Origin by Dan Brown

Publisher: Mondadori, Milan

October 2017, 1st edition

Translation by Annamaria Raffo and Roberta Scarabelli

Author review: Roberto Matteucci

"In contemporary art masterpieces are often considered more for the idea than for execution." (Page 50)

On 7 June 1926, Antoni Gaudí was invested by a tram in Barcelona. Being killed this way was very diffused in the city. The writer Juan José Navarro Arisa in Gaudí, The architect of God, realistically describes the feeling of citizens:

"... the arrogant behaviour of trams against pedestrians was one of the many reasons for scandal among the inhabitants of Barcelona of that time. And Gaudí was among those who believed that pedestrians must still be respected and favoured, in spite he considered the trams would seem beautiful ... " (i)

After so much suffering, Gaudí died. Navarro Arisa still writes that the last words of Gaudí were an appeal to God: "... they were probably a religious invocation or an ejaculation ..." (ii)

His funeral was an important event, around his coffin, all Barcelona was gathered: artists, rich bourgeois, politicians. The motive is simple, Antoni Gaudí was, and he is, the most popular, famous, brilliant of the architects, the man who modified the visual and conceptual elements of a house, a park or a church.

He dedicated his life to work as an ascetic monk. When there was a problem, he always found the solution more intuitive and brilliant.

He was severe with himself so much to reach a strong religious mysticism. The last years of his life he followed the works of the Sagrada Familia living in the construction laboratory.

Both the life of Gaudí and his works are very original, abstruse, hermetic, difficult. His buildings can be looked at and understood in millions of interpretations. Dan Brown could not escape these characteristics, in his perennial challenge of finding esoteric attitudes in all the corners.

Antoni Gaudí is perfect because he is an artist, a popular and deeply religious genius. In fact, he is a traditionalist and devoted Catholic, who spent his free time reading sacred texts.

"... in his last years, he will hold with him only liturgical and devotional texts ..." (iii)

and on the day of death, they found a bible in his pocket. (iv)

These are the reasons why Dan Brown reconstructs, in his latest voluminous book Origin (Mondadori, Milan, I edition 2017) a story with animated events, using as a background of history, the continuous and cultural presence of Gaudí and his utopian works.

Origin follows the structure of all the other his lucky books.

Protagonist the usual teacher Robert Langdon. As always beautiful and sexy girl follows him. Hunting them there are an usual loser and cruel killer, and an excellence police force, this time the Spanish Royal Guard, whose agents are expert, athletic, devoted. Around there are a large number of churches, museums, monks, priests, popes of all kinds and many smart secrets to be found in another treasure hunt among many masterpieces, this time Spanish. To accomplish everything there is, as in the most worthy treasure hunts a limited time: twenty-four hours.

The idea of ​​the story is very actual and vivacious in America, the clash between two very combative concepts: theory of evolution and the creationism.

We return to Gaudí: "J. Bergos Massó "Originalidad es volver al origen", Gaudí used to repeat: going backwards the journey of Creation is the presupposition of human realizations, which in order to continue the work of Nature they must always harmonize through the men; man does not create. " (v)

If the man does not create, who is he to do it?

Brown has a clear model: why could not be a very rich, bizarre, vain, annoying, unpleasant, irritant millionaire? Hence the character of Edmond Kirsch.

The name is imaginative but not the temperament. Kirsch resembles so many wealthy false pious philanthropists, who are a nightmare for many normal people. Many billionaires decide to finance their idea, their philosophical thinking, their way of life, through not clear NGOs, they want to shape the world according to their extravagant and aristocratic thought. So these billionaires instead of helping the poor, building hospitals in Africa, eradicating diseases, prefer to sponsor political parties, government or opposition men, deputies, leaders of movements, journalists, foreign countries up to change the status quo, even financing coup d'état .

A common concept to hear is that they want to restore their success to humanity but it is not always calvinism. Surely it is a manner saving of tax money and certainly contributes to the creation of new globalized markets to be colonized.

In Origin, Dan Brown makes a connection between Edmond Kirsch and Antoni Gaudí: "Gaudì was very similar to Edmond." (Page 264)

What does a famous and artistically delirious architect have in common with a billionaire born from the imagination of a brilliant writer?

Nothing would be the answer, but Brown is ingenious so we can find out something.

