THE DA VINCI
CODE
-Dan Brown
Since its 2003 publication
date, Dan Brown's novel The Da Vinci Code has had an impact
not only in the world of literature and the related world of the arts but also
in the social and political spheres. The Da Vinci Code is a
stand-alone thriller, but again features Robert Langdon, the Harvard symbolist
who was the lead character in Brown's 2001 novel, Angels and Demons,
which was also a bestseller.
The Da Vinci Code was number one on the New
York Times bestseller list, stayed on the bestseller list for over a
year, and has sold over ten million copies worldwide. The novel reached many
readers who might not usually pick up fiction, owing to the intriguing nature
of its multi-layered plot: the idea that Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene were
married and had a child; deciphering the symbols found in many works of art,
including Da Vinci's painting The Last Supper, that indicate this
secret history; and the resulting power struggles between the Catholic Church
and a secret society named the Priory of Sion over what to do with this
explosive information.
This novel starts off with a
bang—literally.
Jacques
Saunière, the respected curator of the Louvre museum in Paris, is viciously
shot by an albino monk looking for a certain mysterious something…something
only Saunière and three other men (that have already been offed) could direct
him to. Realizing the secret he and those other men vowed to protect is about
to die with him, Saunière scrambles to leave behind a message that can only be
understood by very specific people…
Robert Langdon, a humble but
groundbreaking professor of Symbology, gets summoned to a gruesome murder scene
in the middle of the night because the DCPJ (basically the French version of
the FBI) need his expert opinion. Upon arriving, Langdon is stunned to realize
the victim is Jacques Saunière—coincidentally, the very man he was supposed to
meet for drinks earlier that night.
Captain Bezu Fache of the
DCPJ likes Langdon as the prime suspect in Saunière's death, and all he needs
is an inadvertent confession at the scene of the crime. He's thwarted in
getting one, though, because Sophie Neveu (Saunière's estranged granddaughter
and code-breaker extraordinaire) interrupts the process and cleverly warns
Langdon that he's in serious trouble. The two of them manage to escape the
Louvre without being captured by the police…but not before they discover a
series of clues left behind by her grandfather.
From there, Sophie and
Langdon are led on a wild quest to find the keystone—a mysterious object that
will ultimately lead to the Holy Grail. Turns out Saunière had been the head of
a secret society known as the Priory of Sion (say that five times fast) who
worship the sacred feminine and protect the secret of the Holy Grail's true
identity and location. You see, the Holy Grail’s not a wooden cup like Indy
Jones found: it's actually the bones of Mary Magdalene, and documents that
prove she had been the mother of Jesus's children. (Whoa. That changes
everything.) Now it's up to Sophie and Langdon to unlock his clues in order to
discover the secret he's worked so hard to protect.
Along the way, while dodging
capture by the DCPJ and attacks from the albino monk Silas, they enlist the
help of the Grail expert Sir Leigh Teabing. Together they decipher Saunière's
riddles and seek out answers all over London on a scavenger hunt to beat all
scavenger hunts. As things develop, it turns out this entire charade has been
orchestrated by a shadowy figure known as the Teacher. (Sheesh, that's an
ominous name.) He's the one who ordered Silas to kill Saunière’s, and he's been
pulling the strings with Silas's mentor—the unfortunate Bishop Aringarosa—as
well, who's a man who is desperate to save his conservative Catholic sect Opus
Dei from extinction.
In a twist no one sees
coming, we discover—just as Langdon deciphers the final clue—that Teabing is the
dastardly Teacher. With the timing of a Swiss watch, Captain Bezu Fache manages
to save the day. He'd realized he had the wrong man thanks to a confession from
the sheepish Bishop (who'd realized he and Silas had been played), and manages
to track down and arrest Teabing just in time.
With their names cleared of
any crimes, and the final clue solved Langdon and Sophie head to Rosslyn Chapel
in Scotland. There they'll supposedly find the Holy Grail, according to
Saunière's last riddle. Instead, though, they find Sophie's long-lost
grandmother and little brother, who also happen to be direct descendants of
Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene. Sophie's happy to finally have family (after
losing her grandfather, she thought she was totally alone), but Langdon is
pretty bummed that he didn't end up finding the Grail.
Thankfully, Langdon pieces
together Saunière's final clue in a different way, and is struck by the
realization that the Holy Grail is actually hidden beneath the Louvre itself.
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