Re-writing History
While it isn’t uncommon for fiction writers to take a few creative liberties with history when weaving a plot, The Da Vinci Code takes more than a few liberties. About the only fact associated with the book is that it is fiction. Even the introductory statement under the heading of “Facts” that states all descriptions of artwork, architecture, etc. are accurate is fiction, including the glass dome of the Louvre Museum having exactly 666 window panes. I enjoy a good historical story, but I do want the majority of the info to be true – facts that can be supported thru historical documents dating back close to the time of the events. The amount of legitimately documented fact in The Da Vinci Code is miniscule at best. Distorting history to this degree, regardless of the subject matter, confuses an already under-educated society on what really happened and what didn’t. History isn’t just something fun for trivia buffs to talk about. It is a vital aspect of our livelihood. Preserving the truth of who we are and where we came from should be taken more seriously than Dan Brown seems to do.
from my notebook 