ANGELS AND DEMONS
 

I just finished reading "Angels and Demons" by Dan Brown.. What a book! Is brilliant,is an exciting thriller , I highly recommend it!!!
This question is for those that has read this novel.
The author undoubtedly is very knowledgeable, but has anyone noticed that he made a mistake when he was describing a location of a certain place in the book?

Didn't notice. Can I have a clue?

I loved this book, even more so than Da Vinci Code, and have been singing its praises where I can for months.

Also, his website, www.danbrown.com has some great pictures of all the places in his books (and the infamous plane from A&D) and background on his research. There's also a Da Vinci Code scavenger hunt that is quite good.

kismetchimera,
I just finished reading this book last month and I loved it too! I could not put it down! I got it because my friend recommended the DaVinci Code and I figured I shouldn't read his most popular book first. So, please clue us in, what is the location that is wrong? (I haven't stayed in Rome since 1994)...

The location is a church...

I read the Da Vinci Code first, just finished Angels and Demons last night!
The helicopter scene was too over the top for me, but I loved the book!
I was in Rome last March, Dan Brown describes the Tiber River as raging, frothy etc. Does it ever get like rapids? The Tiber looked pretty shallow and not at all raging when I was there.
Any more clues Kismetchimera? PJ

amyb,I became interested in this book after I read your praises about it.. Thanks, grazie, merci, etc..,:)

pj, of course the writer exagerated his description of the Tiber to make his scene more dramatic, normally the Tiber is not that frothy, unless of course ,the weather is very bad, when it does rain in Rome ,it POUR!!!The people in the others regions in Italy always tease us about the Temporali in Rome(thunderstorms)..:)

It had an interesting plot and that is the only reason I forced myself to plod through his really amatuerish writing style. Too many cliches and forced style, like someone in a beginning creative writing class. And then I was disappointed by the ending. I give the book mixed reviews but I don't think I'd read anything else of his.

To amyb, Mariarosa, PJ...

The mistake that the author made was of the location of the church Santa Maria della Vittoria, this is what he wrote:

"" Langdon and Vittoria observed Piazza Barberini from the shadows of a small alleways on the western corner. The church was opposite the them, a hazy cupola emerging from a faint cluster of building across the square..""

The church is not in the piazza, it is walking distance from there in another street quite famous, but at this moment i cant remenber the name. Also in this street , there are 2 more churches quite old and pretty.. I was surprise that he did not know that or that nobody also did not noticed it...
Ciao,
Kismet

Good catch Kismet. I don't know Rome like I know other cities, so I think it sailed over my head. Glad to turn you on to this one. I bought Brown's first 2 (Deception Point and Digital Fortress) too but am saving them for plane reading on my next vacations! I read most of A&D coming home from the UK in May, and did that trip ever fly by!

Kismetchimera:
I, too, have read and enjoyed "The Da Vinci Code" and "Angels and Demons", the latter with a map of Rome by my side. I will be in Rome in late October and will try to sort this inaccuracy out, however, I do notice there is PIAZZA Barbarini and PALAZZO Barbarini....does this make a difference?

Hi Kismet,

In the Da Vinci Code Dan Brown described Versailles as NW of Paris, rather than SW! I'm going to check out Angels and Demons since I'm off to Rome in a month.

adrienne

Kismetchimera,

I also really liked this book. I was in Rome in early July and I went to the bookstore looking for a book that would take place in Italy. When I saw Angels and Demons, I was thrilled. When I read it, I was so excited because I could picture each location in my mind.

I have Da Vinci Code but I haven't read it yet, but I'm looking forward to it.

In addition, I'm so hungry for books that take place in Italy now... I've discovered Donna Leon and her mystery books in Venice, and though I haven't read any of their books yet, I've seen on Amazon.com that Andrea Camilleri and Magdalen Nabb also write books with storylines located in Italy. Has anyone read anything by these two authors?

Yes nnrbnz, they are two different places, but both were in the honour of the same person ,CardinalMaffeo Barberini, known later as Urbanus VIII, Bernini protector.
The Palazzo Bernini was begun by Carlo Maderno, but was completed by Bernini and his helper Borromini.
Borromini did some small window and the Barberini Coats of Arms.The Heraldic symbols of the family were 3 Bees and the Sun.
The first upper floor of the palazzo is a museum now: Galleria Nazionale di Arte Antica, and house only Italians masterpieces from the 13century to 17 century.

THe Fountain in Piazza Barberini is also one of Bernini masterpieces, and this was to honour his benefactor Pope Urbanus VIII. The Fountain of the Tritone, depict 4 dolphins that support two valves on which is seated a Triton who blows water through a Shell.
Also behind the Triton Fountain there is another smaller by Bernini also , called the Barberini Bees fountain.In this fountain the symbolic Arms of Coats of the Pope are displayed.

To lyb,
tomorrow I am going to the library and try to find the authors that you mentioned.

To Adrienne, please trow a coin in Trevi Fountain for me, I was in Rome this past june, and start feeling a little homesick.
Buon Viaggio, Ciao
Kismet

I loved the book and Dan Brown is an excellent writer.

