The Agony and the Ecstasy by Irving Stone

776 pages paperback (Historical Fiction) - 1961

My wife has urged me to read this book for a while. I had read Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling by Ross King and she thought I would like this as well. King's book focuses solely on Michelangelo's work in the Sistine Chapel, The Agony and the Ecstasy covers most of his life. The most obvious difference is that Stone takes liberty in making the book into a novel that uses history. King's book is non-fiction. 

The book follows Michelangelo from a young boy until his death at age 88. We see how he spent time in stone quarries dealing with marble almost from birth. He is apprenticed to merchants, but jumps at the chance to join the painting studio under the tutelage of Ghirlandaio. He studies the art of fresco, but when given the opportunity to learn sculpture carving under Bertoldo he leaves the fresco studio. He starts with small works and then catches the attention of the Medici family. He soon becomes an in house artist and continues to work for them. He is hired to make the Medici family tomb, but soon after his benefactor dies. 

As Michelangelo fame grows, after sculpting David, he gets the attention of the Pope. He soon is forced into painting the Sistine chapel even though he declares it isn't his art. We continue to following him as he makes some of the greatest works of art ever created on earth.

I immediately got sucked into this book. Michelangelo has always been one of my favorite artists and since it was presented in novel form it was easy to get wrapped up in the story. Before reading it, I had reservations that it was a novel. I was worried about what would be real and what would be false. As I read I looked up each of the works that he created and tried to keep an accurate account of what happened. There were references in the book to a couple works of art that I couldn't find real life reference to, but for the most part the book seems to be accurate.

I enjoyed his style overall. I was influenced by my interest in the subject, but I found it to be engaging and I read through most of the book very quickly. The last two hundred pages or so focused less on the art he was creating and had more to do with the politics that Michelangelo was forced to participate in. He dealt with numerous Popes as they ascended to the papacy and then eventually died. Each one had different views on what he was doing and different work each one wanted him to do. Throughout it all he continued to create and inspire.

4 - Intellectual/Emotional - I became invested in the story and also appreciated getting a realistic view of Michelangelo's life. The only draw back was not being 100% sure what is accurate and what was not.

3 - Style/Readability - Overall, it was great and I was very pleased. As mentioned the last 200 pages or so was less appealing.

4 - Long term Impact - The book has been around for 50 years already. It has been read by millions and was made into a movie. I would say if you are interested in Michelangelo's life this is a great place to start.

11 out of 13. If the subject is at all appealing, or you have interest in Renaissance Italy this book is well worth the read.

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Sourcery by Terry Pratchett

260 Pages, Paperback (Fantasy Fiction)

I am again reviewing a Pratchett book. It is so easy to pick up another one of his books after reading something else, it just keeps happening. Most fans of Pratchett agree that he improves as a writer the further into his career he gets. I am not totally sure of the placement of Sourcery in the book release order, but we can see the quality of humor and writing is starting to shine at this point.

A long time ago a powerful wizard had his soul sucked into a staff. Generations pass and the eighth son of an eight son comes into possession of this enchanted staff. Through it he has the ability to tap into Sourcery, the source of magic. This is way more than the simple magic the Wizards in the Unseen University normally use. They all are soon drawn into a world where the most minor of wizards can do things they previously only dreamed about. As more wizards start to take advantage of this new power it starts to become apparent as to why Sourcery Magic has been unused for so long.

I found the book to be a quick and satisfying read. I wouldn't put it in with his best works, but it is certainly entertaining and worth a read for any fan of Pratchett. We start to see the writing that makes Pratchett great. He entertains amusing juxtapositions of ideas and humorous use of language. 

2 Emotional/Intellectual - Rincewind is the only characters I care much for in the book and that is mainly because of  interaction with him in other books.

4 Readability/Style - We see where Pratchett style really start to take hold and that is where this book really shines.

3 Long Term Impact - I can only see Pratchett's writing to become more and more appreciated as time goes on. That said I don't see this ever become a "must read" of his books.

9 out of 13. I would have liked to give it a 10, but I couldn't really justify it. Any Pratchett fan should read it, but this wouldn't be the place to start as a new reader.

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