The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

For something new this year I have decided that it would be different to try out something new on the blog. Every week from now on I am going to find a word that I find to be interesting. So for this week the word is: denouement - the resolution of a mystery.

Publisher: Corgi Books

Pages: 593

Year it was Published: 2004

Places: Paris, London, England, Roslin

Original Language: American English

So do you remember when I showed you my TBR pile of Dan Brown books? I am sure that you are thinking where they have all got to! Well the reason because of this is I wanted a change for a little while and I have loads of other books to get through - as well as the obvious blog tour and interview! Unfortunately there won't be a relentless amount of Dan Brown reviews for the time being, after this one. I have only just started The Lost Symbol and there are plenty other reviews that are for other books.

Plot Summary

For the Robert Langdon series second instalment, it focuses upon a murder which happened at the Louvre late at night. Robert is a suspect of the French police and therefore is on the run with Sophie Neveu - the granddaughter of the victim. Together they follow a trail which leads to many works of Leonardo Da Vinci, including The Mona Lisa. This is where they discover a truth deeply routed into huge secrets stretched through most of History.

Criticisms

Particularly I like the idea of that Dan Brown has decided to go in the direction of having to look at more of religion and it's history. This can be very interesting in itself as it can stretch quite far back, and in some ways we don't even know any different.

On the contrary, I found it so that there was many inaccurate representations of certain aspects of the story. You probably won't understand this, but the way that a British person is described can be very stereotypical. Especially coming from an American author, this is why I tend to avoid books written by American authors concerning British characters. They may sometimes be due to how they think of what a British lifestyle is all about, and they may have not researched into this. Also I think it is good to identify what type of nationality they have and the place they come from. This is because if I get these elements inside my head, it gives a better image of the character. For example, they may be Scottish and come from Glasgow. Their accent would be completely different to someone from Edinburgh let alone Cockney accents from London, England.

In the end this is a very controversial book and in some ways the prose is just appalling, hopefully the next book will be much better.

Rating : **

Hopefully it won't be long until my next review for the Dan Brown books' readathon!

To be a good person I have decided to tell you what is going to happen within the next few weeks for posts!

Eleanor & Park on 14th March
Touched Up Blog Tour on 17th March
The Jewel on 21st March

Kiki

Comments

Just the Two of Us (Book 1) by Ryu Hyang

SYNOPSIS 'Soohyuk: a paediatric emergency medicine specialist. A man who never eats something someone else gives him. Soohyuk, the tyrant who rules S University Hospital's paediatric emergency room. He only cares about treating sick children, whether or not that gets in the way of advancing his career. He, a grouch to everyone aside from the patients, suddenly starts noticing a woman: the woman who feeds him. Yuna: a chef who makes boxed lunches. A woman who panics and collapses whenever she meets a man, due to trauma from her past. Wanting to do what she likes rather than going off to college, Yuna opens up her own business that specialises in boxed lunches. A Tasty Meal. She gets scared when one day she sees the tall Soohyuk standing outside her restaurant, but she soon learns he is only drawn to the delicious smell. And, somehow, she comes to be in charge of his everyday meals. When Soohyuk meets Yuna, a confident, surefooted woman who gets startled and scared when he co...

An Astronaut's Guide To Life On Earth: Life Lessons From Space by Chris Hadfield

I usually hate non-fiction so very much. I tend to find it utterly boring as well as depressing. But with this book it is completely different. It stands on it's own two feet by being irregular and unique in my eyes. It's inspirational. He's a role model to anyone who has met him, read him or seen him on YouTube singing 'Space Oddity'. Here is the YouTube that he recorded on the ISS of Space Oddity if you haven't already seen it. But seriously who hasn't? Anyway if you have seen it, why not see it again? It is really good. Anyway, the book itself, is a very good example with motivating people to aspire to what they really want to do. Rather than just simply dreaming of their dream, he is saying to put those words into actions and finally into reality. But not only that, if you don't exactly get to the place as to which you really want to strive to be, that's ok. It doesn't mean that you are a failure. No one is a true failure, unless you ...

Frankie and the Gift of Fantasy by Ruthy Ballard

I have always been captivated by the thought that there could be something beyond this world, yet connected by our very own. 'Frankie and the Gift of Fantasy' is set in the age range of being a children's book which is meant to help children think, evaluate and learn, not only about what is beyond our own world, but what happens on Earth today. Frankie can be considered somewhat of a dreamer like any normal kid with some amount of creativity should be. The only problem is that when he needs to be practical according to his parents, his mind is instead, is up in the clouds. But this is not necessarily a bad thing, not when he is transported through a crack in the wall to a place called 'Urth'. The writing can be seen as very colloquial, to the point that it feels as though not only are they omniscient of Frankie and the events that will take place, but it feels like they are reeling the events to only the reader. Almost like they are talking about the story in the s...

The Snow Song by Sally Gardner

Synopsis : 'Women imprisoned by superstition, chained by guilt. Perched on a mountain in a land of ancient forests is a village, rife with secrets. Cut off from the outside world it is run by the elders, men to whom tradition is all. Edith lives alone with her alcoholic father who is forcing her to marry the village butcher. But she is in love with a shepherd who promised to return to her. As the village becomes isolated in a sea of snow, Edith loses her power of speech. And it is this enchantment that will have far-reaching consequences, not only for Edith but for the whole village.'

2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke

What can we truly know of the universe? Is the universe simply beyond our comprehension or are we just too ignorant to see what is actually in front of us? What if there is life beyond Earth? What if we can discover it for ourselves? What if, our curiosity gets the better of us all? This book seems to pose many questions to what knowledge we already possess yet, are we looking at life in the right way and how we come to use the environment of Earth around us. It takes us through the story of the human race and how we have expanded our skills and knowledge to become a race which is both rational and intelligent enough to discover the final frontier, space. But what comes after all of this? This is just as an important question as the one in which we ask of how we all got here in the first place. The great thing about this book is that I feel like if you read it before watching the film, you would probably have a better appreciation for Kubrick's vision. In fact, it could be believed...