The Da Vinci Code

I ended up reading the illustrated/photographed edition of this book, something which majorly contributed to my enjoyment or fascination. I’m not completely sure I’d have given this book the same grade if it weren’t for the photos of real-life old paintings, ruins, museums, fields and sights that show up helping us feel we’re there even more than the words can display. I guess that’s the power of a book with pictures. Photos are worth 1,000 words in journalism. And that doesn’t mean the pictures were the only thing of value in The Da Vinci Code. I found this book to be incredible.

One of the most popular and influential books since its publication almost 20 years ago, this review is for anyone who hasn’t read the book but has heard of it. My dad picked it up one day last Fall and got through the whole thing super fast. When in my reading slump, he gave it to me and he then told me I would get through it in three days. Wasn’t really the case; I was busy with work and some of the first quarter of the book felt too ahead of itself. But I am happy to say my dad was right that I would love it.

So why? To start, the book opens up with an old historian named Jacques Saunière, in the Louvre being shot to death in the middle of the night. Officer Vezu Fache is called in, and written in his blood on his chest is:

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown is a captivating and controversial thriller that has fascinated readers around the world since its release in 2003. Combining art, history, religion, and suspense, the novel propels readers on a high-stakes adventure full of mystery, secrets, and deep conspiracies. The story revolves around Robert Langdon, a Harvard symbologist, and Sophie Neveu, a French cryptologist, as they work together to solve the murder of a curator at the Louvre Museum. Their investigation uncovers a hidden history that challenges the very foundation of Christianity.
The novel begins with the murder of the Louvre’s curator, Jacques Saunière, who leaves behind a cryptic set of clues that Langdon and Sophie must follow. These clues lead them to unravel a much larger mystery involving the Holy Grail, a concept shrouded in myth and controversy for centuries. However, the novel offers an alternative view of the Grail, not as the sacred cup used by Jesus during the Last Supper but as a symbol of hidden knowledge about Jesus’ life and his supposed marriage to Mary Magdalene.