It's a fiction book by
Dan Brown
Summary:
Then the Director of the
Louvre is murdered in a gruesome and mysterious fashion his granddaughter and an American Historian (who specializes in
symbols) – must uncover a
secret organization thousands of years old in order to find the most sought after
relic in all of
human history… before it is destroyed.
You could also describe it as “
The Illuminatus Trilogy” crossed with “
Monty Python and the Holy Grail” set in the 21st century and directed as a serious action thriller by
Spielberg….
That’s about as neatly as I can sum this book up in a sentence or two. It’s a
page turner (as it ought to be it was a
bestseller) – the real reason I’ve chosen to add this book to everything is because of its mention of the “
sacred feminine” – the idea that at one point in history there were
male and female gods and now we have only the male gods.
The book is written in a rather simplistic fashion and does not assume that the reader is very savvy about history (this annoyed me in the passages about
cryptography and
math history… but was a relief in the bits of
Church history.. about which I know nothing)
The characters are
thinly drawn, and there are some painfully overwrought “
romantic tensions” between the American Historian and the museum owners granddaughter.
That all said, off all of the books I’ve read (fiction books, that is) who mention the
Holy Grail this one told the most believable story. (please note
believable is not the same as plausible) –that is you’re able to go along with it while reading the book—also Brown makes many fascinating
connections—(sort of like a dumbed down version of
James Burke) and leaves you feeling like you’ve at last been let in on the
big secret of EVERYTHING.
Anyone who knows
art history may squeal and writhe over the
inaccuracies… but, come on…
it’s just a story…
OR IS IT?
:: Insert corny sinister laughter ::