Retro reviews: Dan Brown's 'Da Vinci Code'.

A couple of weeks ago, as I decided to go through our fairly book library at our house I noticed an interesting book there. I noticed that there was Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code standing on our book shelf - a book that I hadn't managed to read before.

Indeed, even though I usually try to keep myself updated on popular culture stuff relatively well, for some reason I had missed this particular phenomenom completely. I hadn't read the book and I even hadn't managed to see the movie either.

Not surprisingly, since I've tried to get back to reading books lately, I thought that I had to give it a chance. I had to give it a go, because certainly its subject matter of historical conspiracies warranted my attention - even though I had read some negatives things about it.

Having now finally read the book, I have to say that as a whole, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of 'Da Vinci Code'. I was surprised in a good way by its quality, even though there are some flaws with it too that need to be mentioned.

So when it comes to those good aspects about 'Da Vinci Code', the very first thing that I have to mention here is that the novel is genuinely entertaining. Unlike so many others books that I've read lately, this one was actually a real page turner from start to finish. 

By that I mean is that in this book in which we follow our protagonists Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveu in their plight, you can't help but to be interested in their story. Their struggle to get out of trouble and to find the truth about the Da Vince Code (holy grail) is simply riveting.

Indeed, the minute you get introduced to Langdon as a scholar and as a suspect in a murder in Louvre (joined soon by Neveu), you feel like you're part of the story. There's a murder mystery going on and also a larger conspiracy that involves all kinds of powerful people.

Later on, once our duo escapes the place with their 'clue' to their next destination, the stakes keep getting higher. There's constantly a bigger puzzle to be solved and the antagonists keep getting closer and closer to catching them (eventually our heroes do manage to save the day).

Story- and structure-wise, when it comes to the quality of the book, the reason that the story (mostly) works so well is that the author (Brown) knows how to plot a story. There are a lot of twists, turns, obstacles, revelations and a even huge MacGuffin that is used well.

Indeed, especially when it comes to the Hitchcockian MacGuffin, this plot device (our duo trying to break the code and find the 'holy grail') is what keeps things going. You want to know what happens next and are willing to overlook some things that don't always make sense.

At the same time, even though the book and the story mostly works really well, that doesn't mean that there aren't problems. There are flaws and issues with the book that range from its historical inaccuracies to its storytelling aspects in certain moments. 

For example, historically speaking, there's no question the book is simply fiction (mostly based on a discredited book 'The Holy Blood and The Holy Grail'). This is something that might turn you off, especially if you bought into Brown's claim that the book is 99% factual.

Story-wise, I couldn't help but to notice that there were some clear 'point of view' problems in the book's first half. The story changing from the protagonists to antagonists for quick, short exposition interrupted the flow (Silas & co.) rather abruptly and noticeably.

Furthermore, there's no question that in parts the story gets a bit too contrived. Especially when it comes to Fache changing his mind and the villain's reveal (well hidden but a bit convoluted), there's a bit too much stuff and explanation going on exposition-wise.

Still, when you put it all together, even though there are certain issues here, there's no denying that the story managed to keep me entertained. It kept me thrilled surprisingly well and even made me want to know more about the topics that the book covers.

After all, once I finished reading the novel, I immediately had to go visit wikipedia to check stuff that ranged from Da Vinci to Mary Magdalene and from Gnosticism to Merovingians. I was interested to find out more about its various aspects that included real life locations too. 

In that sense, in the end, if you're someone who's interested in mystery books and conspiracies that have to do with history, I think it's pretty clear that 'Da Vinci Code' might be a book for you. You should give it a chance and not be too discouraged by some of its detractors.

After all, even though the novel isn't historically speaking true and even though the 'holy grail' might not be what you thought at first, that's not a reason not to give it a shot. You shouldn't be thinking that just because the story is fiction you shouldn't read the novel.

On the contrary, when it all is said and done, 'Da Vinci Code', despite its flaws manages to entertain. It manages to entertain and holds your attention, even though it could have been better and even though most of its 'claims' aren't supported by data or accepted historical facts.