The Da Vinci Code
by Dan Brown
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Book Reviews of The Da Vinci Code
Book Review: Running To What
Summary: 1 Stars
Running To What Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer, is the story of a young man who after college, let go of his family connections and the majority of his material belongings to lead a life of tragedy. The life of Chris McCandless was a curious one. Many people have been fascinated and dumbfounded by the choices he made in life. His behavior was not as extraordinary as many seem to think. Chris was simply attached to the idea of the pure independence. One can only hypothesize the reasons for his extreme behavior, but really we will never know the true reason he ventured out on the adventure he did. Chris took off and disappeared like he did because of he seriously disapproved of his father Walt. He held a great resentment towards his father for cheating on his mother when he was a child. Yet that was merely an individual incident he used in order to have a "reason" for his ill feelings. Chris had an underlying problem with his father's expectations and ideals. He resented his father's choices and way of life. This resentment towards his father is what led him to completely detach from his family, change his name and wander off to the west. Chris' distaste for his father began when he took his first road trip cross-country. Before his trip he was following his father's footsteps en route to financial success. He had started his own copy business in the neighborhood at the age of twelve and, later had done sales for a local contractor, eventually having his own crew of people working under him. Over all he had a hint of capitalism running through his blood and seemed to be good at it. On his trip he visited his hometown of El Segundo, California and discovered that his father had cheated on his mother with his first wife when Chris was a child. When Chris was two years old, Walt fathered another son with his first wife, and led a secret life. Upon finding out about Walt's dishonesty, Chris simply kept his feelings to himself and allowed his bad feelings to build and build. It wasn't until two years later that his true colors began to show. His anger started to seep out and the fact that he wasn't happy became apparent to his mother. Chris' father valued financial stability and the approval by society but this type of success wasn't important to Chris who he valued freedom and individualism. At one point in the book his ill feelings about money are discussed. Chris' mother Billie stated that the lifestyle they provided for Chris and his sister was one he was embarrassed by. "Her son, the teenage Tolstoyan, believed that wealth was shameful, corrupting, inherently evil" (115). Where did this attitude towards capitalism emerge? Some believe that Chris was influenced by his readings. Chris' opposition of money and societies materialism stems from his father's devotion to popular values. Chris' moral code derived from his lack of respect for his father; therefore, he rejected anything that Walt considered to be correct. In graduating from college Chris felt like he had fulfilled his requirements for his father and set off to lead a life disconnected to all that could resemble the life he knew. Had there been a better relationship with his father Chris would have been a different person. His ideas might have been more cognitive, cautious and less extreme. Yes I believe he would have still been one to seek wild forms of adventure, but perhaps he would have remained in contact with his family. Instead of traipsing into the wilderness of Alaska anonymously, Chris might have notified his family of his plans in case he never made it out. Chris entered the wilderness with an attitude that he would survive and if he didn't then so be it. If Chris had a desire to be apart of his families' lives then he probably wouldn't have been on such a selfish rampage; therefore, he wouldn't have been so daring and would've brought more supplies for himself. Loving his family could have given him something to live for, perhaps a sense of value. In order to feel like an individual the children feel the need to break away and find their "own way of living. In the case of Chris, his father clearly had a control issue. Even though it was not intentional, the over baring control and pressure he imposed on Chris truly ruined the potential of any sort of good father-son relationship. It was the act of his father's dishonesty that gave Chris a reason to despise his father and everything he did or thought. It is because of the reasons that I feel Chris McCandless decided to sever his ties with his family, seek validation through his readings and create his own reality and path for life. He let go of a capitalistic way of life, partly because he liked the idea of it, but mostly because he disliked his father's way of life.
