The Da Vinci Code (2003)

Subestimado, mejor de lo que esperaba. Entretenido si se lee sin prejuicios. ( )

I wish I could say one and a half stars, but it would be barely that. I read this when it came out, I think. I was a teenager and adored this book. It didn't seem like fiction at all. Sometimes I still thought about parts of it, years later. This was another book from the Reddit megathread "What's your favorite book" I decided to reread. Now that I'm an adult, a more critical reader and have more life experience, my opinion had already changed within the first ten pages. The book opens with the vaguest of murders. What is it with books and movies portraying stomach wounds as bringers of immediate and sure death? Contrivance and convenience, I declare. Sigh. Lemme have some medical reality, over here. Then, the novel switches to the main character forgetting he's at a major conference since he's so exhausted. What a sloppy introduction. He then humble-brags about how hot he thinks he is, especially since he's so tired. I'm not impressed.
There's an attempt at a Victor Hugo vibe, with tons of buildings being described, and it doesn't fit the tone of the story. The main villain, Silas, has albinism, to hammer in the Disability Means You're A Villain trope. I'm supposed to believe he has red eyes, which is another Totally Evil trope. The red or pink in some albino people's eyes has to do with blood vessels. It's not the actual color of the eye. Apparently Silas is totes brutal for breaking someone's neck with his bare hands. That's...not brutal, it's grabbing and twisting someone's head to an extreme angle and applying specific pressure. "The Hunger Games" did this better. There are cliche descriptions of: smiles (lopsided), redheads, and others.

I actually liked how Sophie's flashbacks were used and placed. I'm--trying not to judge, and I don't think I am as much as I -could- be, about Sophie's estrangement from her adored grandfather. He lied to her about a room in his house, his friends, his beliefs to some extent, and she was horrified to find him doing something she didn't understand. So she went full-on no contact (abbreviated as NC in online forums where this is common) for years. Um, the book really builds the act and her seeing it up, and I--why? What purpose does it serve in the novel? The book got boring shortly after page a hundred. The chapters with action sequences tended to be incredibly short, in contrast to the chapters on the symbolism of many things. Those were stuffed full of words. About eighty percent of this novel felt like History of Symbology 400 lectures, over and over again. So, a textbook with some action scenes and a sometimes-there villain who wasn't compelling or scary at all. And a sidekick, because I felt that she wasn't built up enough to be a heroine. Flashbacks are not characterization. She is much more interesting than the hero, though. The book would have been more interesting from Sophie's POV.

Beneath the numerous, semi-repetitive lectures, the increasingly flat action scenes, and the exponentially boring villains whose motives I just didn't buy, this is a cookie-cutter boy gets girl who is out of his league, book. I felt their getting together was contrived. The ending had me roll my eyes, and I was glad the book was over. And, seriously? -This- was the book that caused all that uproar and controversy? I made myself finish it in a few days that felt like a few years. Ugh. ( )

2013/07/31
Swallowed whole at the time.
Now I wonder what made me read it.
It's a good one-time-only read.
The bottom line? Lots of hype and publicity. ( )

This was the perfect book to read on the 12 hour plane trip from Greece to New York. I can't imagine devoting so many hours to it in any other situation. ( )

I loved this book. It started out in the middle of a mystery, went on with intriguing facts, and then ends... At the time, I thought it was a terrible ending, and it got me pretty mad. In retrospect, I think it's hilarious. All in all, the ending is forgivable when you look at the rest of the book. ( )