Scan barcode
A review by imly
Origin by Dan Brown
2.0
I would give this book 2.5/5, but since I can’t, I’m giving it two because I don’t think Dan Brown will suffer much :)
Spoilers below:
Pros-
It was gripping and fast paced
Cons-
It was predictable
This is his fifth book to wholly and unapologetically fail the Bechdel test (literally a line in the book where the only important female character talks about how a big strong man makes her feel feminine and young after a ton of men were intimidated by her being too pretty and tall)
Said woman actually finds herself attracted to Robert Langdon at the end who is I think at this point some twenty years older than her and also what is it with all these gorgeous women falling for him?? It’s getting OLD.
Edmond Kirsch is a billionaire and the end of the book is all overtly optimistic visions of the future and science and religion coming together and an age where everyone is fed and housed while ignoring the very real capability Kirsch has to solve this problem TODAY with his billions. I personally felt that was super sanctimonious.
And last but my least favourite — the CONSTANT adulation of Winston Churchill — a mass murderer and colonizer, complicit in the deaths of 3 million (likely more) south asians. It goes so far as to literally incluxe one of his quotes: “History will be kind to me for I intend to write it.” This quote goes beyond a slap in the face— it is Dan Brown spitting at the billions of colonized around the world who have suffered under dictators like Churchill, rubbing salt in the wound while we try to recover. Tying this in with Kirsch’s whole billionaire save-the-world irony, this is the most insulting and ignorant Dan Brown book so far.
All this to say — I want my ten dollars back.
The only reason this gets two and a half stars instead of zero or one, is because I will admit that Dan Brown knows how to write and how to captivate an audience, but it’s high time he caught up with the present day and checked his privilege.
Spoilers below:
Pros-
It was gripping and fast paced
Cons-
It was predictable
This is his fifth book to wholly and unapologetically fail the Bechdel test (literally a line in the book where the only important female character talks about how a big strong man makes her feel feminine and young after a ton of men were intimidated by her being too pretty and tall)
Said woman actually finds herself attracted to Robert Langdon at the end who is I think at this point some twenty years older than her and also what is it with all these gorgeous women falling for him?? It’s getting OLD.
Edmond Kirsch is a billionaire and the end of the book is all overtly optimistic visions of the future and science and religion coming together and an age where everyone is fed and housed while ignoring the very real capability Kirsch has to solve this problem TODAY with his billions. I personally felt that was super sanctimonious.
And last but my least favourite — the CONSTANT adulation of Winston Churchill — a mass murderer and colonizer, complicit in the deaths of 3 million (likely more) south asians. It goes so far as to literally incluxe one of his quotes: “History will be kind to me for I intend to write it.” This quote goes beyond a slap in the face— it is Dan Brown spitting at the billions of colonized around the world who have suffered under dictators like Churchill, rubbing salt in the wound while we try to recover. Tying this in with Kirsch’s whole billionaire save-the-world irony, this is the most insulting and ignorant Dan Brown book so far.
All this to say — I want my ten dollars back.
The only reason this gets two and a half stars instead of zero or one, is because I will admit that Dan Brown knows how to write and how to captivate an audience, but it’s high time he caught up with the present day and checked his privilege.