Why the world loves The Da Vinci Code
Posted on March 28th, 2006 in Usability | 8 Comments »
1. “Readers feel smart because often they’re figuring out the clues before the book’s characters do” (You feel smart.)
2. “There’s a sense of mystery, challenge and then clean satisfaction in figuring out a code, whether you’re 10 or 80″ (Puzzles are fun.)
3. “[Jesus] not only had sex but also spawned a secret family line continuing in the present day” (Sex.)
4. “Brown taps into the uncertainty most of us feel in fancy museums” (You realize that even the experts have a lot to learn.)
5. “Enticing characters are the sine qua non of popular novels” (Engaging characters.)
6. “Clever escapes, midnight flights, desperate chases down dark corridors proliferate” (Solid plot; many twists and turns.)
7. “The reading public has always loved stories that chip away at establishments” (Pick a big, big, big topic.)
Do you have any other ideas about the success of The Da Vinci Code? How about the bandwagon effect or herding instinct? Similarly, what about word of mouth? And, how big was the marketing budget for the book?
8 Responses
Don’t forget the overly-transparent formulaic writing that keeps you wanting to turn to the next page after the chapter ends. In fact, that’s how I got through Angels & Demons. Normally, I end reading on a chapter (it just feels more conclusive that way). I couldn’t do that for A&D – I could only put down the book when I’d read the next page or two after a chapter ended; these were the least cliff-hanging sections of the book, allowing me to break away from the story and continue my day with relatively little stress involved in doing so.
I think the publicity from the plagiarism trial can’t hurt either. At least from the perspective of the publishers who, after all, publish BOTH The Da Vinci Code AND Holy Blood, Holy Grail. In fact when I was in a bookshop at Heathrow last week, both books were prominently displayed side-by-side.
[...] Ijust came across WebWord, an interesting site with some parallel interests to mine. I would love to know more about who’s behind it but I can’t find any links to a bio on the site. One of their posts was about the curious popularity of The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. It lists some plausible reasons, e.g. “Readers feel smart because often they’re figuring out the clues before the book’s characters do.” [...]
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I think it is so popular because its so controversial, people probably read it or go watch it to see what’s all the fuss about…
You’ll find further references to the real secret codes and the secret societies that have inspired these rantings at http://p-k-randolph.blogspot.com/ wherein my travels and adventures which have brought far more tantalising clues than the supposed Da Vinci saga are captured in my correspondence with Marmaduke. These letters are also copyright by vertue of the penny black used in their carriage.
THE DA VINCI CODE – Dan Brown has used this book to tell people what many things about the Catholic Church that we don’t know. And some of these things are not so nice. But this is a novel, not a faith deciding book. If you don’t agree with facts, go look it up yourself and find what you think is true!
For everyone who loves cryptic puzzles and edge of the seat thriller, then you must pick this up! This is simply a brilliant book!