'The Lost Symbol' by Dan Brown, released finally, after 3 years its expected date, proved to be a really fascinating and absorbing read. Sprawling through a labyrinth of puzzles and codes, it is a gripping fiction-on-facts story, that partly succeeds in imbuing the readers with a sense of oneness while savoring domains of the ever-existing nexus between science and theology.
The story, primarily based on the city of Washington, is essentially an all-out American novel. You know the way we Indians usually feel about about all-American stuff.. despite a large population of American NRIs, we still feel alienated when anyone extols their country. We don't feel comfortable in their nation-eulogistic songs and movie scenes. Precisely, the same reason why a lot of Indians know Yogi B better than Eminem!
Mr.Brown excludes all this. Apart from throwing subtle mentions to Vedas, Buddha, Gandhi and few other sub-continententies, he doesn't exactly blind-praise America, but rather just reveal about its ancient history. Either ways, we like the way its done :-) , after all we are guys who take pride in returning to India as America-return Indian mapillais rather than staying there as Indian-origin American immigrants!
Like the author's previous novels, this one starts off in a strange hodgepodge of events as well. Not with murder though, instead with an ancient esoteric ritual. Consequences that follow and how a Harvard symbiologist solves the ancient mysteries attending to the demands of a power-craving lunatic, amidst a CIA operation forms the plot. The novel makes fertile use of the language and combined with a mixture of racy narrative (Some chapters seem rather like a screenplay script!) and a telling plot it is really hard to Alt-F4 the eBook at times. Also Brown scores in his one-liners throughout the tale. "Google is not a synonym for Research" "Sometimes a legend that endures for such a long time.. Endures for a reason" "I come for wisdom and he offers me wealth." "We all fear what we do not understand.”
Brown also keeps the readers engaged with ingenious references to his previous works and the modern world in general. Langdon often recalls his experiences in Paris and the Vatican, comparing and contrasting. He admits not knowing how to tweet! And interesting enough, one of the characters even dismisses the holy-grail quest as silly and frivolous!
The novel though filled with suspense and proceeding in a new avenue, doesn't fail to remind you of A&D or DVC in parts. The plot too gets banal at times. Despite tautological-predicaments, It still stands as one of the best books i have ever read! Brown any day to a Grisham or an Archer!
Rating - 8/10
Personally, it achieved what a couple of novels, some famous autobiographies, few other works of non-fiction, or even the celebrated LOTR couldn't - To get my primeval reading habits back on track. And strangely an affinity through re-discovery. (That stuff my 8th grade english taught me is the Masonic cipher?! B-) )
I couldn't have read this at a better time. At a time when my mind was hovering an endless abyss, for i was facing an indefinite and silent void.
In a way i became untethered..
In a word, Enlightenment! :-)
