BOOK INTO MOVIE: The Da Vinci Code

I think everyone knows the story of The Da Vinci Code, but I will give a quick refresher. Robert Langdon is a Harvard symbologist who has been called upon to help uncover the truth behind the death of the elderly curator of the Lourve. What he uncovers, though, is the shocking truth of Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and the secret the Christian Church has been hiding for centuries.

I thought this book was amazing. What this book, and Angels and Demons before it, does really well is teaching you something while you read a fun, action-packed story. Though the characters aren't particularly interesting or complicated, I don't think that matters much. In my personal opinion, a good writer excels at two out of three points: story, characters, and writing style. Dan Brown excels and story and writing style, so that's all I need (not to say his writing is particularly brilliant, but for the type of story he writes it is perfectly suited).

I really loved learning about the idea of Mary Magdalene as Jesus' wife and the massive amount of evidence to support it. I also enjoyed reading about the conscious decision to devalue the role of women in the church and it's history. And, as always, the hidden meaning behind symbols and their history. I LOVE LEARNING! Lol, sorry Raeann--had to channel you! :) And I really loved how this novel tied itself up, all fitting together perfectly.

THE MOVIE As with the book, this was a fun, light watch. Though it followed the book very closely, I was pretty disappointed (though not surprised) by the fact they didn't go into nearly as much as the cover-up of the church, their reasoning behind it, and the evidence (real or imagined, it was pretty cool and convincing). Although I realize it's probably due to time constraints, as with most cutting when translating from book to movie, it's probably more to do with the controversial subject (The Golden Compass, anyone?). Though all in all it followed the book very well in major plot points and it was entertaining. And I've seen this movie before I read the book awhile ago, and I remember not having any issues following it when I hadn't read the book--so props for that.

All in all, it was a good translation. Looking forward to Inferno (which I haven't read yet, but I will before the movie comes out..)!

Goodreads rating: 5 stars
Recommendation: Highly! Fun read, don't expect something literary, because you won't get it, but you will get an entertaining read!