Both have built great works for which they have dedicated their whole lives. The ultra-fast computer from Kirsch arrived with the commitment of many years, some moments of discouragement and so many brilliant ideas. The same happens for Gaudí. And to succeed, they are almost isolated from the world.

For Brown, the billionaire is a lonely sad man, living alone with a computer in a secluded place: "... there were armchairs, a couch and an exercise bike." (Page 450). Likewise, the architect was an introverted man.

Then there is the religious aspect. Gaudí was very close to Spanish Catholic traditionalism and for his mysticism, there is even a request for his beatification at the Vatican. Even Kirsch has a religious past even if it tends to be Freudian.

As every previous book, there is a rich and detailed tour guide, this time on Catalonia. A good result, prescient, because undoubtedly the novel was written before the reckless declaration of independence of Barcelona, ​​with its disastrous consequences. Gaudí was a convinced Catalan. Catalonia of his time was living, as in our days, a remarkable economic prosperity: "... becoming the most advanced region of Spain and catching up with the other industrialized European countries." (vi). It is the period in which Catalonia acquires the awareness of having its own historical dimension. Gaudí is one of these exponents, he never betrays his Catalonia, so much as to refuse to speak in Castilian: "He speaks only Catalan: although he knows, obviously, Castilian, he persists in expressing himself in his mother tongue even with distinguished foreign personalities." (vii)

Other references to our days are the citations of the pontiffs. The previous Pope is very, and not casually, resembling the Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI: "... a solid and rigorous conservative who preached traditionalism and orthodoxy." (Page 200)

To take his place is a progressive and modern Pope, who, however, likes much more to the atheists than to the faithful, therefore the phrase "... which allowed the followers of God to decide which rules like and which dislike. "(page 163) is certainly not a compliment.

An imagination very similar to reality.

Another connection with our daily life is the actual, and perhaps few democratic, war on fake news. In the book, the bad role is played by the ConspiracyNet.com website defined as a conspiracy theorist and accused of all possible falsehoods. Its role is to anticipate news, which is not true, but is real because they come from agreed sources. The problem of fake news is not the unreliability but who sends them and why.

Among an escape and another, a chase inside the Casa Milà, a race on the narrow stairs of the Sagrada Familia, Dan Brown finds time to create a story similar to the series The Big Bang Theory, but without the fun of the nerd sitcom guys. An example is the soporific explanation of the events by billionaire Edmond Kirsh, ended with an oppressive prayer for the future.

The structure is the winning one, fast, many brief and alternate chapters, with many characters useful to lengthen the story. Thanks to them we roam around Spain to decipher many masterpieces. The goal is to reach a thesis, which appears to be winning at the first moment and then appears, rightly, so doubtful. Under tone is Professor Robert Langdon. Once again, he is at the wrong time in the wrong place. They irritably push him, and even his elucidation of the many symbols are monotonously predictable.

There is a reason. Among the many antagonists encountered, the one in Origin is the most intelligent and wise. His name is Winston, an artificial brain computer capable of even realize the human dispositions of the master.

Some jokes and wisdom must be normal for a renowned and very rich writer. Therefore he launches into a satirical challenge with the obsessive maniacs of our faithful electronic devices; start from the computer:

"... they are all the time looking at a computer screen rather than inside their own soul" (page 13);

then move on to the beloved cell phones:

"The boys stood there, in a circle, staring silently at the body. Then they did what the teenagers would do all over the world. They took out their cell phones and started taking pictures to send to their friends. " (Page 88)

(i) Juan José Navarro Arisa, Gaudí L'architetto di Dio, Paoline Editoriale Libri, Milano, Seconda edizione 2007 (pag. 222)

(ii) Juan José Navarro Arisa, Gaudí L'architetto di Dio, Paoline Editoriale Libri, Milano, Seconda edizione 2007 (pag. 225)

(iii) Luca Quattrocchi, Gaudí, ArtDossier, Giunti editore, Firenze, 1993 (pag. 15)

(iv) Juan José Navarro Arisa, Gaudí L'architetto di Dio, Paoline Editoriale Libri, Milano, Seconda edizione 2007 (pag. 222)

(v) Luca Quattrocchi, Gaudí, ArtDossier, Giunti editore, Firenze, 1993 (pag. 25)

(vi) Luca Quattrocchi, Gaudí, ArtDossier, Giunti editore, Firenze, 1993 (pag. 6)

(vii) Luca Quattrocchi, Gaudí, ArtDossier, Giunti editore, Firenze, 1993 (pag. 15)