No, I didn't read Dante's Inferno. That is probably going to happen...never. With that kind of classic, if I wasn't assigned to read it in college then I am not going to choose to read it now. There are too many other good books out there. Sorry, dead Italians.
This kind of book is also an unusual choice for me, isn't it? I don't often find myself reading books by male national bestsellers. The James Patterson, Stephen King, Tom Clancy kind of action and thrillers don't really do it for me. I have enjoyed Grisham and Crichton in the past but it all starts to kind of sound the same after a while. Plus I'm just a snob about mainstream literature, admittedly a hypocritical one since I enjoy most of Oprah's book club selections.
The reason I like Dan Brown books, though, is the same reason I liked Ken Follett's medieval and World War II books; there's so much about art and history in them along with the mystery and suspense. This one takes place in Florence, Venice,and Istanbul and takes you through famous museums, cathedrals and other sites in a race against time to stop a madman from starting a new plague. It's fun to get caught up in the story line but I really need the added incentive of the European settings and the art and literature references, too. Snobbish, I know.
Actually, it's probably unfair to compare Brown and Follett because their writing is so different, in that Follett is a good writer and Dan Brown is just a guy with a good imagination. Really. He uses so much cliched characterization and completely clunky story advancing strategies. Professor Robert Langdon, his main character, always has a sweet little female side kick and frequently says to himself, "I remember when I was lecturing on this last year," which is his way of giving us back story. And all five books I've read by Brown have a similar twist at the end in who is really the bad guy and a connection to some kind of controversial issue (Jesus's wife? What?). They are imaginative in individual scope but very formulaic as a set.
Yet I've read FIVE of his books, so I can't complain too loudly. And I did stay up until the unheard of (for me) hour of eleven o'clock at night reading this book. So yeah, it's a good read.
In other good news, I just read that an absolute GLUT of my favorite authors have new books out: Ann Patchett, Anita Shreve (hers got to be all the same too so I've taken a break but am ready for more now), Amy Tann, Fanny Flagg...happy reading to me!
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