The best selling novel, The Da Vinci Code, by author Dan Brown, as a tour guide
to Paris? First off it could sound a little far fetched, okay, maybe a lot far
fetched, but once you start reading the book, you'll see that it's perhaps not
so preposterous after all. If you have been to the Louvre ten times or never
been once, it could inspire you. If you've never seen the famous painting, the
Mona Lisa which hangs in the Louvre, it could inspire you. If you've been to
the Renaissance wing of the Louvre already but have somehow failed to notice
the parquet floors, it could inspire you. And the descriptions of the Louvre
pyramid, as well as Paris itself, okay, you guessed it: it could inspire you.
When I first started reading this book, I like hundreds of others, could not put it down.
This happened for three nights straight until I finally bit the bullet and
gave up hope of recovering my lost sleep until the darn thing was finished. I
like a good conspiracy theory as well as the next person, and to have a story
like this which largely takes place in Paris, involves the French, the
Merovingian, the holy grail, Mary Magdalene, the French police, cryptologists,
and as I mentioned, the Louvre, well who could turn down a good read like this
one?
Apparently not many people-and I just happened to be one of them. I understand now why
this novel was on the best sellers list for months. Which best sellers list?
Well almost all of them-The New York Times, USA today, Washington Post, you know small names like that. Sadly, I just got around to reading it, but I'm glad I did.
I don't want to give away too many details because I hate spoilers. By the way, anytime a
writer warns "spoiler alert", I think it's in vain. Who can stop reading at
that point? I know I can't. Therefore, in case you, dear reader, fall into
this category of people, I'll try not to give away too much of the plot.
The story starts off with symbologist Robert Langdon, a Harvard professor who's in France to lecture to a
university. He's enjoying his sleep at the cozy Ritz Hotel in Paris
when he is awakened with bad news: The curator of the Louvre, Jacques
Sauniere, has been murdered right inside the museum, and to top it off,
beside his body, someone has left a bizarre code. When Langdon later
discovers that the code leads to clues hidden in the paintings of
Leonardo Da Vinci, he is quite shocked. He teams up with a French
cryptologist, Sophie Neveu to solve the riddle which takes them all
around Paris, to London and back again, and smack into the heart of secrets and secret societies.
Interestingly enough, in the beginning of this novel, the author states that the two powerful groups are
indeed real-the Priory of Sion, and Opes Die, a prelature of the Catholic
Church. He also maintains that "all descriptions of artwork, architecture,
documents and secrets rituals in this book are accurate." Hmmm...
Now I'm not saying that you need to throw out your Frommer's guidebook, and especially not
your history books, but there is enough tantalizing information in this
novel to strike up interest in a multitude of things. And while many are still
riled up by the controversy presented in the book, that of Opes Dei, the
Catholic Church, and important religious and historical questions, (I admit
that I myself, a Christian, had to call my Pastor for answers), I'm still
amazed at how this author has created such interest in other things as well-
like the Louvre museum and other interesting tidbits about France and French
history.
For example, we get information about Francois Mitterand and his love of all things
Egyptian. Brown delves into Mitterand's commissing of the Louvre pyramid. We
learn more about the politics between the French and American judiciary
system. There's talk about all kinds of secret societies. Throw in the
conspiracy cocktail and well, you get a best seller.
I am definitely not saying that we can take the author's word on everything that he
has written here, and indeed this is supposed to be fiction. But the fun part,
is sifting through what is true and not true. Fact and fiction. That's the
lure, or at least it is for me.
If you've been to Paris and are homesick for it, then this book might just be the
temporary fix you need. With it's descriptions of the Bois de Boulogne and les
Champs, you'll feel like you're back in town. If you've never been and are
dying to look at Paris from another viewpoint, one other than the standard
tourist guide, then this book could prove interesting to you.
super rollercoaster ride like The Da Vinci Code. Just maybe, after reading
the book, you'll want to do that too.
