Where Robert Langdon Follows Some Artsy Clues

Inferno by Dan Brown
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I always like Dan Brown books. He knows how to write a thriller that keeps you guessing and takes you all over the world. For me, that's fun. 4 stars.

Ever since the Da Vinci Code, he's been the target of haters, and I don't get it. If I don't like an author, they disappear from my life. But people will hate-read his books and then bang on about how badly written they are or how they hate the tropes he uses, whatever. And a lot of Catholics seem to think, still, that he's trying to take down their religion, and he gets accused of anti-Catholic bias because of it. It's a fundamental misreading of fiction. We *know* this is a made-up story, and we aren't confused by that. Rome is real; Robert Langdon is not. Conspiracy theories make for fun stories, where wild ideas that are *theoretically* possible are strung into a great "what if?" and we all take a ride.

That's what we do here. Nobody thinks this is journalism. Nobody's picking on you or attacking you.

Final word on that sermon--if it's not fun, don't read it. So many other good books to read. Skip this one.

I had forgotten how quickly he drags you from chapter to chapter, from scene to scene, whisking the reader into a confusing state of chases, riddles, exotic locales, and literature coming to life. It's a great mix, and most of the time it works well. Bestsellers are about movement and excitement and action, about big ideas splashing across wide landscapes, and that's what we get in this novel. One of the best things about his writing is that he has a great formula. One of the worst things is that sometimes you get tired of the formula. For me, that's why this is a great 4-star book but I couldn't go to five.

My favorite stuff is the travel. I've not been many places in Europe, but I've been to Florence, and it's amazing to see all of the things behind the scenes, or in the attics, or under the stones. That's a big part of his formula. There's also Venice, with all kinds of behind the scenes looks at St. Marks. then there's Istanbul, which gets a similar treatment. Robert and his allies are trying to stop someone from doing a thing that will be real bad, and hints and clues have them hopping from one city to the next, always a little late... but--all together now--that's the formula.

He also gives us the brand names of everything the professionals use--what kind of helicopter, what kind of laser pointer, what kind of boat--and I actually dig that. It's super easy to lampoon, especially if you read it in your head in a Leslie Nielsen kind of voice, but despite that I still like it, and he knows it lends a kind of competence to his characters, as if they know they are using the very best equipment because they are professionals. It works for me.

What I'm tired of are the twists, the reversals. He's the enemy! No, he's on your side. They're attacking me! No, they're trying to save you from someone else. A little of that goes a long way, and Dan Brown does it relentlessly. This hurts my appreciation for the story, because I'm one of those "found family" kind of readers; I love team-ups, people coming together to save the world. I hate having to retcon all of my understanding of the novel to this point by believing the good guys have been the bad guys and the bad guys were the good guys. It makes me feel like I need to go back and reread everything in the light of the new evidence. It's dramatic, but I hate it.

That disagreement aside, I really enjoyed reading the book. It was fun to pick up over and over again instead of other books I'm reading that are less compelling, and it never felt like work the way some novels do. So I give him credit--he writes stuff I like to read.

From my brother Jon's collection. Still thinking of you, brother.

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Where I Read a Book Everyone Else Read A While Ago

The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I liked this novel. I enjoyed reading it, and I learned a lot about Florence from it.

I must admit, though, I don't like the end (which is presented in the prologue) and that marred my affection for the novel overall. The conclusion doesn't follow, IMO, from anything in the rest of the novel, and it's unnecessarily grotesque and bizarre. I wonder at the creative process which led to ending the story the way the author did... Nope, don't get it. (Maybe you'll make better sense of it.)

But leaving that aside--the novel is otherwise quite lovely. Yes, there are some tough things happening, horrible events in the city of Florence at the end of the Fifteenth Century, things which are ugly and distressing, but they happen mostly off-stage, to minor characters or unnamed characters. Nothing unusual for a story like this. The main characters mostly have rising and falling fortunes, good and bad times, just as you'd expect in a historical novel, and I found it a pleasant read from the distance of several thousand miles and 500+ years.

I haven't traveled much, but I have been to Florence. I found myself actually seeing the city as I read this, and I feel like the author has done an excellent job of bringing the place and the time back to life. The wealth, the wars, the religious disagreements--it makes so much more sense to me when I see it in a novel than when I read it in non-fiction sources. With well conceived characters and a satisfying story arc (*cof* leaving aside my disdain for the very end *cof*) it is a fine novel. As always, in my opinion.

Some family drama; some history; religion; romance; lots of art; good stuff.

Recommended.


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