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The Da Vinci Code By Dan Brown Review by Roseanna White There are a lot of mysteries in this world that most of us don’t often think of, and Brown does a remarkable job of pulling them together in a thought-inducing and compelling story. His short-lived and long-reaching Louvre curator introduces the challenge that the main characters and the readers follow–don’t let the truth die. Through an infinitely complex series of symbols and codes, iconographer Rober Landon and cryptographer Sophie Neveu follow the clues left by the curator, the latter’s grandfather, through unfathomable secrets that arise in the search for none other than the Holy Grail. With each step of the way, the searchers come against information that challenges the general public’s preconceived notions about everything from the foundation of the Catholic church to the interpretation of artistic masterpieces. Without a doubt, this book is an eye-opening experience and a scintillating read. On the other hand, the evidence Brown, via Landon and cohorts, presents is remarkably one sided. In a way, this makes perfect sense: they set out to refute commonly held beliefs through little-known fact, to debate the worth of those beliefs. But the evidence that seems so conclusive in the world of the narrative is not so definite when one takes a step away from the compelling storytelling and actually examines the argument. The biggest hole in his logic is actually the Jewish faith–his arguments that the Catholic Church deliberately corrupted Christ and his message and rewrote their own history can hardly be said to have reached into traditional Judaism as well, but if not, then the "inconsistencies" he speaks of between dogma and the truth are simply not there. Namely, the goddess worship or divine feminine that he claims to be present in the "true" faith cannot stand up against Jewish beliefs. Moreover, many of the refutations presented by one character or another aren’t, really, refutations in everyone’s mind. The clencher, that Christ was married, is not exactly a new idea, and Church approved writers as far back as Milton have introduced the idea of sexual relationships being divinely-ordained–under the proper circumstances. And even the claim that Constantine’s Council of Nicea hand-selected their Bible is something the Catholic Church admits–and takes pride in. The motives Brown claims to be political are maintained from the Church’s view to be inspired by God. Miracle, or propaganda? That’s the question that Brown forces us to ask. He says the latter, and he gives a staggering list of reasons why. But someone with the same information and some that he left out can easily claim the former. It comes down to this: we can’t know men’s hearts and we can’t slip into history to see details long forgotten. What we can do is welcome the challenge this book gives us, to entertain questions and actually search for the answers rather than assuming them. In my personal experience, it’s very rare that you’ll find the task insurmountable. Rather, it’s usually enlightening and results in a boost in faith. Brown deserves credit for admitting the worth of faith and the good of the Church even when he doesn’t seem to subscribe to it, just as he does for having the good intentions of his antagonist come through in the end. He also deserves a huge round of applause for putting together interesting FYI into a decisive argument. What the reader has to do is take his research a step further and take a look at the other side. The story is built upon the supposition that there’s always information left out of any presentation, and that lesson must be applied to this work as all others. As a work of fiction, The Da Vinci Code is a mind-boggling, stunning read. As a historical commentary, it gets major points for drawing facts from the shadows. As a representation of something true, it should have looked in a few more dimly lit places, too. But controversy keeps life interesting, and this book has that in abundance. Read it with an open mind and take it with a grain of salt, remembering that if it were that simple, it wouldn’t be debatable: the "it" there being both sides of the debate. There’s a lot in this world we don’t know. Brown helps us ask the questions. It remains up to us to find our own solutions. |
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