The Da Vinci Code Compromise
My Top 5 books of all time are, in no specific order:
1. The Divine Comedy by Dante Aligheiri
2. Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
3. The Stranger by Albert Camus
4. The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli
5. Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
Notice that the Da Vinci Code is not on this list. If I continued the list to the Top 100, I am not sure that the Da Vinci Code would make that list either. Quite simply, the Da Vinci Code is not great literature. The book may be fast-paced, exhilarating, and suspensful, but Dan Brown’s prose is lacking. Yet, the Da Vinci Code has sold more copies than any book besides the Bible. The Ron Howard-directed-movie comes out this week and has become such a worldwide force that it has caused scores of protests and has even won dismissals from the Vatican.
I also have a degree in Religious Studies, and while Dan Brown’s theology is on par with his literature, I still recommend this book to people who ask me if they should read it. Why? Because quite simply, this nation has become overwhelmed with television-watching, video-game-playing, iPod-using zombies who only pick up books when they have to and when they can’t find the Cliff’s Notes or a movie version. A 2003 study by the U.S. Department of Education found that one in seven people (more than 40 million people) are functionally illiterate. The U.S. has consistantly been losing ground to countries like Germany and Japan in terms of literacy and scientific achievement. These facts should be alarming, not only because a person in the U.S. is not likely to appreciate the metaphors of Edgar Allan Poe, but because American jobs will begin going abroad – indeed, they already are – to those who are better prepared to do them. American car makers can attest to the fact that Asian car manufacturers have been pushing them into bankruptcy; this may only be the beginning.
Therefore, anything that encourages Americans to pick up a book – even if that book isn’t classic literature – should be encouraged. The Da Vinci Code, the Harry Potter series, and novels from authors like Stephen King, John Grisham and Michael Crichton are books that may not rival Tolstoy, Whitman or even a modern author like Phillip Roth, but are tremendously popular and encourage reading. Harry Potter is especially beneficial because it encourages children to read as well.
The dangerous element in all of this, of course, is the possibility that modern readers won’t be able to critically examine the books they read – they may take the Da Vinci Code at face value, for example. After all, the most popular book of all-time has been taken at face value by billions of people for centuries. While this may inspire people to believe that Jesus Christ’s great-great-great-great-great-grandson lives in a condo on Nantucket, to create religions out of science fiction books, or to believe Michael Crichton is a reliable source on global warming, I believe that these risks are well worth it. After all, these questions cannot be addressed if people don’t know they were asked in this first place.
Rarely a day goes by when I don’t read a book or a newspaper – I know I am in the minority. As a former English major, and as someone who values the future of America, it is important to encourage reading even if it comes in slightly dilapidated forms. Dan Brown may get someone to visit a library or a bookstore, and once they are there, perhaps they will stay.
