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Apr 09, 2009

Kathy rated it:

The fictional representation of the life of Frederick Handle. The story is wonderful and you could hear his music coming from the pages of the book. A wonderful insight into court life to extreme poverty in the 1700's.

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Jan 25, 2009

Jenifer rated it:

I had the intention of totally skimming this almost-six-hundred page book but the beginning totally sucked me in with Peter the Packrat. He remained my favorite character throughout though the story got really stale in the middle and I, committed by this time, was slogging a bit. It is the fictionalized story of how George Frederic Handel wrote "The Messiah". If you love this music and/or religious literature, it is a fine book and I recommend it. In the tradition of Dickens, the good More...

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Dec 02, 2010

Karen rated it:

I've never forgotten the feelings I had when I heard the Hallelujah Chorus sung in a tabernacle in American Fork, Utah many years ago. Though it was not the first time I had heard Messiah, I was deeply touched on this occasion. Since then, the music has always been a part of my Christmas celebration. I loved this book about the composer of that magnificant music. It's true that it is rather "wordy" and sometimes I wished the author would get to the point--it could have been a much shor More...

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Jul 07, 2011

Emily rated it:

This book is a novel about the writing of Handel's oratorio, Messiah. There are also a couple of other story lines that (of course) come together. The interesting thing is that sometimes I enjoyed the side stories more than the main story (Handel's). I think some of that is because, without historical constraints, the author felt more free to develop the characters. Throughout most of the book, it felt a bit annoying switching from stories, but for the best of reasons: I was enjoying the story l More...

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Jan 12, 2010

Emily rated it:

I really wanted to love this book because the music captivates me so much, especially every Christmas season. While I appreciate the historical part of this work of fiction, the writing gets bogged down by repetitive sentences and scenes that border on the melodramatic. Three quarters of the way through I started skimming to the end and I don't think I missed anything important. I've been touched by the music many times and while I didn't get lost in this book, I now want to get lost in the m More...

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Nov 20, 2010

Bethany rated it:

This book was gifted to me and has been on my shelf for almost two years. I'm so glad I pulled it out to read it. It is a historical fictional novel about Handel, and the circumstances that led to him writing "the Messiah." Handel was truly inspired, and this book was so clear about the details that I felt I was a part of the story. The author introduces several main characters (fictional) in addition to Handel, which made the storyline more interesting. I appreciated the footnote More...

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Jan 09, 2009

Barbara rated it:

This is one of those long books with several subplots. It's a historical novel about Handel's writing of the Messiah. Featherstone is a very good descriptive writer, my only complaint is that it is a long book and if you don't read it continuously; a few days later the story connects the plot with something else and I forgot the importance of what I'm reading today from a week ago. Am I making any sense? I know someone who read it in three days wow, I can't do that. I also had to have a dic More...

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Nov 02, 2009

Meri rated it:

Once again, I wish I had a more accurate rating system than 5 stars...this should be a 4 3/4. This is a beautiful historical novel about the life of George Fredrick Handel, the musical talent that created The Messiah. While much of the story, especially side characters are invented, apparently there is a lot that is based upon his own life. It is quite possibly one of the best historical novels I've ever come across and about a topic so touching to those of musical heart that one cannot help but More...

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Jan 19, 2010

John rated it:

I read Hallelujah because it was the book chosen for December 2009 Book Club discussion. I doubt I would have read this book if not required for the book club, but I am grateful that I read it.

The oratorio “Messiah” composed by George Frideric Handel has always been a favorite of mine during Christmas and Easter. This historical fiction book portrays the life of Handel and the creation of the beloved musical masterpiece. The book follows the life of Handel with several subplots usi More...

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Oct 23, 2008

Misty rated it:

I really enjoyed this book. It did start out slow for me but once I got past the beginning, it was much better. Historical fiction is my favorite genre so this was right up my alley as far as that goes. I was a little hesitant at first because I am not really into learning about composers and music from the past and I thought maybe it would not appeal to me because of this, but once I got into the story line and the sub-plots I realized that it didn't matter at all. My favorite sub-plot was More...

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Sep 01, 2010

Cheryl rated it:

A decent Historical Fiction novel based on George Frederick Handel's life. Being familiar with Handel's story, and as music history buff, I found it enjoyable to go along with the author while he creatively filled in the blanks of Handel's life story.

The author did a good job inserting some interesting sub-plots while creating some well developed characters. However, the story does drag on at periods throughout the book. A time or two I found myself wishing the book would just co More...

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Feb 08, 2010

Dianne rated it:

This is the story of how George Fredrick Handel was inspired to write "Handel's Messiah". It shows what life was like in Great Britain during the 1700's, and the rise and fall in popularity of Handel's music and the persecution he endured. At his lowest point in life, the music of the Messiah came to him. It was a true miracle, and VERY inspiring. It is a real page turner; one of my favorite books ever!! It is written in a historical fiction style.

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Dec 21, 2008

Sheila rated it:

Regarding The Messiah, Handel said that he should be sorry if he only entertained them--he wished to make them better. Featherstone delives a remarkable account of Handel's Messiah. The book actually began a bit slow, but the overall reading experience was wonderful! It was a spiritual journey for me -- and my appreciation for this profound and inspired musician has increased. Thanks be to our Father in Heaven for music that touches our souls and brings us closer to heaven...and for musician More...

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Dec 13, 2008

Linda rated it:

I have always been a fan of Messiah, having sung it over 30 times, so I was delighted to find this book (recommended by my niece Crystal) which tells the story of the writing of Messiah. It is fictionalized, but the fictional characters are deftly woven into the historical evidence of the writing of the Messiah. It was a delightful read, and touched my soul. I definitely gained a deeper insight into the life of G.F. Handel.

