Novel Spoofs Da Vinci Code and Book Industry

Posted on July 12, 2006

In The Asti Spumante Code by Toby Clements two characters investigate the barcode on the back of book as they search for the greatest book ever written. The novel is a parody of the Da Vinci Code. USA Today reports that the novel is also spoof on the publishing industry itself.

The Asti Spumante Code parallels the Da Vinci plot. There is a hero (Jim Crack) and a heroine (Emily) who are trying to figure out a code. Well, kind of a code.

It's more, really, a barcode or a product code, the kind usually found on the back cover of a book.

And instead of searching for the Holy Grail, they're looking for the greatest book that will ever be written.

As Jim explains to Emily, there was once a "more innocent age" before chick lit.

This was an age "when writers wrote books that both men and women read. Some of the earlier writers are a bit obscure, but think Charles Dickens. Think Jane Austen. Think Henry James."

USA Today says Clements, who is also a literary editor for the British Daily Telegraph, wrote the book in just one month. There have already been many spin-offs and critical books published about the Da Vinci Code, so a parody was probably inevitable.

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