*All quotations correlating to page numbers are by J. Krakauer in the Anchor Books edition of Into the Wild (New York, 1996
Book Review: A Review That Compares Dan Brown's Four Books
Summary: 5 Stars
THE DA VINCI CODE has been #1 on the best seller and as I write this it has already been reviewed exactly one hundred times on Amazon. Thus, after summarizing the plot, I will attempt to make this review as helpful as possible by briefly discussing the author's four books, comparing the plots, and describing and analyzing his writing style in summary fashion.Harvard professor and symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned to the Louvre to help Captain Bezu Fache of the Paris Judicial Police unravel the clues surrounding the body of the murdered curator, Jacques Sauniere. Sophie Neveu, a police cryptologist soon arrives, and it almost immediately becomes clear that it will take their combined skill and knowledge to follow the trail laid out by Sauniere before his death. As they attempt to uncover the hidden secrets of The Priory of Sion (a real organization that is hundreds of years old and has included as members Issac Newton and Leonardo Da Vinci, both of whom figure in the story), their search leads them to several Paris locations and eventually to England. Of course, others are also on the trail, including Captain Fachu, a huge albino monk, and an unknown formidable opponent who appears to be the only person in possession of a complete overview of the puzzle which they are trying to solve. The story combines history, murder, intrigue, wordplay combined with cryptanalysis, romance, religion and art. These elements are combined in such an incredibly captivating way that the pace never slackens as you are constantly being bombarded with both new facts and puzzles to solve. (I only solved one of the puzzles before Langdon and Neveu, and it is the one on which the author gives the reader some help.) The pace is fast and the narrative has several threads which merge to provide a surprising and satisfactory conclusion.
This is Brown's second book involving Robert Langdon. My review of ANGELS AND DEMONS (Amazon 4/1/03) provides a detailed overview of that book. While this is not a sequel which requires that book to be read first, ANGELS has additional background regarding Langdon's character and academic specialty which made this book more enjoyable for me. Both involve religion, art and symbology, and both a have well researched and accurate historical basis. Thus they are superficially similar. However, ANGELS has three significant differences. First, it assumes further scientific advances and takes place in the future while DA VINCI takes place in the current day. Second, philosophical questions regarding the frequent conflicts between religion and science form the basis of the story and are the basis of some of the best passages in ANGELS. The philosohical implications of the mysteries involved in this story are just as complex but the discussion is much less profound. Third, in ANGELS the conflict among the various religious factions of the Catholic Church did not go the heart of the basis of Christian beliefs but rather to the existence and nature of God, the questions raised by this story are much more profound for Christianity. (This factor accounts for some of the critical reviews.)
A common element in all Dan Brown's books is the very compressed time frame in which the stories occur. The tension is heightened by a race against the clock as an integral element of the nature of the various adversaries; this technique helps to make the stories real "page turners". In DA VINCI, the complete story except for a short epilogue incredibly takes place within approximately twenty four hours, yet the pace seems true to the events. (In order to give you an idea of the compressed time frames Brown utilizes, this is roughly double the time frame of ANGELS.) Both DECEPTION POINT (his third novel) and DIGITAL FORTRESS (his first book) also utilize this technique.
All the author's books involve extensive knowledge about the subjects involved, which is always imparted in a manner that keeps the reader's interest. Thus, they are for the reader who wants not only fast paced action but intelligent and absorbing fiction, a very different genre than the also enjoyable best selling James Patterson (at least until THE JESTER, see review of 3/15/03). DECEPTION POINT involves computer hacking and introduces the theme ofcryptanalysis which is revisited in DA VINCI. DECEPTION POINT involves science, oceanography, NASA and politics, unfortunately it veers into implausibilty.
In summary, Dan Brown knows how to keep his readers' interest. While each of the four books can be read independently, I would recommend reading ANGELS (available in paperback) if you only have time to read one or before reading DA VINCI. DIGITAL FORTRESS is an excellent first novel although not as polished as the later works. The subject is more specialized and probably won't appeal to as wide a range of readers. DECEPTION POINT is well written but had the only conclusion that disappointed me thus is not as highly reccommended as the other three novels.
Book Review: Only sinners will read this book!
