after 4 years of torrid life in college, i hoped to enjoy my time at home. but the timing couldnt have been more worse. my sisters exams had started and i was crippled down to recline in the bed with out any TV or computer for a long time. dying of boredom, i borrowed some novel from my friend. DAN BROWN.. heard of him? no i m not talking abt 'The Da Vinci Code'. i got hold of his other two books 'The Digital Fortress' and 'Angels & Demons'.
Dan Brown's artistry in bringing up the whole controversy thru a book was really fascinating. it became a best seller instantaneously. the way he collected details abt somethin called 'the priory of sion, twisted a part of the real story, put some drama in between to make it one of the most thrilling stories ever. was expecting the same kind of language and drama in his novel 'the digital fortress'. it didnt disprove my expections. the novel was tantalizing, a heart-racing thriller which was cleverly brought up.
Kept me wondering whether all authors bring abt the same kind of writing in all their novels. Looking at various novels written by robert ludlum, robin cook, sidney sheldon and dan brown, my postulate didnt seem entirely false. each book tells somethin abt the author, his way of writing. in all, his books charaterizes himself different from others.
for eg. dan brown brings up well-detailed facts before he brings up his imagination, or lets say fiction. the facts brought up are such that it makes the reader believe its for real. slowly and steadily, he involves the reader into the story. his drama usually includes a lot of characters, and it different locations, which he consequently brings abt in alternate chapters to make the reader aware of the happenings. his language is simple, doesnt include complicated words and twisted meanings, making it easier for a layman to understand. but he plots the story brilliantly till the end. keeps me wondering whether its all instinctive thoughts in authors mind or was it a well planned story.
but like most authors, dan brown does reveal some of his identity in his novels. most of his plots involve around a female, and he brings up some kind of love story which according to me, spoils the whole situation. and the novel 'The Digital Fortress' revolves around some cryptographers love for another. 'the Da Vinci Code' too had one similar to this. but the intensity of the fiction carried me away from tht part. will be deeply engrossed in his other book 'Angels & Demons' in a few days time, and i know wht lies ahead in the story.
this is not just the case with dan brown. even sidney sheldon uses this as a part of his play. their books may never touch the artistry of some of the classic authors. but it does prove that every author have their own style of expressing their thoughts. sometimes i feel, this distinction in style is necessary in order to bring abt variety. and this is good, as the reader gets an option to choose his type of novels. take my example.
i m halfway through ayn rand's 'the Fountainhead' , and now i feel exhausted. wonder whether i will ever be able to complete such a voluminous book. combined with non sensical philosophy, it just drives me crazy. same with paulo coelho 'the Alchemist'. althou most of the things he is trying to explain has a deep meaning in it, but talking abt the sun and the wind talking and compromising on a deal, is somethin which sounds really funny to me.
there are many bloggers.. who i know are aspiring to write a book. thou they havent started writing yet, i already know the style of writing they will incorporate in their novel. its a part of their identity.. and i feel it will never completely change.
p.s: i have decided not to write any book as of now, and spare all the readers, the trouble of goin thru the worst novel ever.
2 comments:
You're too modest. You should try writing a book. I'll gladly critique it for you. No, seriously. I agree with you on this. There's no doubt that Dan Brown is an intelligent author. He knows what makes readers tick. He knows what readers want to read in books. He knows that suspense, any type of suspense, is good material for a book. So he incorporates suspense into his works. But he also knows that you can't create convincing suspense without background. So he borrows facts from other books and use that to build his own story. In this way, he's really intelligent, calculating, and shrewd. Not that it's a bad thing. It's good. It's admirable. But it's not what I call art. I say 'I' because it's my opinion. I believe that art is for the most part accidence. It is organized chaos. Dan Brown's works are far too logical to be considered that type of accidental art. And I have an inkling that he uses strong female leads in his stories in order to reach his women readers. So you see how calculating it all is? Not that he's the only one who does that. I suppose it's normal.
i believe his books were just one of those until da vinci code created such a stir. and it was several months after its release then people started talking about it.
dan brown, for me, is like a reporter of a tabloid paper. he sensationalizes (or twists) facts to gain publicity..
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