Deconstructing Da Vinci
My best friend read the book. My husband's employer read the book. Half the planet seemingly read the book. Despite the fact that it was a #1 Best Seller FOREVER, I still hadn't read it. Yup, Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code...until last week, I had never read it. Oh, I had tried. But I couldn't get past the first two pages. I have never been a big fan of the suspense thriller genre and I just couldn't bring myself to read it. But, when I went out for supper with my brother two weeks ago, I had to face his disappointment that he had read a book that really interested him and he couldn't discuss it with his librarian sister because she hadn't bothered to read it. That sucked. So, I pulled it together and tackled the book. Here's what I thought:
- It's really not that well-written. I've read well-written books, and this is not it. Brown over-explains things quite often, breaks everything into small chapters like changing scenes in an action movie, and always uses the $0.50 word instead of the $10.00 one. There are no intricacies of language to lose yourself in with this book. That said, the book is very accessible. It is very easy to read. The plain language and long explanations mean that anyone - with practically no knowledge of religion or art - can understand this book. The short chapters are also nice for people with busy lives. Working moms, commuters, business men with short attention spans, can read two pages, aka one chapter, and break away from the book without feeling like they should have read more.
- It is well researched. The James Rollins-style writing pushed me away at first, but the intricacies of the research drew me in. I am a huge fan of Da Vinci's work and love to argue religion, so this was my kind of book. The Da Vinci Code was based on a lot of fact and the fictional plot seemed to grow organically out of that. Granted, I'm not saying that he didn't take liberties with his research - it is a fictional book after all, but enough of it was true to capture people's interest. Everyone loves a conspiracy theory!
In the end, I recommend it. It's a bit of a summer read and it's light...but it will make you think, too. That's the beauty and the true secret of the code: it's a conspiracy theory that nearly anyone can get into. And nearly everyone has...including, after far too long, me.
posted by LilyMab @ 21:39
14 comments
14 Comments:
I too read the Da Vinci Code, and I thought it was pretty good. Not great, but pretty good. The conspiracy theory is an interesting one. Personally, it wouldn't surprise me one bit if Jesus were really married to Mary Magdalene and had kids. There's no question about the Christian Church trying to stamp out the "Goddess". Christianity is so misogynistic. And of course most of you have probaby heard about the new James Cameron documentary about possibly discovering the family tomb of Jesus... and there is one ossuary with the label "Jude son of Jesus". So. There you go. But if anyone else out there hasn't read the Da Vinci Code yet, I recommend reading the illustrated version. That's the one I read, and it helped immensely to have photos of all the paintings and places that he mentions in the book. Otherwise, I knew I would have been jumping up every two minutes to google something so I could see what he was talking about.
Oh, so interesting that you're talking about this. I read it a few months ago, tired of listening to everyone talk about it and not being able to toss in my two cents. I really did not like the book at all. The content was fine (even interesting) but the writing style was exhausting to read. I had also just finished a trilogy based on Jane Austen, so I was used to a very slow and civilized text as well, so I may have been a little overly sensitive, but it was like reading the text coming out a machine gun. Give it a rest already!
However, I then saw the movie, forced by my other half, and have to admit that I really liked the movie. That's actually rare for me, I NEVER like the movie. I really enjoyed it and thought it was better than the book, BUT, I would not have understood the movie as well as I did had I not read the book. So there you are.
I didn't realize there was an illustrated version, too bad, might have made a difference for me.
I tried about a month ago to read 'Angels & Devils", but only made it through the first chapter, started hearing that machine gun fire in my head again and put it back on the shelf.
Okay. I have to comment. I hated the book that much.
The writing sucked. Big time. Reminded me of "The Celestine Prophecy". Yes, I agree with Ash that it was accessible, but come on! Is everyone verging on illiteracy?? Then again, we are talking about the American public.
The characters were shallow. Oh, forgive me, what characters? Outside of names, these characters had nothing else to show for their existence.
