The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

★★

From my impressions of this book before having read it, I was ready to be disappointed. While the masses loved it, most of the people whose opinions on books generally align with my own didn't like it at all. As it turned out, I didn't find it painful to read, and that was a pleasant surprise. Still, it was annoying to read.

Dan Brown uses French unnecessarily. While a book set in Paris is sure to use some French, especially in dialogue among Parisians, is it really necessary, in a descriptive passage from the perspective of an English-speaking American, to reference "candied amandes" rather than "candied almonds"? The superfluous use of French was pretentious.

Brown also uses italics excessively. Italicizing foreign words and a person's thoughts are common practices, but Brown further italicizes words for pure emphasis. Frequently. A well-written passage should allow the reader to infer the proper emphasis within individual sentences without the author having to blatantly hit the reader on the head with his intent.

And, yes, Brown constantly underestimates his reader. He leaves nothing to intellect, and generally assumes his reader has none. Passing descriptions of well-known Parisian landmarks read like blurbs from a tourist's guide book. Even after he draws a particular connection - never leaving anything unsaid for fear the reader won't pick up on implicit references - he explains the point ad nauseum. If that wasn't bad enough, I read a crazy "Special Illustrated Edition" (the only copy available in the library), which further included photos and diagrams, just to make sure I really understood what was going on. (To be fair, at times the photos were a pleasant addition, especially when they showed works of art, but some of the diagrams came across more insulting than educational.)

And finally, Brown's writing style is more suited to television than reading. He ends almost every chapter or section with a cliffhanger akin to a commercial break. What happened next wasn't always shocking or unexpected, but it always answered whatever question was previously posed.

Despite these shortcomings, I have to admit that not only did I not lose interest, but I was even anxious to get to the end, to see how everything tied together. I was a bit confused for a few chapters, but being now familiar with Brown's writing style, I had no doubt he would lay it all out for me in the end - and he did.