Summary: 1 Stars
I cannot tell you how much I hated this book and urge you to boycott it. I am a lifelong Republican and activist. My party stands for those who are successful, Christian minded, and controlling those who want to hurt American business. - First of all, how dare you oppose Bush in not supporting of the glorious war and Crusade against non-Christian infidels? What's all this bull about WMDs? Saddam killed, so we killed, might makes right in any sensible mind. So all those who are against Bush are going to hell.
- Democrats are all renegade swine, quite frankly, and it's a crying shame they are even allowed to vote. Jesus would have supported Bush in his war against muslim sheep and cutting funds for people who are disabled, crippled, retarded, old, etc. It's their own fault, Bush didn't make these losers the way they are.
- So Bush didn't win the popular election; God wanted him to be President, God didn't trust the 'popular majority' and God wanted a military hero like Bush in office. Thank God for our unbiased Supreme Court.
- Furthermore, how dare you show narrow-minded animosity at Bush when he is a self made man. Don't believe those who say the US doesn't have enough jobs. If the Mexicans can find jobs, so can you. Republicans get better jobs because we know the game, know how to take advantage of the system, and because of our Godly contacts.
You should buy Anne Coulter books instead. She is the leading spokeswoman for the Republican party because she knows and speaks our truth. Quotes from her:
* "I think [women] should be armed but should not [be allowed to] vote...women have no capacity to understand how money is earned. They have a lot of ideas on how to spend it....it's always more money on education, more money on child care, more money on day care."-- Politically Incorrect, 2/26/01
* "...a cruise missile is more important than Head Start."-- Speech, 11/01, rebroadcast by C-Span in Jan. 2002
* "In his brief fiery ride across the landscape, Joe McCarthy bought America another thirty years. For this, he sacrificed his life, his reputation, his name. The left cut down a brave man, but not before the American people heard the truth."-- The Drudge Report, quoting from Coulter's new book, Treason, 6/19/03
* "We hate them. Americans don't want to make Islamic fanatics love us. We want to make them die. There's nothing like horrendous physical pain to quell anger. A couple of well-aimed nuclear weapons will get our opposition out of the way."-- Column, 9/25/02
* "We should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity."-- Column, 9/13/01
* "We need to execute people like John Walker in order to physically intimidate liberals, by making them realize that they can be killed, too. Otherwise, they will turn out to be outright traitors."-- Speech to Conservative Political Action Conference, January 2002
* "Soldiers are just cowards with their backs against the wall. The lowest IQ men in our society, those incapable of normal careers enlist. Their choice in life; prison or the military. Some will have to die in the support of our cause."-- Intervention Magazine, 11/06/03
* "The only beef Enron employees have with top management is that management did not inform employees of the collapse in time to allow them to get in on the swindle."-- Column, 1/24/02
* "My only regret with Timothy McVeigh is he did not go to the New York Times Building."-- New York Observer interview, 8/20/02
* "Then there are the 39 million greedy geezers collecting Social Security. The greatest generation rewarded itself with a pretty big meal."-- WorldNetDaily, 12/10/03
My hero is the Ex-House Speaker, Newt Gingrich, GOP presidential prospect, and architect of the Republican Party's failed impeachment of President Clinton. He only failed because Newt was having an affair. Who could blame Newt, his wife went and got sick with cancer. That was completely different from Clinton.
Unlike Clinton, Newt was smart enough to divorce his wife after she got sick and could no longer drag him down with her.
Lastly, how dare you stumblingly expose your miscreant incompetence with rantings against the Patriot Act. In my mind
Some Americans have too many Constitutional rights. The Bill of Rights should not even apply to the blue-collar middle classes who are too stupid to get involved. No Bush hating media or newspapers should have 'freedom of the press,' since they only have their rights and freedoms because the rich allow them to have them. Ever see some poor slob or middle class idiot who owned a newspaper company?
You defamatory libelous, uneducated swine should keep your comments to yourselves or we'll send your job overseas. Go out and burn this book now! I'll pray everyone who buys this book will burn in hell!
