The Da Vinci Code

It all started in 8th grade Health class. Each morning, we would have to write for five minutes. It could be about whatever: a novel you’re writing, how much you hate writing journal entries, what you had for dinner last night, your cat, anything! I don’t remember much about what I wrote about; it was probably stupid stuff about my day or how sad I was at my new school (my old one burned down, more on that next blog post). However, I do remember one. Or, at least, part of one.

I just finished my book. It was pretty good. I think I’m going to read a non-fiction book next. Maybe The Da Vinci Code.

If you are my age, you probably remember the uproar that The Da Vinci Code caused in the secular and religious worlds. Every news report I read or saw talked about how this book was the biggest phenomenon to ever have happened and IT WAS ALL TRUE OMG. Of course, being an 8th grader, I believed every word of it. So, I picked up the book from our bookshelf and began reading. My mom didn’t really care what I read and, that was good, because this book changed my life.

For those who don’t know, Dan Brown’s masterpiece is about our great friend, Robert “The Dolphin” Langdon. While staying in Paris, he is called in to help investigate the murder of curator Jacques Sauniére in the Louvre (8th grade Zach pronounced it “Lou-ver” [I also pronounces Basilica as “Bas-uh-lees-ka. Yeah, I know.]). However, much to Langdon’s surprise, he is actually the #1 suspect in this murder! *Gasp* With the help of Sophie Neveu, French cryptologist and granddaughter to the deceased, Langdon discovers that Sauniére was a member of a secret society bound and determined to protect the treasure of treasures, the Holy Grail. For those who haven’t read it, I won’t spoil it.

As a young, impressionable child, this book was like a gospel to me. I poured over books on religion and read a crap load of the books trying to cash in on Brown’s success. It really was an incredible time in my life. I read so much and, I can honestly say, this is probably the catalyst that began my reading career. Of course, re-reading it, I realize that it is kind of ridiculous and has so many so-bad-it’s-good moments that I still love it. It didn’t recapture the feeling I had when I was younger, but I can see why I loved it so much.

I think it also important to note that there was a Da Vinci Code video game. Yup. I played it on my XBox and it was garbage. Of course, I loved it at the time because Da Vinci Code. Looking back on it, it is really bad. But, hey, you gotta milk a cash cow at any chance you get!