Reads that Resonate: The DaVinci Code

I wish I could tell you it wasn't true. I wish I could say they were all vicious lies. Unfortunately the truth must prevail: I am a reality TV junkie.

I have been known to be hooked on my share of Bachelors, Paradise Hotel guests, and American Idol crooners. The worst part about it is I consider myself a champion of the arts. I know that I shouldn't support the networks that fill their air time with the vapid and artless "acting" of reality TV's "stars," when there are struggling actors out there who are just looking for the even the meager walk-in role for their resume.

I have wrestled with this dilemma for some time now, and have been eager to discover a way to get my "reality" fix without putting more theater folk out on the street. This summer, like a beacon of light cast on my grim world of reality TV, my prayers were answered by Dan Brown's novel The Da Vinci Code.

For me, the summer has always meant the shore (shore, not beach to the Jersey folk). As far back as I can remember, in addition to stocking up on suntan lotion, there would be an inevitable trip to the book store to pick up the quick summer read. This summer, I ventured into my favorite bookstore, one of those places where old and new books line the walls up to the ceiling, and began my search for the perfect summer book. That's when I first saw it, something that seemed too good to be true: the book that would wean me off my shameful reality TV addiction.

Dan Brown's best selling novel The Da Vinci Code, is one of the most fascinating books I have ever read. Not only because the author intricately weaves suspense, mystery, murder, art, history, Catholicism, and secret societies, but because he does so with an unbelievable, yet undeniable, thread of truth. It is the story of Robert Langdon, a professor of religious symbolism, and Sophie Neveu, a French cryptographer. The two are thrust together after the murder of The Louvre's curator, Jacques Sauniere. What unfolds is a story involving The Priory of Sion (a real European secret society founded in 1099 whose members have included Sir Issac Newton, Botticelli, Victor Hugo, and Leonardo da Vinci), Opus Dei (a deeply devout Catholic sect that seems Medieval in its beliefs of "corporal mortification", but is scarily and equally modern with its building of a world headquarters in New York City), secret messages hidden in the works of Leonardo da Vinci, and an unpredictable quest for the holy grail. Just when you think all these clandestine groups and messages couldn't possibly exist, Brown draws you in with the disclaimer that every description of artwork, architecture, documents, and secret rituals in the novel is accurate.

How, you're wondering, did this book rid me of my fondness for reality television? The answer is, it brought to light the real draw of reality TV. What it boils down to is truth. There is something fascinating and voyeuristic about watching, reading, or even hearing about a far fetched tale that astounds you with its realistic roots. It's the same reason one of the best selling points for a movie is the classic tagline, "based on a true story." Dan Brown manages to take a purely fictional tale of murder and infuse it with hidden truths about art and religion to create a story so authentic; it puts reality TV to shame. I may still be prone to watch an episode of The Bachelor or two (or every Wednesday night at nine), but now I get my taste for reality, from the pages of Dan Brown's fact driven fiction.