The Holy Grail
I'm reading the Davinci Code right now. My sister refuses to read it because there is so much hype about it. She reminds me of Jen that way...refusing to be a follower in the book realm. Jen refused to read Harry Potter for the same reason. All I can say is that they're both missing out. I absolutely love the Harry Potter books. And, although I can't say that I love the Davinci Code, I do have to say that it is an engaging story. Very similar to many Clive Cussler books as far as the writing and story line. (For those who don't know, Cussler wrote the book that later became the film Sahara). The only noticeable difference is that the premise for the treasure hunt in DC is one that has been highly debated by scholars for years. That is the only reason for the hype surrounding this book, I'm looking forward to the end tho, and finding out what the "grail" really is. I have been a little disappointed by the lack of scholarly information int he book tho, I expected more after watching "The Davinci Code: Decoded", but it just isn't there. I can understand why the Church has such a problem with the book though, it doesn't portray the Pope or members of the clergy very well, especially with the repeated mentionings of incidents involving priests and little boys in recent years. I expect the movie will skim over even more of the details, and thereby reduce the book to another blockbuster A-list film without any substance to interest the mind. just like they did with Jurassic Park, Timeline, Sahara, and countless other great books. When are they going to realize that books contain so much more than the flashy special effects of film? I want the information about the grail, about the theories and speculations surrounding it. I want to know how they made the dinosaurs in detail, how they travelled through time, or researched the lost submarine to track down where to find it in the present. Why won't they put these details in? I like Matthew McConahey (sp?) just fine, but I don't want to spend an hour and a half watching him get chased by things and kill people without getting something to engage my mind as well. If I wanted to watch something without any substance to it I'd watch Cannibal: The Musical again. Which, by the way, is a great movie, and perfect for nights when you don't want to think but just veg out and laugh.
I'm gonna go finish my book now...
I'm gonna go finish my book now...
posted by AnywhereEden | 12:02 PM
4 Comments:
The thing that annoys me most about this book is that people seem to forget it's fiction and then they get all wigged out about the debunking of certain details. Why debunk something that is already labeled fiction? I don't get it. And I sure as hell don't get why so many Catholics are upset by this book. It's fiction.
Books are always better than movies. I can't think of one movie that was equal to or better than the book.
Enjoy!
I want to read it, but it just hasn't been on my list of books I need to buy.
Honestly..I don't buy a lot of books, I get a lot of books for free or as gifts.
Smith's might have one used I suppose.
Plus, I am trying to finish three different books. I just started the second to last book in the Hitchhiker book Ben has. And I am finishing a true crime book that I started at work.
And I still have to finish Cell, which is good, but I can only read it at certain times and never before bed or anything. And it's a hard back, so it's bulky. If I could read the damn thing in the bath with one hand, it would've been finished by now.
I'm getting there, slowly.
I read the Da Vinci Code. I didn't see what the big deal was.
It's an easy read, which is probably why it became so popular with people who aren't accustomed to reading novels, but I found it mostly forgettable. It's the kind of book you read on vacation, and then leave in the hotel lobby for someone else to enjoy.
In fact, I read all of Dan Brown's novels within a few weeks, and they're very formulaic.
People who take religious offense to the book have too much free time on their hands.
I agree with all of you folks. It was a fun read, but not a classic up all night page turner.
The thing that gets me is the hype. I mean, The Church does have a bit of a checkered past, to say the least, and it's about time that people began to understand that.
We have this great cultural reverence for the victims of the holocaust, but where is the memorial to the multitudes of inocent people who were burned alive as "heritics" in Europe?
These documentaries on the book are missing the mark. Instead of debunking the claims in a work of fiction, they should examine our culture. Two centuries ago, Dan Brown, Tom Hanks and "Opie" would have suffered the same fate as Galileio for this. The Church would have censored their work, put them in prison, or executed them for their crimes.
In the Middle East, people like Salmon Rushdie (sp?) still have a price on their heads for writing in a disenting voice against Islam.
The question here is not which theological history is right, but whether theology can be questioned.
Remember the outbreaks of violence over the Mohammed cartoon?
Thats what we are really talking about here.
Do people have the right to think for themselves, to question religion, and find their own spiritual path, or not?
I am willing to fork over a few bucks to read the book and see the movie if my dollar supports freedom of religion and freedom of speech.
There are a lot of things we should question about religion, just like Thomas Jefferson and Elizabeth Cady Stanton did. If The DaVinci Code makes people ask these questions, then more power to it baby! More Power to It!
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