The Asti Spumante Code: A Parody

By Toby Clements

Book Overview

In the first-ever parody of one of the best-selling novels of all time, a nasty murder points to lots of sinister and important mysteries that will change the world. Why, for example, did the dead man... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0751537683
• ISBN13: 9780751537680
• Release Date: April 2005
• Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 5.7" x 0.8" x 4.3"

Customer Reviews

So much better than the original

This is hilarious - currently standing up to its third reading, I consider it an absolute masterpiece. If you've read the Drear-Vinci Codes, buy it or borrow it, but make sure you read it!

An Enjoyable Alternative

"The Asti Spumante Code" kicks off in Brussels, with the murder of Gordon Sanitaire - curator of the city's Grande Bibliothèque. He proves to be the latest victim of the hirsute Stoat - so called because his hair (or, more accurately, `fur') changes colour with the season. (For this reason, he travels on two passports : one for the summer, the other for the winter). Stoat is a member of the Uxbridge Road Group, the militant wing of the English Book Guild. The Guild was founded with the aim of encouraging people to read and, although the URG's methods are extreme, they have also proved effective. Under the instructions of Brown Owl, Stoat is searching for the legendary Mûre-de-Paume, some sort of keystone. The investigation into Sanitaire's death is headed up by Capitaine Taureau, who very quickly manages to point the finger at the book's hero : James Crack. Not only the Professor of Para-Literal Meta-Symbologist Studies at the University of Catt-Butt in Nebraska, Crack also proves to be an clueless, egotistical bore. For those of us who hated "The Da Vinci Code", this is the easiest way of getting any pleasure from it. Brown's writing style is mocked perfectly : the chapters are ridiculously short, while every opportunity is taken to labour over the most minute and irrelevant point. Certain things are stated as fact, when they're clearly anything but true. Crack himself makes wild jumps of logic and stumbles across clues by means of blind luck rather than any form of skill. Recommended for those who read "The Da Vinci Code" and hated it.

Rare - a parody thats funny in its own right

Soundly beats to death the plot and writing style of the Da Vinci Code, as well as having a go at the publishing industry in general. Unfortunately I have read the original, and found it dreadful. This parody beautifully sums up all my gripes about the original, in a way that had me laughing out loud. Its sharp, its witty, its totally without mercy. And the best part is you DONT need to read the DVC to enjoy this - though seeing the movie might help.

No wonder Dan Brown's fans hate this book...

...as it nails Brown's pompous, overflowing-with-irrelevant-detail style to near-perfection. And the plot (concerning a worldwide conspiracy whose evidence can be found in an illustration in a "Thomas the Tank Engine" book) likewise skewers the ludicrous pseudo-historical claims of its predecessor. If you hated "The DaVinci Code," you'll love this book. If you loved "The DaVinci Code" (and, worse yet, believe it to be "factual")...well, it's probably best you not read this. After all, intelligence and humor are likely beyond you.

For those who found the Da Vince Code really annoying

Terrific parody of the style, content, character, structure, and wording of the Da Vinci Code. To me, the Da Vinci Code was maddening in its contrived structure and ridiculous situations. I wish I'd been creative enough to think of, and write, this parody as it cleverly skewers everything that I hated about the DV Code.