions, though I've only read bits.

I'd say I agree. They're good. But I've read much better written books for the same target audience, that didn't get the humongous success that Potter did.



/Liar, on the wrong login...

 

[Norajane]

I liked Da Vinci Code. No, it's not great literature, or even good literature, but it's a page turner, and he wove in the historical fiction and conspiracy theories in such a way that it got people talking, and even believing plausibility. Most mystery novels are formulaic, as is Brown's writing, but it was a different formula from most other run of the mill murder plots.

I haven't read other books or research on the topic, nor do I really care to as to religion isn't of much interest to me, but I got a kick out of the controversy about it. Anything that makes us think about established dogma from a different perspective is of benefit to society, IMHO.

I read Lamb by Christopher Moore and loved it - it's way better than DaVinci Code, at least the first 2/3 of the book. But it was more humor than mystery, so it was a totally different kind of book altogether, and not easy to compare.

 

[Young-Impressionable]

I liked the book. Maybe I just don't know enough about religion, Catholicism specifically, to be bored by the subject. However, I did like Angel & Demons much better.

 

[dr_mabeuse]

You're going to see religion-themed books getting more and more popular as the boomers retire and turn to contemplating their navels and doubting the ultimacy of materialism.

Brown was ahead of the wave and the book's popularity caught everyone by surprise, but it actually reads like it was engineered or designed rather than written, like some focus group got together and said what they wanted in a summer novel and Brown wrote it for them. It's got everything: secret sects, messages hidden in medieval architecture, killer albino priests, murder, scandal, treasure, puzzles, action. No butt sex though. In fact, I don't think there's any sex.

Part of the book's popularity comes from it's feminist theme. The 2000 year-old plot to suppress Mary Magdelene--the female aspect of God--is portrayed as a patriarchal conspiracy to keep women down, so there's a lot of mooshy stuff about goddess worship in it.

It's a fun book, but not that much fun. The writing is bad, the characters flat, and the action improbable and at times laughable (there's a slow-acting poisons that gives one victim time to take off his clothes and arrange himself on the floor of the Louvre in the position of that famous Da Vinci drawing {whose name I forget} in order to leave a clue.)

It would be a great book to have on a plane. On the beach in the daylight, it just seems all too improbable.

 

[Guest]

Well if your going to read it then read Angels and Demons as well.... read that one first

And the reason why the book is so huge again is because of the movie that is coming out this summer...

I liked it... his research was out of this world.... He did an amazing job on the writing weaving it together and putting it in pieces so that people could understand it even if they were not catholic

 

[ElizabethWest]

And the reason why the book is so huge again is because of the movie that is coming out this summer...

Tom Hanks. *slurp*

 

[Rumple Foreskin]

Being a freemason and a historian, there wasn't a lot of new info for me in the book. I read it to try and figure out why it was so popular. The reactions of folks on this thread who enjoyed the book give a better clue than anything I could suggest.

Both my son and I thought it was an okay read, but found ourselves having to force ourselves to finish the thing. That, IMHO, is not a goodness for a page-turner action/adventure/mystery.

I'm pretty much onboard with what Liar and Zoot said. As for the overall quality, think early Tom Clancy with a dose of religion and feminism.

Rumple Foreskin

 

[CharleyH]

You're going to see religion-themed books getting more and more popular as the boomers retire and turn to contemplating their navels and doubting the ultimacy of materialism.

Brown was ahead of the wave and the book's popularity caught everyone by surprise, but it actually reads like it was engineered or designed rather than written, like some focus group got together and said what they wanted in a summer novel and Brown wrote it for them. It's got everything: secret sects, messages hidden in medieval architecture, killer albino priests, murder, scandal, treasure, puzzles, action. No butt sex though. In fact, I don't think there's any sex.

Part of the book's popularity comes from it's feminist theme. The 2000 year-old plot to suppress Mary Magdelene--the female aspect of God--is portrayed as a patriarchal conspiracy to keep women down, so there's a lot of mooshy stuff about goddess worship in it.

It's a fun book, but not that much fun. The writing is bad, the characters flat, and the action improbable and at times laughable (there's a slow-acting poisons that gives one victim time to take off his clothes and arrange himself on the floor of the Louvre in the position of that famous Da Vinci drawing {whose name I forget} in order to leave a clue.)

It would be a great book to have on a plane. On the beach in the daylight, it just seems all too improbable.

And only your spin makes me even remotely curious, suddenly. LOL

 

[3113]

It's a crappy book. Any reader with a minimum of education can solve the "big riddle" within 30 seconds of reading the clue. The quality of writing is abysmal, the characters are stock cardboard, and it's bad. Really bad. It reaches new depths of badness, it's so bad. Yuk!

LOL! jammies, please post more critiques. Books, movies, anything. This was wonderful!

 

[3113]

It's got everything: ...killer albino priests...

Don't you just hate those? Wasn't there one of those in "Name of the Rose"? How many albinos go into the priesthood anyway? Or become killers....

there's a slow-acting poisons that gives one victim time to take off his clothes and arrange himself on the floor of the Louvre in the position of that famous Da Vinci drawing {whose name I forget} in order to leave a clue.)

If I were dying from a slow-acting poison, that's the first thing I'd do! Um...no wait, I think I might call 911 instead....but while I was waiting for the ambulence I'd take off my clothes and position myself so that if I died, there'd be a clue....because why bother sending an e-mail when you can literally be a dying clue?