When Fiction Is Stranger than Truth: A
Closer Look at the Da Vinci Code
This article originally appeared in ISSUES 15:6
by Naomi Rose Rothstein
Fact:
The Da Vinci Code—the best-selling
book by Dan Brown—is a real book. In 2003, it was published and quickly became the #1 bestseller. Today, it still enjoys
enormous popularity.
The Da Vinci Code has been a catalyst
for controversy as it calls into question the record of Jesus that millions have accepted for thousands of years.
All descriptions of The Da Vinci Code and its
claims in this article are accurate.
Introduction
Novels rarely inspire controversy, but when they do,
it's not usually the story itself that generates a stir; it's the ideas behind the story. Narrative can be a powerful tool,
and not even the author can ever really calculate its influence in advance.
Dan Brown, author of The Da Vinci Code, says
he's "stunned" at his controversial book's success. It's already been a little over a year since the novel's initial publication
and the craze over "Code" shows no signs of letting up. Over seven million copies of the book have been printed and it's still
on weekly bestseller lists all over the world. A sequel and a movie are in the works.
But while Brown may be surprised that his novel is such
a sensation, one doubts that he can really be surprised at the controversy surrounding it. After all, most truly controversial
works challenge the way people think and feel about important topics. And Brown certainly had this goal in mind when he chose
a subject so sacred to so many.
The Da Vinci Code opens with the
murder of the Louvre's curator, who leaves behind a series of clues that bring together Harvard "symbologist" (and murder
suspect) Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveu, Parisian cryptographer and granddaughter of the curator. For the rest of the novel,
the two of them embark on a fast-paced search for clues as to who committed the crime and, in the process, learn more and
more about a massive religious conspiracy to cover up, among other things, the "truth" about Jesus.
read more...
© 2004 Jews for Jesus
