On Ideas and Prose

And on a similar note, I remember a conversation I had with my girlfriend while driving to work a couple of mornings ago.

We were talking about this book that Aljay, a friend of mine, had recommended-- Q by Luther Blissett-- and how, despite the critical editorial reviews about it, the "experimental" book had become a bestseller in Europe.

Basically, the gist of our conversation was that: (1) there is no point in making a judgment call on a book until you've read it and that includes reading or believing prior reviews about it; and (2) though a story may be good, if the prose sucks, it's goodbye for that book.

I was reminded of this conversation because my girlfriend concluded afterwards that despite all the good and bad reviews-- and its extreme popularity-- about The Da Vinci Code, it would still be best if we read the said book. (My significant other also hasn't read it yet.)

However, as I mentioned before, I never really got into Dan Brown because of his sucky prose. And considering I was never interested in the concept behind the story, I probably won't read The Da Vinci Code at all.

(Though I will probably get around to finish reading Holy Blood, Holy Grail one of these days.)

This is also why, despite my distate for reading popular books, I tried out Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (though not the sequels). Idea-wise, it's nothing new. However, the prose is passable and this made all the difference.

Yes, I'm such a snob. *holds nose up*