Review Detail

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown is a thriller mystery novel whose story revolves around two protagonists, Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveu, who are on the journey of their life to crack the mystery behind the murder of Jacques Sauniere, the keeper of a secret. This isn’t just any secret: this secret has been heavily guarded by a secret society for two thousand years, the Holy Grail. It is up to Langdon and Sophie to solve the mystery before its secrets fall into the wrong hands.

The plot is intriguing and interesting because of Dan Brown’s use of language. Right from the start, this book draws readers in and hooks them until the very last sentence. Although simple, Brown crafts his words into thought-provoking ideas that reveal much deeper meanings. This can be seen throughout his book, such as when Langdon and Sophie visit a friend, Teabing, during their journey. Teabing explains, in this excerpt, that “History is always written by the winners. When two cultures clash, the loser is obliterated, and the winner writes the history books – books which glorify their own cause and disparage the conquered foe. As Napoleon once said, “What is history, but a fable agreed upon?’” (Brown 335). By this, he means that the history written by the losers are often lost in history and never get a chance to emerge. This is telling the reader that the most difficult job is to put together all the pieces of the puzzle so that one can see the entire picture, an unbiased view of history, or, in this case, the complete story without any piece missing. From this, one can see the care Brown uses to mold his ideas and words into a work of art, making this novel a masterpiece.

The two protagonists are also beneficial in making this story come to life because of their individual personalities. Robert Langdon is a Harvard professor who is portrayed as a trustworthy character. Throughout the book, he remains generally rooted in his beliefs and unchanged by the conspiratorial events that surround him. On the other hand, Sophie Neveu is a police cryptographer who is depicted as a smart and caring young woman. Over the course of the book, she changes in response to the events that unfold around her. Their attributes are complementary; they complete each other like yin and yang.

Overall, I would give this book four stars. Brown ingeniously leaves out the tiniest details until the climax, intensifying the suspense as everything falls into place. Even so, the book is, in general, historically inaccurate and is very controversial. I would still recommend this book, especially to those who love an amazing thriller that will keep them on the edge. Once you pick up this book, you won’t be able to put it down until you’ve unlocked the mystery of a lifetime.