The Agony and the Ecstasy in Classics Without All the Class

Nov 30, 2010 Beth Given rated it really liked it

Shelves: clean

My friend described this book as "a commitment," and yeah, that's the right word for it! At 700+ (dense!) pages, it may be readable but it's not exactly light reading. I would go in 100-page spurts and then take a break to read something else; it was a little too much for me to read all at once (and that's why it took me more than four months to make it all the way through this book!). But I'm so glad I did finish this; I learned so much.

This "biographical novel" of the great artist Michelangelo My friend described this book as "a commitment," and yeah, that's the right word for it! At 700+ (dense!) pages, it may be readable but it's not exactly light reading. I would go in 100-page spurts and then take a break to read something else; it was a little too much for me to read all at once (and that's why it took me more than four months to make it all the way through this book!). But I'm so glad I did finish this; I learned so much.

This "biographical novel" of the great artist Michelangelo book is just that -- it reads like fiction, but it's also thoroughly researched. I took European History in high school and was vaguely familiar with the cultural climate of Italy at the time: the artists, the Medicis, Renaissance, Machiavelli, etc. -- but this novel soon taught me that I had a lot to learn! The myriad of characters had my head spinning at first, but soon I started placing the important ones (and really, you can get a lot out of this book without understanding all its nuances!). Besides the history, I really gained a deeper appreciation for Michelangelo's art -- and art in general. I liked the descriptions of all that went in to carving and painting as Michelangelo learns the trade (I sort of forgot that 16th century artists didn't have the luxury of picking up paint and brushes at Michaels or Hobby Lobby; they had to go mixing it themselves!). And I liked the way Stone described each piece of Michelangelo, his thoughts as he sketched and sculpted and painted; now I understand why the Sistine Chapel and the David are grouped among the great, iconic works of art.

My favorite parts of the book included the time with Lorenzo and the Plato Four, the aftermath of the sculpting of the David (where all of Florence celebrates the great Michelangelo -- I think this is one of the climaxes of the book), and the painting of the Sistine chapel ceiling (including the scene where he decides he needs to build his own scaffolding), and all of the scenes with rival Leonardo da Vinci (I was happy to report to my husband that all the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles make an appearance in this book. I think the artist Michelangelo has more of the ninja turtle Raphael's demeanor, though!) Oh, and I loved all the parts with Contessina, all the parts with Granacci, and I even found all the dissection parts strangely interesting. And I loved Michelangelo's character and his character growth.

Hmm; I kind of listed a lot of "favorite parts," but gosh, when you read a book this long, you need to have several favorites, don't you?? ...more

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Aug 29, 2009 Margaret rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

I loved this novel about the life of artist, Michaelangelo! This could be a little biased, since he is one of my favorite artists. The author made Michealangelo so real and human---not just a famous name from history.

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