My Friday Post: The Agony and the Ecstasy by Irving Stone

Published on by Margaret

Book Beginnings Button

Every Friday Book Beginnings on Friday is hosted by Gillion at Rose City Reader where you can share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.

Agony & Ecstasy

 

My old, tatty copy of The Agony and the Ecstasy by Irving Stone has been sitting on my desk for months now, whilst I’ve been wondering about reading it. I bought for 50p more 20 years ago (no idea exactly when or where I bought it). It was old when I first bought it and it’s falling to pieces now, the pages are brown and the font is so small, which is why I’m not reading it. So I think I’ll have to get a new edition.

It’s a biographical novel of Michelangelo.

 

He sat before the mirror of the second-floor bedroom sketching his lean cheeks with their high bone ridges, the flat broad forehead, and ears too far back on the head, the dark hair curling forward in thatches, the amber-coloured eyes wide set but heavy-lidded.

Also every Friday there is The Friday 56, hosted by Freda at Freda’s Voice.

30879-friday2b56These are the rules:

  1. Grab a book, any book.
  2. Turn to page 56, or 56% on your eReader. If you have to improvise, that is okay.
  3. Find any sentence (or a few, just don’t spoil it) that grabs you.
  4. Post it.
  5. Add the URL to your post in the link on Freda’s most recent Friday 56 post.

Page 56:

Michelangelo went into the yard and sat in the baking sun with his chin resting on his chest. He had made a nuisance of himself.

Have read this book? What did you think about it? And if you haven’t, would you keep on reading?

17 thoughts on “My Friday Post: The Agony and the Ecstasy by Irving Stone”

  1. I like biographies when they’re well done, Margaret. And certainly Michelangelo was a fascinating character, so I can see how this might be great. I’ll look forward to what you think of it. Oh, and you’re not the only one who has a book for a long time before reading it…

    Liked by 1 person

  4. I’ve had this book on my TBR for years too. I’m sure I would enjoy it, but for some reason I’ve just never felt like picking it up and starting to read.

    Liked by 1 person

  7. I didn’t know it was a book, but I remember the film being a huge blockbuster success when I was a child – too young to see it, but I seem to remember my oldest sister thinking it was wonderful.

    Liked by 1 person

  9. I really enjoyed this when I read it a couple of years ago before visiting Italy. I think Stone is in danger of being forgotten, and yet he wrote so many wonderfully readable bio novels. I have a few on my TBR list right now!

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