The Ringo Starr of Airport Fiction Explains the Thrust of His Magnum Opus.

In the magisterial USA Weekend, of course--nothing but the most intellectually challenging of fora for our man in New Hampshire:

Now, before you read this as an author's disclaimer for any differences between the book and the movie, let me assure you it's all there -- the Louvre, Saint-Sulpice, Chateau Villette, Westminster Abbey, Rosslyn Chapel, the codes, the sacred feminine, and the quiet invitation to think about faith, religion and history with a fresh, open-minded perspective.

The quiet invitation to think about faith, religion and history with a fresh, open minded perspective?

Can't you just smell the smarm?

Then again, when it hits you at fire-hose strength, you might be a little numbed. Even the nostrils.

Just remember that piece of disingenuous tripe the next time someone you know is mugged. It's not a violent robbery, it's simply the perpetrator's quiet invitation to think about crime, the redistribution of wealth and closed-head injuries with a fresh, open minded perspective.