Book Review: The Origin by Dan Brown

“To live in the world without becoming aware of the meaning of the world is like wandering about in a great library without touching the books.”

To begin with, Dan Brown has always had a spot on my list of favourite authors. Not surprisingly, it is a consequence of his profound research behind the novels, lucrative plots that feed my imagination and the diversity of the characters he introduces to the reader. The Origin lives up to the author's reputation for an engaging and exotic plot and succeeds to glue the reader to its pages. The novel is set in the cultural city of Barcelona (and other parts of Spain, too), the home of Gaudi's natural imitation art, the urchin-like spires of La Sagrada Familia, museums boasting of modern art and of course, Camp Nou - the home of Futbol Club Barcelona. 

Ambra Vidal is an eminent keeper of an art museum, and is engaged to the Prince of Spain himself. She is in fact, the co-protagonist of the novel alongside the ever famous protagonist Robert Langdon, a professor of history at Harvard, who is invited to the unveiling of a ground breaking discovery by a scientist friend, supposedly about to answer the most introspective questions of all time:

Where do we come from?

Where are we going?

Not only does the novel take us across Spain and evolution of art, it also talks of the humanly trauma we all face like Ambra Vidal does when we are to chose between what we actually want and what we think we want. Together, Ambra and Langdon battle the odds in search of the key to finally bring forth the marvelous discovery that has moved religions and their fundamental beliefs all across the world. Modern art, as a concept, does not seem that vague anymore as one turns the pages of this novel. The description of Gaudi's architecture teleports the reader to Barcelona, and in my opinion, a beautiful way to understand art...

Though the ending (and the discovery) did not quite meet my expectations, it was nevertheless a wonderful read. My personal favourite was the part where Langdon and Vidal look at Camp Nou from up in the air and pieces of the puzzle start coming together. 

Definitely worth a read!