I picked up a copy of an obscure little novel the other day to help pass the time during a long weekend trip to a high school graduation ceremony.
You may or may not have heard of
The Da Vinci Code, a quick little read that swept the nation a couple of years ago. The fact that I just picked it up last weekend pretty much makes me the last person in the known universe to read it.
My initial thought after reading the first few chapters was "Hey, they should make a movie out of this."
But seriously, I gotta say, 50 chapters in, I don't get what all the hubbub is about. Sure, it's a good yarn, but I haven't read anything that I would consider controversial.
So the fictional account of the quest for the Holy Grail attacks Christianity. You would think Christianity would be used to this by now. There have only been, what, a dozen or so Holy Grail movies? None of which were as good as the opus by Monty Python.
But then again, it's not like Catholics are lining up to burn embassies over this, so no biggie.
My biggest disappointment is in Dan Brown's writing style. This is the first of Brown's books that I've read. The plot is rife with twists and turns, but the structure the narrative is a bit clipped and full of literary gimmicks.
There are lots of four-paragraph flashbacks, for instance. And did you notice how Brown sets up a really tough situation only to have a character resolve it simply by having flash of intuition?
"Langdon had no idea how they were going to figure out the secret combination. Then suddenly it came to him. The combination was his social security number in reverse."
See what I mean? I dunno, just seems a bit too easy to me.
But still it's a passable novel if not a classic. I'm looking forward to finishing the read, then seeing the movie in a couple of years when it's out on DVD or aired on HBO.
tagged: books, Da Vinci Code, movie, Dan Brown, writing, controversy, culture