I try to read all Dan Brown books,I simply adore his style.

ttt

I liked the premise of both A&D and DVC
but found him to be a very pedestrian
writer; however, I think Donna Leon
writes about Venice with great verve
and her characters are much more three
dimensional than those of Mr. Brown.
IMHO of course! <g>

Lyb, I am hungry for books set in Italy now as well. I read Camilleri's first, The Shape of Water and enjoyed it. I have the next two in the "to be read" pile. It doesn't have the fast pace of a Dan Brown, but it was good mystery.

amyb,
I am not familiar with Camilleri books,anyway today, I am going to the Base Library and see if I can find anything about this author..
Thanks again:)
kismet

I bought Angels and Demons for my plane ride next Wednesday to Rome, and am very much looking forward to the book (and my trip, too, of course!). If you're interested in other books set in / about Italy, here's a link to a recent thread. I found lots of great suggestions, and went to the library to check some out. So far, I've read Italian Neighbors by Tim Parks (English expat experiences in Italy) and The Passion of Artemesia by Susan Vreeland (fictional story about the artist Artemesia). I'm in the middle of The Stars Dispose by Michaela Roessner (fictional story about Caterina de Medici told from the viewpoint of her chef). All great books to put you in the mood for Italy, or to reminesce (sp?) about past trips.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...p;tid=34410488

TEXStone,

Thanks a lots for the book's list, and also for the webb site. I am going to try it now.
Ciao,
kismet

You folks are my kind of people! :)

kismet, interesting!

TXStone - thanks for the link and the other Italy-based books!

Oh, the Passion of Artemisia was just wonderful! A fascinating (true but fictionalized here) story, and it just pulled at my heart strings, but not in a "chick flick" kind of way.

I see on Amazon that Andrea Camilleri has another one being translated to English for release in November, so there are three of his for my pile. I currently have Terracotta Dog and Snack Thief. The newest one is The Voice of the Violin. This will be a great winter for reading, I think!

amyb,

What kind of book Andrea Camilleri write?
Can you recommend me a good book? I went to the Base Library today,but unfortunately I could not find his books. I will try Amazon, I have already ordered 2 books today from the webb...

Amyb,

Thanks for the recommendation of Andrea Camilleri, I guess I'll have to add his books to my constantly growing "to read" pile. :)

I have just finished reading a great book by Ariana Fallaci. She is a brilliant Italian journalist, famous for her political interview with famous Head of States of different countries. Also she had an interview with Ayatolla K. and in this meeting she refused to wear a scarf in her head...Fearless, modern Woman!!
She wrote various booksand she has received many awards in Europe and America.
The title of this book is :A MAN, with this novel she won the Premio Viareggio and the Premio Nazionale of Italy.
A MAN, is a story about a political prisoner in Greece that was kept prisoner in a Mausoleum and his bed was a coffin..... There is a great quote in this book.." Habit is Man Worst Ennemy..

Has anyone read City of the Soul: A Walk in Rome, by William Murray? I am thinking to buy it, and also The Roman Way by Edith Hamilton?. Please let me know your opinions about these books.
Merci,

ttt

Through one of the characters, the author credits Michaelangelo with the design of the Swiss Guard Uniforms. This interested me so I started to poke about on the web. According to the Vatican's website, this is a common myth but not true. However, the uniform does take much of it's influence from Raffael.

Grasshopper,

I checked various sites regarding the Swiss Guards uniforms, and every ones attribute the uniforms to Michelangelo....

I guess it's still a controversy! You gotta love a book that makes you research history. Now I'm really eager to read up on Galileo. A great book for these times is "A world lit only by fire".
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/sw...ard/divisa.htm

"It is commonly thought that the uniform was designed by Michelangelo, but it would seem rather that he had nothing to do with it. However, Raffaello certainly did influence its development, as he indeed influenced fashion in general in Italy in the Renaissance, through his painting."

Grasshopper,

Do you know the author of Galileo Book?
Thanks,:)

amyb, I enjoyed The Passion of Artemisia also.

kismet, I seem to recall the man Fallaci wrote about in A Man was actually her lover in real life. Makes it all the more poignant if so. (I haven't read it yet.)

Are you talking about the book Galileo's Daughter, by Dava Sobel?

I don't know any good Galileo books yet. I need to do some research. A World Lit Only by Fire is by William Manchester and is about the transition from Dark Ages to Renaissance.

marylin,

You must read the book..Is superb, is Great..Aleko, became her lover after he was release from prison, and she was doing a story on his life. He became and was the great love of her life....Aleko,was murdered in 1976.

OK Kismet, it's on my list.

Grasshopper, A World Lit Only By Fire sounds good. I'll check it out.

But first, I have about 6 books stacked up on the runway. Ever since I subscribed to The New Yorker my book reading has been decimated. It's so hard to keep up with a weekly magazine so full of interesting stuff.

Marylin, I just bought another book by Fallaci. She wrote it after the 9/11 attack. The title is: "The rage and the Pride"...I am certain that is going to be interesting..

Here's a link to an excellent recent interview with Fallaci from the NY Observer:

http://www.nyobserver.com/pages/story.asp?ID=6881