Sofa Spotlight - The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown

This is a book that doesn't improve on the second reading. If you have managed to get through life so far without reading this book my advice to you would be, don't bother. I'm sorry if this is your favourite book. I just don't like it. Maybe it's because I'm comparing it to Angels and Demons all the time.

So a quick spoiler free synopsis. Langdon, symbologist expert type person, in Paris scheduled to meet the curator of the Louvre. Louvre curator murdered and body left in a disturbing posture. Langdon and curator's granddaughter embark on a chase around Paris and later London on the trail of the Holy Grail. It all gets messy and the nature of the Holy Grail could have serious implications for Christianity.

I can understand the controversy that this book caused. I'm sure much ink has been spilt about this. I have two small things to say. One is that the book says that most Christians don't know where their faith has its origins. Every Christian should be sure of what the believe in, because if we are wrong then we are to be pitied above all people (1 Corinthians 15:19). There are a couple of books I would recommend if you want to look into the authenticity of the Bible and why Jesus is worth following.

The first is God's Big Picture by Vaughan Roberts. This book will give you an overview of the Bible, and show you how it all fits together.



The second is A Fresh Start by John Chapman. This one will explain what Christianity is about and why Jesus is important.

The second thing I want to say is that The Da Vinci Code is a work of fiction. I've recently read a blog post about films made by Hollywood. It suggests some ways to view films that offer an opinion or a take on Christianity, in a way other than slating the film from the start. Even though it's about films, and Noah in particular, I think it could be easy to apply it to books. If you're interested this is the link: http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2014/04/07/hollywood-movies-and-the-bible-should-we-rewind-on-how-we-view/

I don't think I want to read this book again. It felt like there was loads of build up but then it fizzled out at the end. If you've read it what did you think?