The Da Vinci code door Dan Brown

hatBook report – the Da Vinci Code

Algemene gegevens

1. Name author: Dan Brown
2. Title of book: the Da Vinci Code
3. Year of publication: 2003
4. Number of points: 2
5. Number of pages: 489

Analyse van een aantal aspecten

Summarize in one sentence what the book is about.

This book is about the search of the Holy Grail.

 Write a summary in your own words of about 400-600 words.

At the beginning of the book, Jacques Saunière (curator of the Louvre) is murdered in the Louvre by an albino monk, named Silas, who wants information about the so-called "keystone". When the body of Saunière is found, the police investigate the crime scene.

Jacques Saunière is the grand master of the priory of Zion, who worships female power. There are only 4 people, the grandmaster and three ‘senechaux’, who knew the secret of the location of the Holy Grail. Since Jacques and the three other secret keepers were all murdered, no one else knew the secret. Jacques needs to pass the secret on to someone, or it is lost forever. That is why, shortly before his death, he left all kinds of riddles behind to pass the secret on to Sophie, his only family left.

For example, he wrote an anagram with an ultraviolet marker on the floor and left a key behind a painting in the Louvre.

 For the murder investigation, cryptologist Sophie Neveu is, conveniently, asked to decipher the found message. Robert Langdon is also taken to the Louvre and interrogated because he had made an appointment with Jacques earlier that day.

When Langdon is left alone with Jacques' body, Sophie tells him that she was Jacques' granddaughter. She discovers that part of the message has been omitted, and after a while she finds out that Jacques wrote: “P.S. Search Robert Langdon”.

 The police consider Robert to be the lead-suspect in the case because of this message.

Sophie explains to Langdon that P.S. are her initials, only her grandfather could have known. After discovering a key behind a painting, they flee out of the Louvre together. Through the key they get more and more clues and eventually find the Keystone. Silas discovers this find and he begins to chase them.

 With the help of Leigh Teabing, an old friend of Langdon, they manage to open the keystone. It seems to contain a smaller keystone. Later on, they discover all kinds of symbols in the painting: the Last Supper, such as the chalice shape between Mary Magdalene and Judas. They also note that there are no chalices anywhere in the painting, while everyone always thinks that wine is being drunk here.

Eventually Silas breaks into the villa of Teabing and attacks them.

 Langdon, Sophie, and Sir. Teabing manage to escape, and they travel to London. In the plane they try to open the 2nd keystone.

 Silas is still looking for the keystone together with his master Bishop Aringarosa. Silas and Bishop Aringarosa are followers of Opus Dei; a Catholic sect that engages in self-flagellation. Opus Dei believes that the keystone will give them extreme power, greater than the power of the Vatican.

 The three find out that the "Holy Grail" is not a chalice at all but a woman: Mary Magdalene. They also find documents that prove Mary and Jesus are of royal blood.

When they finally manage to open the 2nd keystone, Sophie discovers she is the last descendant of Jesus and Mary, which means she has royal blood (or as mentioned in the book: Sang Real)

 At the end, Sophie determines her family's secrets, and she finds her brother and grandmother.

In an exhilarating chapter, Silas dies, and in the epilog, Langdon finally understands the written poem of Saunière, and he finds the bones of Mary Magdalene under the pyramid of the Louvre. He found the Holy Grail.

 Describe the theme in one word.

Riddles.

 Describe the main character in detail.

The main character in this book is the 30-year-old Robert Langdon, teacher of religious iconology and symbology. He is a very reliable and kind person, which makes him very easily liked by others. I don’t think he develops a lot as a person throughout the story, but he improves his knowledge of iconology and symbology, which he can use as a teacher.

Describe two minor characters.

- Sophie Neveu. Sophie is the granddaughter of Jacques Saunière. Because of trauma in her young years, she decided to break contact with her grandfather. She is a really intelligent and confident woman, who loves cryptology.

- Silas. Silas is an albino monk, who is a very religious person. Because he wanted to find the Holy Grail for the Opus Dei, he murdered four people, including Jacques Saunière. Because he had to pay for his sins, he chastises himself.

