While We're Out...

by Cliopatria

Blogging will be sporadic this week, for obvious reasons. I shouldn't even be doing this.....

But Danny Loss has finally delivered his catalog of errors in Dan Brown's Angels and Demons [as noted in comments, I had the wrong book here], possibly the first to be produced out of non-sectarian pique. I read the book [both books] myself, and found the coded mysteries tiresome, the history tendentious and the writing terribly typical (typically terrible?) of modern mystery/thriller writing in that it not only witholds crucial information from the reader, but it doesn't even attempt to hide the fact that it's doing so in order to provide"twists" later rather than earlier. Not a bad read, though, much like Last Samurai was a good film while being culturally and historically abysmal.

And, after hearing this round sung for years, I finally sat down at a computer and looked it up: it really happened though the water hyacinths may be slightly anachronistic.

Finally, www.kiddierecords.com is reproducing old children's story records digitally. Just in time, for my family.

See you in Seattle!

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More Comments:

Jonathan Dresner - 1/4/2005

Not particularly. Though without listening to the music and story, how do you know it's as bad as the cover? And if you were doing research on race in 20th century America, you might find the Sambo album a valuable source.... There's all kinds of reasons for preserving materials.

But my wife has fond memories of Robin Hood and Rusty in Orchestraville (I had that one, too) and some of the other things on their schedule. She's been turning her old LP story collection into CDs for our son (most of this stuff just isn't available in newer formats), and it's another source that will reduce our workload.

Julie A Hofmann - 1/4/2005

Ugh. That's an interesting choice for resurrection. I *would* like to get my hands on a copy of Edward Everett Horton reading and singing A.A. Milne, and Boris Karloff doing The Reluctant Dragon and (I think) Peter and the Wolf -- both childhood faves for me.

David Lion Salmanson - 1/4/2005

Jonathan,
Do you really want to listen to Little Black Sambo's Jungle Orchestra with your kids?

Jonathan Dresner - 1/4/2005

In my defense, I have read both, and Danny's right: it's hard to tell them apart. In fact, once I figured out that the plot structures were identical (he didn't even try to hide it), the excitement went right out.

That's what I get for blogging in a hurry in the middle of a lot of other hurrying....

Thanks,

Danny Loss - 1/4/2005

Yes, my list is about Angels and Demons. Theree are lots of websites listing of errors in The Da Vinci Code, and a few books as well. The only one I've read is The Da Vinci Hoax by Sandra Miesel and Carl Olson. I have some problems with some of their ideas, but they demolish Brown's claims rather nicely.

In Jonathan's defense, The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons are kinda the same book. The parallels are so numerous that if you've read one, you'll figure out the second withing 100 pages or so.

Bengt O. Karlsson - 1/4/2005

Unless I have completely misclicked, Loss' catalog is about "Angels and Demons" not about the Code. I wish very much somebody would take on the latter one also.