Rating: 
Summary: A Triumph!
Review: Stone took 6 years to research on his biography of Michelangelo. By the end of the book one can only marvel at the tremendous effort Stone undertook. "Agony and Ecstasy" is truly an absorbing and inspiring tale of the greatest genius in art history. Michelangelo's magnificence in sculpture, painting, architecture and poems is compellingly told. The best parts of the novel are the creations of each sculpture, Michelangelo's greatest love. Michelangelo's intensity and passion as he chisels and hammers away on his beloved marbles is vividly written and deeply moving. His rivalry with Raphael and Da Vinci, his struggles with his family, the Popes, the Medici family, his contemporaries and the tumultuous era he lived in are convincing and underlay with sadness. Certain aspects of his life are poignant and heart wrenching - the years wasted quarrying marbles never used, his unsavoury father who only wants money from him and of course the uncompleted Julius II Tomb which haunts him till the later years of his life. By the end of the book, one can only love this titanic genius for his awesome and fearsome talents, which could only be God given, his perseverance, his obsession and passion. The three Pietas, The David, the Madonna and Child in Bruges, Sistine Chapel Vault, Night, Day, Dusk, Dawn, The Last Judgement, St Peter's Dome....Michelangelo is no longer just the creator of these soul stirring, colossal and exalted art works. Stone has given this great genius who lived 500 years ago flesh and blood. Michelangelo is a man driven by his transcendent powers in art, evoking awe, reverence, love and sympathy from us.
Rating:
Summary: An amazing piece of literature
Review: I brought this book with me on my trip to Germany.
I ended up having to buy more books because I read the book much faster than I anticipated and I left the country with 12 books in my suitcase for a 3 week trip. I can't begin to describe how great this book is. I'm not much of a biography reader and the mere fact that this novel happened to be a "biographical novel" as opposed to a "biography" didn't do much to sway my initial confidence.
However, I was hooked as soon as I stopped reading. I could not put it down; it didn't matter if i was on the train, in a restaurant, crossing the street... I finished the book in 2 days and almost cried because I didn't want it to end.
As soon as I got access to the computer, I had to see what Stone saw... had to see if I could look at Michaelangelo's works with the same appraising eye. I went to museums with a new perspective.
This book will not only clue you in about the life of one of hte greatest artists ever, but will also pull at your emotions and sympathy.
Read this.
Rating: 
Summary: A Good One!
Review: If you love history and you like or love art, you will want to read this novel. I just finished reading it and I certainly do recommend it highly. I had the great fortune to have an art book with photos of Michelangelo's artwork while I was at the same time reading the book. It made the book all the more enjoyable to be able to see the artworks that are described in the novel at the same time while reading it. A very good book for any historical novel lovers! I appreciate Michelangelo's art so much more now after having read it.
Rating:
Summary: An Aptly Named Novel
Review: In the over 700 small print pages that comprise this novel, the reader truly feels they have lived through every moment of Michelangelo's ninety-year lifespan. On one hand he spent his entire life as an artist; the one thing he wanted to do. But he also spent painful years struggling against the bureaucracies of his day. And his determination to create art left room for little else. His devotion even tended to preclude the basic amenities of food and rest. By the end, it seems his life really was a confusing mixture of glory and calamity. The man seems to have enjoyed hardly a moment's respite in all his life and I felt beaten up along with him in some parts, especially when he paints his frescoes on a high scaffold in the sistine chapel on the orders of the Pope.
Also of interest was the painstaking historical detail, which truly gave me an idea of how tumultuous and warlike Michelangelo's time was. Sometimes the narrative will quit altogether and go into a list of historical events for awhile. These passages usually add nicely to the flavor of the story, but some detours, especially those detailing the exact processes of cutting of marble blocks from mountains are a bit long.
Perhaps the strongest aspect of the book was Irving Stone's well-informed guesses as to what might have gone through Michelangelo's head as he created each of his works.This book can be a somewhat heavy read, but I was also eager to read about Michelangelo's next project. Finally, I suggest having a book or website with Michelangelo's works so you can see each of his creations as you read through.
Rating:
Summary: An enchanted journey into Renaissance Italy
Review: As a high school senior, I chose this book for a simple report. I eagerly devoured it over Christmas break, trapped inside by inclement weather.
Stone's character development is exemplary; even during Michelangelo's adolescence in the progression of the book I felt as though I knew the artist intimately. The author provides excellent, relatively-concise descriptions of Michelangelo's various artworks throughout, never lingering too long on one aspect. Stone provides just as much description to the Apostles as he does the more-famous David. Though parts of the novel do become a bit repetitious after 700 pages of reading; I found it to be thoroughly enjoyable nonetheless. Stone did an excellent job balancing Michelangelo's personal and public lives, though the two were often closely intertwined.
Though it is easy to lose count of various supporting roles (especially the numerous popes of the period) without careful attention, when this book is read as a serious literary work and not a fluff piece for perusing on an airplane it is quite exciting and anything but boring.
A bit heavy for the less-than-precocious student, but a fine read for most educated adults or studious teens such as myself.
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