Book Review: Nice Beach Read But the Research Is Really Bad
Summary: 3 Stars
With all the hype surrounding this book, it was inevitable that I would end up reading it. The book has achieved a life of it's own, much as last summer's Alice Sebold The Lovely Bones did. People have passed it along by word of mouth and intimated that here was a fresh and bold new mystery about intellectual ideas. After having read it, I can say that, depending on the attitude you approach the book with, this is either fun pulp fiction, or disappointing and overblown. I must say that as mind candy, I enjoyed the book. It is not at all great literature, but it is a page-turner and a fun read. The characters are pretty generic, with very little to distinguish them from a dozen other characters in mass fiction novels. Change the lead character, Robert Langdon from an Art History professor to an intelligence expert and you have Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan. Change him to a lawyer, and you have any number of John Grisham heroes. There is very little to distinguish him from any other popular novel hero. The same goes for Sophie Neveau or any of the other characters in the book. But the plotting is fast paced and keep you going. If the ciphers are obvious and some of the characters are obvious red herrings, and the prose style is a bit stilted, still the book keeps you entertained to the end.
The problems of the book come on the intellectual side. The central premise of the Holy Grail history is based on several popular "Chariots of the Gods?" style books...Holy Blood, Holy Grail; The Templar Revelation; and a few others thrown in for good measure. Unfortunately, the views outlined in these books are presented as representing the consensus of scholarly opinion on Grail symbology, rather than as what they are...popularized potboilers that outline minority opinions...opinions that have not stood up well in peer review, either in historical or in Art circles. And when Brown delves into theology he makes a large number of really egregious errors, errors that even proponents of the Gnostic Gospels don't make. He claims that the Gnostic Gospels are the "original" Gospels and that the standard canon of the Bible is a later attempt by the Church to distort an earlier version of Christianity. He claims that Constantine determined that Christ should be considered God and thereby wiped away any of the "real" gospels, creating the fictions we know as the standard canon. Unfortunately, none of this is true. The earliest we can date any of the non-canonical writings is the second century CE, while the Gospel of Mark has been pretty conclusively dated to the decade of the 60's CE. Even the latest additions to the Bible in modern scholarship predate most of the Gnostic texts by at least 80 years. Further more, Constantine did convene the council of Nicea as an attempt to create at least the semblance of uniformity in Christianity after the Edict of Toleration, the belief that Christ was "fully human and fully divine" predates Constantine by a full two hundred years...and the belief in the divinity of Jesus goes back at least to the Gospel of John, around 95 CE. The above is not to deny the Gnostic Gospels their due...they represent many of the competing strains of Christianity which existed in the Church's first 300 years, until they were forced underground by the growing power of the hierarchical Orthodox church. But the simplistic views stated in The Da Vinci Code paint a hugely distorted picture of something that deserves more thought and more study.
The second objection I have to the book is the portrait of the Catholic Church and particularly the Opus Dei. Though Brown tries at the end to lighten his portrait of the Church, he mostly presents a distorted image of the Church as the enemy of truth. Though undoubtedly, the Church has been guilty of some pretty awful things in it's history, in Brown's hands the Church ends up as a caricature...a paper tiger. Also, the portrait of the Opus Dei in the book is based on only the most negative images of the organization. Opus Dei is controversial, undoubtedly. But to create such a ham fisted portrayal of the organization lends no help to either side in the debate over the organization, turning it from a questionable Traditionalist organization to a secretive, Jim Jones-like cult. And as the disturbed assassin, Silas, Brown has created perhaps one of the least believable characters in the book.
All that being said, the book is a fun read, as long as you can approach it as just another thriller and don't believe all the genius hype. If you are interested in a really good, well-researched book about the same Grail lore, I would highly recommend Umberto Eco's vastly superior Foucault's Pendulum. Eco takes similar theories, but approaches them with much more art and skill to create a truly magical book. Read it when you want your mind stimulated and leave the Da Vince Code for beach reading.... that's where it belongs.