Now for the clincher. It was predictable. At one point I actually counted the pages that I figured out the latest riddle in advance of the characters. How many pages, you ask? 19!!
The ONLY thing this book had going for it was plot. It was a chase from beginning to end. If you want a representational suspense-thriller, this isn't it. Yes, I read the illustrated version. No, I don't want to see the movie.
If you want to read something intelligent, with conspiracy theory, on the same sort of subject, try Umberto Eco's "Foucault's Pendulum." It'll take two months to read, but it's worth it.
ypk, I have to respond to your comment "is everyone verging on illiteracy", because, well, it would depend on how you define that term.
The average Canadian reading level is 7th grade. The average American reading level is 5th grade. All major mainstream newspapers write at this level, and this is considered 'normal', and a 'literate' population!
I was really surprised by this (yikes!), but you have to remember that we have been to university, most of the population has not. Most of us are also middle class, can buy a book if we want, have libraries in our neighbourhoods. It's easy for us to lose perspective.
The truth is, the reading level is actually declining, and books like davinci code and harry potter etc. have slowed down that decline. Studies actually show that it doesn't matter what you read, as long as you read! (as far as literacy goes)
...the ranting librarian ;)
P.S. In no way do I suggest that this is 'good enough', I try and push people to read more and better all the time. I think it's quite a sad reality in a country such as ours.
Gotta say, I too figured out a lot of the plot well in advance of the characters. ***SPOILER AHEAD*** I mean honestly, who didn't know that the key was apple? As soon as they said Newton, it was a dead giveaway. And yeah, ypk, I totally agree about the characters being exceedingly two-dimensional.
But, like I said, conspiracy theory plus accessibility = popularity. I did like it, as I said, but mostly due to the interesting information on art and religion. I probably would have liked it more if it was a nonfiction book on that topic, though. I will not be reading another Dan Brown anytime soon as I dislike his writing style intensely...and if this book had been on any other topic, I probably wouldn't have muddled through.
At least now I don't have to deal with overwrought patrons upset that I've never read the thing!
Hey Ash,
As usual I am far behind all of you. I really enjoyed your review of the book Ash. I agree with that the story is poorly written, and the characters were at best shallow. However, I did like the art and architectural descriptions. Out of the two books, I thought Angels and Demons was the better, even though a tad unbelievable at times.
I am starting World War Z: the Zombie Wars check it out
I have had some time to think about GiGi's rebuttal to my "verging on illiteracy" comment.
She mentioned Harry Potter, and, I, too, began to think of this book when confronted with accessibility vs. quality. Harry Potter is but one of many, many very well written books. What I didn't like about 'The Da Vinci Code' was the quality of writing. Like Ash said originally, he avoided using the $ words for the two cent words and his sentence structure wasn't fabulous. The bottom line was that there was no art in his writing. It was written to sell millions (if we want to start a conversation on marketing vs. writing, let's start another blog altogether....). I can understand he and his publisher wanted accessibility and big $$. However, you can have quality and accessibility (eg. Harry Potter). My biggest beef is that if young adult and children's book can be well-written, written with art, style and characters with depth, then why couldn't his? People may be verging on illiteracy (with an averaging 5th grade reading level), but that doesn't mean they're stupid.
Yes, I agree that illiterate doesn't mean stupid, right on there. However, I am actually really surprised to hear you praise the writing quality in harry potter books, wow, I don't think the books are well written at all, that's why I grouped it together with davinci. And talk about marketing?? The harry potter books pretty much invented it! There's really nothing outstanding about them at all, they just got some really great marketing!
Ypk, I have tremendous respect for your reading and writing ability, so if you say the writing in HP is good, and it's success is not completely attributable to marketing, then I have to think twice about it. You can read circles around me (can you say 'Virginia Woolf'), so I find it so strange that we disagree on this.
