If the Harry Potter books stand as the essential popular reading for young people, then The Da Vinci Code has captured the crown for grown-ups. With its controversial mix of storytelling and reasoning, the novel remains high on best-seller lists even as it begins its third year since publication. Twenty-five million books, in 44 languages, are in print worldwide and no end is in sight. Booksellers expect The Da Vinci Code to remain a best-seller well into 2005. The unusual success of The Da Vinci Code has been helped by wide access, with the book on sale everywhere from Wal-Mart to airports to supermarkets. The Da Vinci Code has also thrived during a time when both literary and commercial novels struggled, when a tight economy, competition from other media and election-year tensions drove the public to nonfiction works or away from books altogether. Publishers and booksellers say Brown’s novel has worked by combining narrative (叙述) excitement and disputed historical detail.
