Criticism is something that I haven't ventured into yet. But my mind kept telling me again and again to write my views about 'The Lost Symbol' just after I finished reading it. The reason is still unknown but here is what I truly think about the latest venture of Dan Brown.
The Lost Symbol is a typical Langdon-ish novel. This is how it is: Robert Langdon - Summoned to a famous spot on an unusual hour of the day - Witnesses something highly disturbing - A secret society resurfaces - Head of the society is Langdon's close friend - Startling revelations - A powerful message in the end.
So this is the skeleton of a Dan Brown's novel in which Langdon is the lead character. I was mighty impressed by 'Angels and Demons' that I read it 4 times. And the beauty of the story is that I understood its true meaning only when I read it for the fourth time. Hmmm. My intellect wasn't that matured in the year 2005 I guess.
My personal opinion is that Angels and Demons is far better than the Da Vinci Code in many ways. But it is a pity that the former is highly underrated. What impressed me greatly in Angels and Demons is that its theme and message is universal whereas that of the Da Vinci Code is meant for a particular sect of people. Interestingly, the largest in the world. No wonder it kicked off a great controversy.
The most important message that Angels and Demons conveyed was, 'Spirituality and science are not different from one another and that ancient wisdom was far advanced than modern intellect'. [Or, that's the message that I inferred from the book.]
Excuse me, what do all these have to do with 'the Lost Symbol'. Getting to it.
Dan Brown conveys the same message in 'The Lost Symbol'. But the difference lies in the location and the secret society involved. The location being Washington D.C this time and the society being the Brotherhood of the Freemasons. The author has made a great effort to recreate the magic he weaved in 'A & D' and has also succeeded greatly. This time it is better, grander and bigger. The information he shares about the society and the way he solves the huge jigsaw puzzle is completely mindblowing.
I have always strongly believed that our Indian rishis possessed unsurpassable knowledge. Of course, I later realized that great minds from all ancient civilizations possessed the same intellectual wealth. Dan highly glorifies those thousands of wise sages of olden times, belonging to all cultures and civilizations in 'the Lost Symbol'. Like mentioned earlier, this is the second time he does it. But he does it in a greater manner.
One thing that I found to be a bit poor in 'the Lost Symbol' is the portrayal of the villain. That is unconvincing and Dan's vain efforts to make the villain look terrifying and fearsome is evident.
The plot is for sure redundant, but still it is a fast-paced thriller. Redundancy is something unwelcome in the field of arts and I'm sure that well-learned hardcore fans of Dan Brown would have certainly been disappointed by 'the Lost Symbol'. But, that is not the biggest problem. Mankind still chooses to stay in darkness despite millions of men proclaiming that there is eternal light, since time immemorial. Dan Brown is also one among those millions who wish to make man aware of his true capability.
I'm the kind of person who gives more importance to the message that is conveyed rather than to the way it is conveyed. So it is only obvious that I'd love 'the Lost Symbol' to a great extent because the message it conveys is great, true and eternal.
Some people may not appreciate or accept my views about this book. I don't even care about it.
I'd silently think of the words Dean Galloway utters.
"You do not yet have eyes to see."