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Jan 29, 2012

Rebecca rated it:

It was an o.k. book. I had it on the shelf for years before I finally read it. For me it was a little bit wordy and it took the author a long time to get where he was going. There was a little bit too much character development for me - like it went on and on and I wanted to say, "O.K. I get it." It seemed like the author was attempting to copy the Charles Dickens style, but it was the wrong story line for that style of writing.

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Mar 17, 2010

Hannah rated it:

Yeah, I thought this book was pretty good but I have read better and longer books in my lifetime. The content was not at all overwhelming it was actually quite interesting. It made me look deeper inside myself...if you are reading this and have not actually scoffed in disbelief you have a lot of faith in me, wow, yeah so i haven't read this book, but it sounds good, right? ummm.....

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Mar 03, 2009

Mel rated it:

I haven't read too many historical fiction novels, but I really enjoyed this one and now have the desire to read more. There are several interesting characters woven through the book, I especially liked Peter the Packrat. The writing style is a bit wordy for me and I would have liked to see more character development, but overall a great read that I would recommend.

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May 29, 2010

Laura rated it:

I loved the packrat from the first page. I really liked the seperate story lines, but wanted them to converge sooner than they did. But once I finished the book I liked how and when the story lines finally came together. I didn't care for the man Handel for most of the book, but it was a great story of how the Spirit of the Savior can change a person.

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Jan 23, 2012

Rebecca rated it:

Loooong, but interesting. I loved reading about the circumstances surrounding the creation of Handel's "Messiah," but it took an incredibly long time for me to care enough about Handel's character to feel invested in the story. In the end, I was happy I read the book, but boy-oh-boy it was long! It could have easily been 200 pages shorter.

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Jul 11, 2010

'becca rated it:

I thought, while reading it, that this would make a better film than a book. And no wonder, it turns out that the author is an award-winning screenwriter. Loved the references to light. The truths in this book brought me to tears more than once. I love Handel's "Messiah" and I've determined to sing in it again by the end of the year if I possibly can. What I took most from this book was a renewal of commitment (again) to look to heaven for approval rather than those around me. The even More...

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Dec 12, 2008

Danielle rated it:

Well, I gave it a mediocre effort, but 120 pages in I still feel like I'm treading water. What made me want to read this book is the introduction: the author's true experience of realizing Handel's personal tragedy precipitative to the Messiah being written. But I don't like the novel format to tell this story. It felt like the author was grasping for plot to add, none of it especially compelling. (The Packrat was charming at first, but felt one-dimensional and got old quickly.) Plus, I'm frustr More...

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Jan 27, 2009

Caron rated it:

I loved this. It's a historical fiction book about Handel writing the Messiah. At the end he reviews what was factual and what was not. I liked the lessons in it about God bringing people low to make them humble so he can used them (not a fun thing to go through but just how ti works if you can't humble yourself), and how prayers can be answered in unexpected ways. And how sometime the answers to prayers have been in the making for a long time and come to fruition when they are needed. It wa More...

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Jan 11, 2010

Jennifer rated it:

I wasn't sure if I would like this book or not, but once I got started I couldn't put it down. The story is about Handel and his writing the Messiah. It is a fictional account based on some fact, but it also has two other stores intertwined throughout. It had me crying in parts. It touched my heart.

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May 10, 2010

Dayna rated it:

The first half is slightly hard to wade through, I wasn't finding reasons every five seconds to read it like I do with other 5 star books. But once I hit a critical point in the book, I read most of the second half in one night. I loved the message and I love music so it spoke to me.

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Jan 09, 2012

Carol rated it:

This was a brilliant story and would make a great movie. The characters were well developed. A couple of caveats though... one, it took me a LONG time to get through this book. The writing style is very descriptive, sometimes to the point of dragging things on. Also, in almost every chapter the story jumps to a different character, so some people will find that annoying. Overall, I would recommend this one. I enjoyed reading it over the holidays and have to admit, when I had finished readi More...

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Mar 11, 2008

Tiffany rated it:

What a wonderful novel! It was a little difficult in the beginning, I think just because he skips around from character to character. He left them before I was ready to move on because I wanted to learn more about each one. This is the first book in a while that actually made me cry while reading. Not just a little, but real, live, flowing tears! It's about the writing of the "Messiah" by Handel. What a great story about redemption, forgiveness and unconditional charity and love! The s More...

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Sep 30, 2011

Brittanyalyse rated it:

I LOVED this book! I loved the insights into human nature- good and evil. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to be uplifted and reminded by how much we need and rely upon our Savior- but also on each others kindness and sacrifice. He works through us.

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Jun 11, 2011

Michelle rated it:

I liked the story, but I was disappointed in the historical inaccuracies. I understand that you take those kind of liberties with a movie, but not usually with a novel. With that in mind, I should read it again. I'd probably like it more.

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Feb 19, 2011

Lynne rated it:

I thought this was an okay book. It was VERY long and I felt the author was quite wordy! The story was very interesting, although I knew the information about Handel's writing of The Messiah already by reading a MUCH shorter historical book! Fortunately, the author included several fictional characters that helped the book be a more enjoyable read for me.

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Dec 17, 2008

Melody rated it:

A worthy read on many counts. Historically rich but inspirational as well. It's the behind the scenes look at one man of genius and his path and trials that brought him to being inspired and giving the credit to God.

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