A review by beatrice_apetrei
The Agony and the Ecstasy by Irving Stone

5.0

“One should not become an artist because he can, but because he must. It is only for those who would be miserable without it.”

I don't even know how to start, I have many thoughts going through my mind right now so I have to try hard to write a relevant and relatively short review.
It took me a while to read this book, but not because I didn't enjoy it, but because my drawing classes left me with barely free time. It has more or less than 700 pages (it depends on the edition) and is easy to read. Bla bla, that's not important. Let's start with what's important..
First of all, I would like to start with a question. Have you ever wondered what art is ? Maybe not what it is, but how it FEELS like. Have you ?
Irving Stone managed to create (is it the right word?) a passionate and loving Michelangelo. He was in love, and couldn't think about anything else but sacrificing everything for IT and giving his all to IT. Who was he in love with ? Well, you shall find out only after reading the book, but I believe it is obvious that's not about a girl.
Michelangelo was a genuine artist. Why ? Not because he was a sculptor, nor because he was a painter, or an architect. He was brilliant in all of them. Though Irving Stone describes him as not having a passion for painting, he still had it beautifully done, out of proud.
He wasn't able to do anything ugly, even if he didn't try, he was still the best in all of them.
Secondly, I loved how he came to life through this book. I lived with him for over a month (is that cheating?), walking the streets by his side, getting angry when someone mistreated him, wanting to wipe away his tears and so on. Irving Stone's writing was easy to read, but still didn't feel like empty words to me. He got involved with all this information, shared it with me and gave me the chance to experience all sorts of feelings. It also made me a true 'fan' of Renaissance.
If I recommend it? It might sound weird, but I don't know what to say. I think you should read this book only if you love art and you want to learn it (I know people that read this book , without having a passion for any kinds of art, and they didn't like it - they found it boring and awfully written). It depends very much on who reads this book, it's not for everyone.