Point of View

The novel is told from a limited third-person perspective. The author restricts the voice to be contemporary with the events of the novel, resisting the urge to place Michelangelo’s work in a larger context or inform the reader of events of which Michelangelo could know nothing.

Setting

The events take place in the fragmented city-states of Italy in the 16th century. It is a time of political turmoil and philosophical change. The city-state of Florence, for example, cycles between authoritarian rule and republican government several times.

Language and Meaning

The language is direct, but it is in a tone befitting the subject: a “Renaissance Man” who was an architect, sculptor, painter, and poet. The sentence structure is predominantly very straightforward, but the vocabulary may be challenging.

Structure

The novel is structured in eleven books. It is told in strict chronological order, which means that...