Hunt for 'Code' clues in France

CNN ^ | Tuesday, September 28, 2004

[presidio9]

It is a dark and stormy night. Yet at the Church of St. Sulpice in Paris, there isn't a single self-mutilating albino monk in sight.

Along the Grand Gallery of the Louvre, not even one dead curator sprawls on the museum's famous parquet floor.

And in the hayloft of a chateau outside Paris, the secret listening post just isn't there.

Yet even if they can't find all the details mentioned in the book, fans of "The Da Vinci Code" seem to have an insatiable need to link the fiction to reality -- especially at the Louvre, where the opening murder scene takes place.

Jacque le Roux, an art historian and Louvre tour guide, happily sets straight the implausibilities in the murder mystery -- including one in the first paragraph, where the victim is described as a 76-year-old curator.

Everyone knows the mandatory retirement age in France is 65, he says.

"The curator of the museum gets killed near the main gates of the gallery," le Roux says. "They say as well that he closes the security system with an iron gate. ... There is no iron gate but a wood door. It's the possibility that is fun for us to show during the tour."

Still, he does not disparage those now known as "Da Vinci Code" tourists.

"There is no bad reason to come to the Louvre," he says. "To us it is interesting as well, because we can start a conversation and discuss other things.

"They spend more time in front of the paintings and they try to spot details, symbols -- basically what the painters wanted to tell them, rather than what they wanted to show them."

But across town at the Church of St. Sulpice, where the novel's mad monk uses a candle holder to murder a

[Freemyland]

I don't like to shout, but IT'S A FREAKING NOVEL!!! OK, I feel better.

[Gefreiter]

I read it. I don't understand why people would dig it so much. It wasn't that swell a novel.

[1066AD]

Good yarn, as was his "Angels & Demons", but his characters seem to be able to function without food or sleep for days at a time !!

[Pondman88]

Haven't read it, don' t want to.....
seems silly that this book, based upon a continual conspiracy of 2000 years and debunking the Christian faith, is so popular.

[TheBigB]

I have it, but haven't read it yet. I have more books than I have time. :)

[The Great Yazoo]

Evidence of "Code" clues is likely as abundant as evidence of French spine, French guts, or French glory

[7.62 x 51mm]

Is that you, Sam Kinnison?

[sanchmo]

It's even sillier that people take a complete work of fiction and transform it into some kind of semi-historical nofiction. This is no different than the Celestine Prophecies cooks.

[Steve_Seattle]

IT'S A FREAKING NOVEL!!!

Yes, but the author presented it as being based on fact, and that's how enthusiasts are approaching it. But I've read two books - one from a Protestant viewpoint, one Catholic - which dismantled the author's claims one by one. The book is rife with historical errors, anachronisms, and false presentations of Gnosticism.

[So Cal Rocket]

I want to go to Africa and look for the Monolith that appeared in the first scenes of 2001: A Space Odyssey .

[Aquinasfan]

fans of "The Da Vinci Code" seem to have an insatiable need to link the fiction to reality

Reminds me of the Nazis equally quixotic search for the Holy Grail.

[Little Ray]

Actually, I've seen and heard of this happening to authors who use historical settings in novels. If you set a action / intrigue / romance novel in Florence in 1472, and you get the descriptions of buildings, clothing, or even the food wrong, there are historical enthusiasts who KNOW these things and will call you on it! There are folks who can tell you what color a building was when...

Then there are the are folks who do Sherlock Holmes tours of London. There are probably folks who do Anne Rice tours of New Orleans. The fact that folks will look for locations or features mentioned in a popular novel doesn't surprise me at all.

[GarySpFc]

After examining the evidence in detail I became convinced the Gospel accounts of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ were true 33 years ago. Since that time I have continued to find overwhelming evidence of their veracity. Why would I want to read trash based on another person's shallow disbelief?

[TexasCajun]

"Don't be late for the bus later today, we'll be viewing crop circles!"

[tm22721]

Angels & Demons was heads and shoulders above The DaVinci Code.

BUMP

[bmwcyle]

This is a post of BULL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Freemyland]

Well, that's true. And like the fellow in the article said, if it gets them to the Louvre to check out the art, what the heck.

[presidio9]

There used to be a Seinfeld tour of NYC. I was always amazed that people would spend valuable vacation time looking at the outside of apartment buildings and post offices.