Reading Log: The Da Vinci Code: Special Illustrated Edition

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From an art lover's perspective it was great because of all the name dropping. The Mona Lisa, The Last Supper, and Madonna On the Rocks to name a few. Plus I enjoyed reading another interpretation of the paintings.

As a student of art history, it was awesome. There were a lot of the painting I recognized, and art vocabulary I understood. I'm taking an art history class, and we just studied the Renaissance painters so this was perfect. All the info was still fresh in my memory.

A special illustrated edition was a great idea, with the pictures enhancing the text. If anyone didn't know what the Madonna of the Rock look like, especially since any description couldn’t do it justice. But I found certain text or bolded/highlighted words distracting because they caught my eye first, and I tried not to look, but it didn't always work, so to a certain extent, it kind of ruined the surprise.

The thing about reading the Da Vinci Code now is that a lot of the controversy about the book had died down. And I'm just understanding what its all about. That’s the thing I hate about always reading books after al the novelty is gone. However, my local news station has something on the book, so maybe I’m not totally out of the lope.

I thought the Teacher was the French head detective, but I had the nagging feeling that it was too obvious. I knew there had to a twist as to who was responsible.

This is also one of the few heavily art related book or otherwise that I've read. The next most art related 'otherwise' that I've come into contact with and is fairy well known is the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Remember them? They have launched a new TMNT. They had in their program, 3 of the greatest Renaissance painters ever. Three Giants of ART. I know there is one other guy, but I always forget his name. I've always thought, "what an ingenious idea!” To subliminally expose art to the masses by disguising them as mutated, green ninja turtles complete with their love for pizza, (Pizza originate from Italy, and Italy was the birthplace of the Renaissance. See...) individualize weapons, and 'dude' speak.

I'm reading this book and reporting it from an art student perspective only. I'm only marginally verse in the art themes. And I was not raised a Christian, so I don't really know a lot about the religious aspects, except what I learnt through art and what was discussed in art class. Please, passersby, no hate comments about why this book does suck b/c of its religious implications. [See the Jon Stewarts book post for why]

Ok. This is a long pose but most of it had nothing to do with my actual impressions of the book and its plots and themes. So I guess I liked it. It was certainly hyped up, and I wasn't disappointed. I'm glad I had a chance to read it now, so I can have an opinion the next time someone brings up The Da Vinci Code.