Describe the place(s) where the story is set in detail.

Bois de Boulogne, Paris, France.

Chateau Villette, France.

Saint-Sulpice Church, Paris, France.

Specola Vaticana, Castel Gandolfo, Italy.

Temple Church, London, England.

Westminster Abbey, London, England.

Rosslyn Chapel, Roslin, Scotland.

King's College, London, England

Pyramid, The Louvre, Paris, France

Denon Wing, The Louvre, Paris, France

Since Robert Langdon travels a lot in the book, I’m going to shortly describe two places: the Pyramid at the Louvre and Rosslyn Chapel. I chose these two because I thought these were the most important locations in the story.

Pyramid, Louvre. This pyramid is the entry of the Louvre. It is made entirely out of glass panels, and located in Paris, by the Seine.

Rosslyn Chapel. The Rosslyn Chapel is made in the 15^th century by William Sinclair. It is located in Roslin in Scotland. The inside of the chapel is completely covered with art. The outside is made in gothic style.

There is a legend that says there is a hidden vault under the chapel containing treasures.

When does the story take place?

The story takes place in the same year as the publication year of the book, 2003. You know it isn’t told in history because all the paintings from the Louvre are already there. If the story does take place in history, these paintings weren’t yet painted, so the whole book wouldn’t make any sense anymore.

The book is written in chronological order, without any flashbacks. The story isn’t told from one point of view, it jumps to different places and different characters who are experiencing things at the same time. For example: Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveu are driving in a truck and at the same time, in the next chapter, Aringarosa is checking his voicemail in a car in Rome. The chapter after that is about Langdon and Sophie again.

Who is the person that tells the story?

The narrator of the story is the author of the book. It can’t be written from the point of view of one of the characters because feelings of more than one character are described. Additionally, if the book was written out of the eyes of one person, lots of pieces of the story couldn’t have happened. For example: sometimes the story is only about Silas, without any other characters around. However, it can’t be written from Silas’ point of view because there are also parts where Silas isn’t part of the story.   

Give an explanation of the title.

The title is ‘the Da Vinci Code’ because of, among other things, the fact that Saunière was found in the Grand Gallery of the Louvre right beneath the Mona Lisa, which was painted by Leonardo Da Vinci. Additionally, his body was positioned in the model of Da Vinci’s famous illustration of the Vitruvian Man.

Is the book just meant as a story or is the author trying to bring across a message?

I don’t think the story was meant as a message. The reason for my believes is that Robert Langdon is a character in a literary series, which means there are more books about other subjects and not only this one. Also, the story is more fiction than a picture of real life, so there isn’t a clear message.

Leesbeleving en evaluatie

The book was very engaging and compelling. It is very detailed which makes it much easier to imagine everything. There is a lot of history in it as well, which makes it very interesting. There was a huge plot twist that I didn't expect at all, which of course makes the whole book even more fun. I would definitely recommend this book if you like to read about art, riddles, and history, such as the Priory of Sion and Silas' strong belief in the (Catholic) Opus Dei.

The part I found most disappointing was the discovery of Leigh Teabing being the antagonist and thus not on Robert Langdon's side. The further I got into the book, the more I began to like sir. Teabing. He was always so intelligent and kind. Unfortunately, not everything has a happy ending, as he worked with Bishop Aringarosa and Opus Dei.

The part I thought was most important in the development of the story was the part where they found out the Holy Grail wasn’t an object but a person. This changed the whole perspective of the story, because up until that moment, everyone in history believed the Holy Grail was an object. Therefore, this was an important moment in the book.

With this statement I have a quote which I found very touching and suiting:

 ‘The quest for the Holy Grail is the quest to kneel before the bones of Mary Magdalene. A journey to pray at the feet of the outcast one. With a sudden upwelling of reverence, Robert Landon fell to his knees. For a moment, he thought he heard a woman’s voice… the wisdom of ages… whispering up from the chasms of the earth.’ ~ page 489 ~

Finally, roughly how much time did you spend reading the book?

Approximately, something in between 11 and 12 hours.