Have you read it? I'm about two-thirds through it right now, and cannot begin to fathom why it was a bestseller. The characters are one dimensional, the dialog is stilted, the premise is ridiculous. I've been two steps ahead of the characters at every turn. For example, the mysterious script hidden on the lid of the wooden box recovered from the bank vault. As soon as I saw it, I knew the secret to interpreting it. And yet is it supposed to have stymied two brilliant scholars. It's no wonder Brown didn't show it earlier in the book. He only maintains mystery by withholding clues.
The biggest flaw I've seen in the book so far is that it is a "thriller" that requires long, pedantic passages of (pseudo) scholarly discourse to explain the action.
At the point I've reached in my reading, there are still many mysteries to be resolved, but I could hardly care less. I will finish the book (So no spoilers, please) but, honestly, if I set it down now and never picked it up again, I wouldn't care.
At least it's an easy read.
So, if you have read this book, can you explain to me why anyone loved it? What is the attraction? At this point, I really just don't see what the fuss is about.
goodcatjack
04-27-04, 11:45 AM
thank god someone else is thinking what I thought!!!
I've picked it up a few times, and I'm not kidding, I honestly haven't been able to get past the first pages. this guy is published? this guy is financially secure for the rest of his life thanks to this? it's a genuine frustration to me. but people whose intelligence and taste I respect just seem to eat it up! whywhyWHY?!?! it's beyond me.
it's just not fair. LdV must be spinning in his grave, no doubt in some ingenious wooden contraption which somehow approaches perpetual motion.
bleah,
-alex.
randya
04-27-04, 06:07 PM
RG, after reading your post, if that's what you think about this book, then why are you still reading it??
"...maintaining mystery by withholding clues..." Isn't this how all mystery novels are written??
To answer your last question - I think many people love this book because they either hate the church or they are suspicious of secret church activities.
randya
04-27-04, 06:12 PM
this guy is published?
He's actually got two books on the current NYT top 10 bestseller list (hardcover) and three books on the current NYT top 10 bestseller list (paperback)...
Allister
04-27-04, 06:16 PM
"...maintaining mystery by withholding clues..." Isn't this how all mystery novels are written??
Good mystery novels provide the clues, but make them subtle or cryptic enough to still leave you guessing at the end, but not so subtle or cryptic that you have no chance of getting it right.
jedi_rider
04-27-04, 06:27 PM
Angels and Demons is much better...
MsVicki
04-27-04, 10:30 PM
RG, after reading your post, if that's what you think about this book, then why are you still reading it??
"...maintaining mystery by withholding clues..." Isn't this how all mystery novels are written??
To answer your last question - I think many people love this book because they either hate the church or they are suspicious of secret church activities.
So, do you like the book?
RegularGuy
04-28-04, 11:50 AM
RG, after reading your post, if that's what you think about this book, then why are you still reading it??
Fair question, Randy, and I have to say I expected it. In fact, I've been asking myself the same thing. "Why, oh why, am I going to finish reading this book?" :D
There are actually quite a few reasons why I will finish reading it. It is an easy read. It isn't the worst crap I've ever read. I don't have that much farther to go. My mom gave me the book and I want to be able to discuss it with her. I still have a (rapidly diminishing) hope that the book will redeem itself. Finishing the book will give me one more thing to complain about. And I hope to understand something of the book's popularity.
I was quite serious, by the way, in asking what the appeal of the book is. I don't see it and I'm hoping that someone who liked the book can tell me what was good about it.
Reading this book has actually reminded me of another book...a great book...that is similar in some ways. If you want to read a good adventure, laced with mystery and involving a race to find a mysterious historical treasure, then I recommend The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett. Hammett's characters, while odd, have some depth. His plot, though preposterous, is carried off well. His dialogue sparkles and his writing is masterful. Dan Brown is a competent hack. Hammett raises genre fiction to the level of literature. Hammett also has a good grasp of moral ambiguities and human motivations.
"...maintaining mystery by withholding clues..." Isn't this how all mystery novels are written??
Nope. Allister has it right. A fair mystery provides all of the clues necessary to solve it. It may obscure them. It may provide plenty of red herrings, but the clues are all there for the reader to solve it. A good mystery does all of that and still surprises the reader.
