January 20, 2005
Dan Brown Bashing
One of the writers at Language Log, a site full of grammatical pedants and perfectionists (my kind of people), hates The Da Vinci Code and its author, Dan Brown. I read it, and I thought it was passable: the prose was burdened, the plot kind of silly, and all 100-odd cliffhangers annoying as hell. Thus, I really enjoyed reading these posts.
Dan Brown can't write worth a darn.
Dan Brown's opening sentences suck.
Dan Brown illustrated.
Thank God the film won't use Brown's expository prose.
Dan Brown's kaleidoscope of power.
Sure, some of it is incredibly nit-picky, and I have issues with the claim that the title of the book is ungrammatical. Just about everyone in the world thinks "Da Vinci" is Leonardo's last name, and quibbling with that is a sure sign of looking for things with which to quibble. But for anyone who simply can't understand what the big deal was, these are lots of fun.
Posted by mike, January 20, 2005 11:57 PMI must be one of the only people in the world who hasn't read this book yet. Given what you've said about it and what was written on the posts (I didn't get through them all), should I bother trying to find a copy?
Posted by: Kris at January 21, 2005 2:36 PMWell, it's one of those cultural phenomenon things. Maybe you should read it just to find out what all the fuss is about. However, find a used copy. Dan Brown doesn't need any more money.
Posted by: mike at January 21, 2005 4:30 PMYou are going to love the Anne Fadiman book!
Posted by: belle at January 21, 2005 4:53 PM