I do admit I hold a very strong publishing grudge, I hate being told what to read, and the whole world had harry potter shoved down their throat, as far as I'm concerned. There's a LOT better out there, but we'll never read it... Maybe my grudge is clouding my judgement.
I was in an organic produce shop yesterday and heard two women discussing the role of feminism in Harry Potter, I didn't really agree with them either...Well, perhaps I should read the books again and try and leave the bias at the door. I've also only read the first two, I was so bored I didn't bother to continue.
Perhaps you should all educate me on the finer attributes of Harry Potter. What is it that everyone likes most about it?
Okay, I admit to being a Harry Potter fan and I agree with ypk that they are well-written. It might help to read the later ones Garden Girl...one of the things that makes Harry Potter so well written is Rowling's attention to detail. I am constantly going back to earlier books to look up obscure references, only to find out that the scene is actually foreshadowing a much later event.
Wow. Flattery with a stab in the back. Ow, GiGi!
Re: Harry Potter. As Ash says, read more. They get better both in terms of quality of writing and depth of story/character as the series continues. And also, as Ash says, there is ALOT of foreshadowing going on, but most is so well done you don't realize it until the event happens. Then your flipping through the last book because you know, you just KNOW, that you've heard that somewhere before.
Besides the use of effect foreshadowing, Rowling isn't afraid to use the $ words, unlike Brown. Rowling also isn't afraid to give her characters depth and emotions. She uses the adage "show don't tell" effectively to demonstrate what her characters are feeling, especially in the later books, instead of stating what her characters are feeling (incidentally, we don't know what's going on with the characters in Da Vinci because all they're doing is running. You'd think there would have been more moments of doubt or indecision with the protagonist, but only in the beginning. Only in the beginning are we given this precious insight into the character we must contend with for the rest of the dreary novel).
Give the Harry Potter series a second chance. It is being studied at post-secondary institutions around the world for a reason. Yes, I can see it as a venue for discussing feminisim as well and nature vs. nuture and spirituality vs. religion vs. magic (may explain why they're burning the books in Mexico).
As an aside, Harry Potter's success began in the UK through word of mouth. And, Rowling was rejected by countless publishers before being finally accepted. I agree that quality of writing isn't what is going to be picked up by a publisher; it's what will sell. So I'm on your side if you are against publishing for the market instead of for the reader/author.
Incidentally, I heard that it only takes something like 10,000 copies of a book sold to get it on the bestseller list (less in Canada). Anyone know any differently?
Don't like Harry Potter?? Oh please say it isn't so... As has been said before, they do get better... but I personally love them all, and I really, really liked the Chamber of Secrets. I am actually kind of obsessed with Harry Potter. And am currently re-reading them all AND taking notes so I can make predictions about the final novel. I personally think the writing is excellent. Not necessarily in a poetic sort of way, but the foreshadowing, the characterization, all of that is so well done. Rowling weaves a tight plot. Characters and events that seem incidental in an earlier book almost always turn out to be significant in a later book.
I cannot express how much I love these books.
Ok, I'm convinced that I should definately read the Potter books again. I'll start at the beginning, and I will report what I think of them to all of you, and I'm betting it will be a good report with an apology...
I'm quite excited about it actually, it's been a while since I've read something that really engaged me. And probably good timing too, since the final is coming out soon.
Interesting how 'deconstructing davinci' turned into a harry potter discussion.
I love this blog.
We should all try reading something new together again, before the summer comes.
What say you?
Has anyone read any of the Son of a Witch series?
GiGi, see Nov 5, 2006.
I read Wicked, but, unfortunately, wasn't impressed. I was expecting a little more. A few loose ends at the end. I have Son of a Witch sitting on my table. Will I read it? I don't know.
I've read Wicked as well and I've read Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister. I've yet to read Son of a Witch. I'm a fan of twisted fairy tale style books, but I didn't get as into these as I thought I would. They were good, but not up to my expectations.
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