Book Review: The DaVinci DeCoded
Summary: 3 Stars
The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown is a good read for those who like their protagonists wearing panties. Robert Langdon, the protagonist, is a Harvard professor of symbols who is uncomfortable around guns. He teaches art to prison convicts on the weekends. And when he makes his get away, he makes it in a SmartCar that gets "[a] hundred kilometers to the liter." (However, he has to pull over to let his female counterpart drive because he can't operate a standard transmission vehicle).Mr. Langdon inhabits a strange world. In his world, everyone seems to be a member of a mysterious secret society that is battling for the supremacy of their group's secret symbols. The book's characters carry, protect and chase symbols across the globe because the power to control symbols is the power to control people like software controls a computer.
Our world isn't the world of Mr. Langdon. Symbols of power hold little currency in today's world. Science has educated the world that the forces of nature are not controlled by symbols and magic, which has made science the enemy of people like the environmentalist Unabomber, who tried to stop 'technology' by mailing bombs to universities. In addition, free and open societies undermine the need for secret societies. If there can be an organization that publicly advocates the molestation of children (NAMBLA), why would any organization need to be a secret society?
The Da Vinci Code contains a grand conspiracy. What kind of conspiracy might a panty-wearing professor from Harvard believe in? Something along these lines: Mother Earth has been destroyed by masculinity and this attack against femininity has been led by the Catholic Church. According to Langdon, the Catholic Church is the enemy of humanity because it is the official representative of the masculine. Langdon doesn't mention of the Virgin Mary and how she is part of this conspiracy of men. Is the Catholic Church this powerful? Are they that opposed to women? Are they that impotent against a few flamboyant artists?
This conspiracy began with the Roman Emperor Constantine. Constantine pulled the lever from feminine to masculine and it has all been downhill since the fifth century, even though the book contradicts itself and says on the next page that the lever was pulled two thousand years ago. The conspiracy actually suggests that when Constantine yanked the lever (so to speak) all the orthodox rabbis became men. Does Langdon's assertion that Jews are controlled by the Vatican make this an anti-Semitic as well as an anti-Catholic novel?
This conspiracy seems as Christo-centric as it is anti-Christian. The conspiracy suggest that in geographical areas not controlled by the Church and before Christianity began the world was inhabited by a single people with a single mind and culture that worshipped femininity. What about brutal non-Christian societies like the Samurais, Rome, Egypt and the Aztec's with their human sacrifices. The Church isn't the cause of all of the problems in the world. As my anthropologist professor once said, the theory of ancient humans has gone from assuming cavemen were brutes to assuming they sat around sipping white wine. Langdon adds that they were politically correct liberals as well.
How does DaVinci fit in? He's a homosexual who was opposed to the Church, according to Langdon. DaVinci's famous Mona Lisa painting is a philosophical statement that makes the argument that the masculine and feminine forces in the world must be balanced, but in today's world the masculine force is in control. Langdon, however doesn't seem interested in balancing feminine and masculine forces.
Langdon wants a world where feminine forces are in control. If feminine forces were put in control everyone would worship something called the sacred feminine and participate in public fornication ceremonies. Langdon is not looking for balance. He's just looking to get laid.
This is a book in the code genre, which seems to be popular now, i.e. The Bible Code. The prose is indistinguishable and the action doesn't pick up until the middle of the book. This book tells a lot more than it shows. Every action in the novel is stopped for a lecture on subjects ranging from pentagrams to cryptography and art. The flashbacks may have a higher word count than the present day narrative, which takes place in Paris and London. If this were a movie, the constant flashbacking would produce a film that looked like an editor splicing a documentary movie into an action film. These little flashback lectures are the best part of the book and the little puzzles are clever, even if their power to suspend disbelief is weak. If you read the novel as a brief educational course on symbols or are a member of the Priory of Sion, KKK or other anti-catholic organization you may enjoy this book.