The Da Vinci Code

I just finished one of the best books I've ever read - The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. This best-seller, 36 weeks on the New York Times best-seller list and counting, has captured the imagination of readers everywhere - me included.

One premise of this thriller is that the Roman Catholic Church concealed a series of gospels written by Mary Magdalene, which detailed a relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene that included marriage. There is a fascinating plot twist about the meaning Holy Grail, and information about secret societies such at the Priory of Sion. The book has caused an endless stir on websites, with much speculation about the facts included.

For me, it was a gripping book on several levels. I'd heard about this "great book" from several friends, but it wasn't until I talked with colleagues at work one day that I began to put two and two together and realize that THIS book was the book that included references to Da Vinci's Last Supper and talked of the many secrets supposedly held by the Church. I remember the day we found a picture of the famed Last Supper on the Internet and how shocked I was to see that in the paining, the Apostle John did actually appear to be a woman - according to Da Vinci, it was Mary Magdalene.

While much of the content of this story is controversial, it has caused much debate and has been the subject of many news articles including The Bible's Lost Stories in the December 8, 2003 issue of Newsweek, and The Lost Gospels in the December 14 issue of Time Magazine. You can read many reviews and excerpts on the 'Net in many places.

This book did include fascinating information on secret societies, naming names of real people, and cover-ups by the Church, but it gripped me as much for the thriller aspect as it did for the new ideas it put forth. I literally couldn't put it down. There is such a mystery, and so many twists and turns of events, that once started, it is almost impossible to stop!

I flew though it in two-days time, stopping only because Thanksgiving happened to fall in the middle of the book. But even that added to my enjoyment as I had the chance to talk about it with my sister who had read Dan Brown's other hit, Angels and Demons, and was looking forward the The Da Vinci Code next. We again searched out The Last Supper and marveled at the way Da Vinci portrayed the John/Mary Magdalene character.

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