It's been a long time since I read my Dorothy Sayres, but in one of the Lord Peter Wimsey novels, she has a character complain that mystery stories are not challenging enough. By page 32 all of the clues have been laid out to solve it. Needless to day, by page 32 of that novel, the clues are indeed all laid out. Sayres played fair and had fun doing it. She, too, wrote wonderful, fully realized characters. If you like drawing room mysteries, Sayres is among the best.
To answer your last question - I think many people love this book because they either hate the church or they are suspicious of secret church activities.
That may account for some of the book's popularity. I think people are fascinated by the secrets of secret societies and some Protestants suspect the Roman Catholic Church of harboring dark secrets. I remember talking with a Protestant friend who grew up in the shadow of a Catholic seminary. He said that rumors were always whispered around his neighborhood about the horrible secret rites that took place within the walls of the seminary.
I'm not sure that hatred of the church has much to do with the DaVinci Code becoming a bestseller, though. Sure, some people hate the church, but the United States is the most relgious nation in the world. My mom, who is no hater of the church, liked this book.
Angels and Demons is much better...
I would hope so!
Anyway, I remain curious as to what appeal people find in this book. If you liked it, please tell me why. I promise to respect your opinion.
Honest. :D
I'm also curious to know why some people seem to take this work of escapist fiction as seriously as they do. Granted it was well researched, but the premises seem pretty far-fetched.
randya
04-28-04, 12:39 PM
I recommend The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett. Hammett's characters, while odd, have some depth. His plot, though preposterous, is carried off well. His dialogue sparkles and his writing is masterful. Dan Brown is a competent hack. Hammett raises genre fiction to the level of literature. Hammett also has a good grasp of moral ambiguities and human motivations..
I agree, Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler both excelled at the genre.
Nope. Allister has it right. A fair mystery provides all of the clues necessary to solve it. It may obscure them. It may provide plenty of red herrings, but the clues are all there for the reader to solve it. A good mystery does all of that and still surprises the reader...
I guess that I've been 'ruined' by too many Kinky Friedman 'mysteries'. He doesn't give the reader all the clues either and it really doesn't seem to matter...
I'm not sure that hatred of the church has much to do with the DaVinci Code becoming a bestseller, though. Sure, some people hate the church, but the United States is the most relgious nation in the world. My mom, who is no hater of the church, liked this book.
You're right; hatred probably isn't the right word. Curiousity and suspicion are probably more accurate.
Anyway, I remain curious as to what appeal people find in this book. If you liked it, please tell me why. I promise to respect your opinion. I'm also curious to know why some people seem to take this work of escapist fiction as seriously as they do. Granted it was well researched, but the premises seem pretty far-fetched.
I thought it was a quick read, an interesting premise, and a glimpse into various religious and spiritual cultural practices that usually don't get much mainstream attention. I don't get bothered too much by the 'suspension of reality' factor anymore, it's all over the TV and movie screens. In fact, The Da Vinci Code would probably make a good movie if done right (and then people could say: "you should really read the book").
don d.
04-28-04, 01:01 PM
I know it's kinda old, but I thought The Name of the Rose by Eco was a pretty good mystery with a religious theme. Historically informative and well written.
Allister
04-28-04, 07:30 PM
I know it's kinda old, but I thought The Name of the Rose by Eco was a pretty good mystery with a religious theme. Historically informative and well written.
I got a bit bogged down with that one and didn't get very far before abandoning it. I did enjoy Focault's Pendulum though, of which this discussion reminded me. The fascination with secret societies was given full flight in that one.
I read The Holy Blood and The Holy Grail sometime afterwards, and couldn't help thinking back to FP and chuckling to myself. I couldn't get over the feeling that the authors had bought into a fabricated web of 'facts' similar to those constructed by Eco's characters.
RegularGuy
04-29-04, 04:39 PM
OK. Finished the book. The end was satisfying. The mysteries were lame. The premises were often cheesey. The mysteries none too mystifying. The writing was second rate, but, as I said, it wasn't the worst crap I ever read.
I picked up a copy of People magazine at the dentist's office today. Apparently Ron Howard will direct the movie adaptation.
The Rob
04-29-04, 10:05 PM
I agree that the novel is rather pedestrian in style (it reads a little like Michael Crichton writing a Hardy Boys), but I was engaged by the historical references and the opening of my eyes to things I didn't know.