What is the novel title? Who's the Author?
The title of the novel I chose for my ISU is The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown. This book was published in 2009, and has 634 pages. Dan Brown is an American author that was born in New Hampshire in 1963. He is commonly known for is interesting books that challenge religion and government conspiracy theories. All together he has sold over 80 million copies of books, which is quite impressive.
Why did I choose this book?
I chose this book because I thoroughly enjoyed the first two books that Dan Brown wrote in the Robert Langdon series, The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons. The Lost Symbol is the third in the series and continues with Langdon's research and adventure. I chose this book because I enjoy learning about the factual and fictional evidence of conspiracies relating to religion and government. Another reason I chose it was because of Dan Brown's ability to write a good novel. He manages to describe multiple plots and settings and still bring them all together in the end of the novel which is impressive to me.
How did I like the book so far?
So far I have really enjoyed this novel, Dan Brown is starting two separate plots between the protagonist, Robert Landon and who I believe to be the antagonist, Mal'akh. Brown's writing style is fluent and simple. He doesn't use a big word, when a little one would suffice. The book is easy to read and I am absorbing the information easily. Even though Dan Brown is known for his attention to detail, I feel like it is not necessary to go back and re-read anything because it is so easy to understand.
How much have I read?
So far I am 50 pages in to the book. I polished that off in about an hours time while I was cycling at the local YMCA.
What's happened so far?
So far in the novel Robert Langdon was asked to travel to Washington to meet with an old mentor, Mr. Solomon. Langdon had a feeling it was urgent so he rushed to make it there on time only to find out what he suspected was, in fact, true. Mr. Solomon told Langdon that there was a private gala to thank the board of Smithsonian's sponsors being held at the U.S Capitol Building, and that his speaker had cancelled on him last minute. He was hoping that Langdon would agree to give a speech on Masonic history. After procrastinating a bit and finding out that the speech was that night, Langdon had no choice but to agree. In another plot Mal'akh, a self obsessed, dark man was finishing getting a tattoo and thinking about his quest - to find a secret legend in Washington that Brown has not revealed to me yet. Without a doubt I think that Mal'akh is going to find Langdon because just before I stopped reading Mal'akh entered the U.S capitol building with make-up over his tattoos, and something concealed underneath a cast which he claimed to the security guard, was a broken hand. The chapters have been switching back between Langdon and Mal'akh which creates an intense contrast leading the reader to believe it is between good and evil.
(Above) The U.S Capitol Building where Robert Langdon gave his speech and Mal'akh
smuggled his unknown object in to
smuggled his unknown object in to
What themes seem to be forming? What do you think the author is trying to say about these themes?
One theme I can already see that is forming in The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown is interest vs. obsession. The two main characters at this point are Robert Langdon and Mal'akh who are similar in regards to what they are after in life, but opposite in how they obtain it. Robert Langdon is a professor and is very interested in occult symbols and conspiracies, but does not obsess on things that most likely do not exist. Mal'akh however, has dedicated his life and body to these ancient symbols and will stop at nothing to obtain whatever it is he is looking for. When remembering a student lecture, Langdon laughs at a student's government conspiracy theory when he claims that the streets in Washington D.C were placed to resemble that of a pentagram. Although similar, another theme would be Faith vs. Fact. Langdon has little faith of what could be possible which may be a weakness, and Mal'akh has faith that what he is looking for exists.
What secondary sources have I found so far?
Some sources I have consulted for more information on Dan Brown and The Lost Symbol are www.elibrary.com, www.wikipedia.org/eng, and freemasonlostsymbol.com. E library is a great way to find professor reviewed articles that have credible responses to the novel and Wikipedia is a great way to find some basic information.
Choose 1 line from the novel so far and write a paragraph describing why it speaks to me.
"Your Hunger will be satisfied by dawn, he reminded himself. Along with your pain."(14)
While reading The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown I came across this line. At the time in the novel Mal'akh is thirsting to discover whatever he is looking for. He is clearly in pain, but is determined and fights through it. This line spoke to me because I know what it feels like to be in pain, but not stopping because of the urge for the reward. This reminded me a lot of rowing. The strenuous amount of pain endured during the sport makes you want to quit, but if you do you'll never forgive yourself. The pain endured leaves after a few minutes but the glory lasts forever. Which is why determination is such an important quality in any good rower and I can see this personality trait in Mal'akh. Even though I believe that Mal'akh is going to be the antagonist in this story because of his dark personality and his god-like perception of himself, he clearly shows some very good qualities. This quote really sets up Mal'akh's character and will be significant when reading further in the novel. Overall, this was a fantastic line that Brown put in to The Lost Symbol and I hope the entire book leaves an impact like this line did for me.
Progress & Timeline
I am currently 50 pages in to this 640 page novel. I will try and polish off about 160 pages a week in hopes to finish this novel in a month. I will keep my fans informed every step of the way.
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| The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown |
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