- Hardcover: 378 pages
- Publisher: LONGMANS; First Canadian Edition edition (1966)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1121335926
- ISBN-13: 978-1121335929
- ASIN: B00005WDXI
- Product Dimensions: 21.3 x 15.2 x 3.8 cm
- Shipping Weight: 635 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #659,580 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Life as art and art as life,
This review is from: The Mask of Apollo: A Novel (Paperback)
One of the things that make Mary Renault such a great historical novelist is that she opens doors you never thought existed and gets you wanting to explore and learn more. I had to read several Greek plays in high school but they were always kind of ho-hum until Renault brought them vibrantly to life in "The Mask of Apollo" in the character of Nikeratos, an Athenian actor in 4th-century BC Greece who learns his craft from the ground up and brings us onstage and backstage into his world of great drama. Nikeratos travels from Greece to Sicily and back, acting in plays by such immemorial dramatists as Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides, and bringing life to his art and art into his life and the lives of those he interacts with. Parallel with the story of Nikeratos is the story of Dion of Syracuse, a real historical figure who successfully brought down the dictatorship of Dionysios the Younger, only to install his own dictatorship in its place. "The Mask of Apollo" brings to life historical figures such as Plato, Aristotle, Speusippos (an enigmatic character I would have liked to know more of) and many others that we only read about in history texts, and makes them become real and personal. She also makes us live in ancient Syracuse with its sights and sounds, its political intrigues and dangers. (Contrary to what one reviewer said, however, Renault gave only one line in passing to the Athenian defeat at Syracuse during the Peloponnesian War and the tragic aftermath; that was treated at length in "The Last of the Wine" but not in this book.) After finishing this book, I headed straight to the bookstore for a good translation of "The Bacchae" by Euripides, which I'd never heard of before Renault relates how brilliantly Nikeratos acts the leading role, and devoured it at one sitting. Renault does her readers a double favor: she not only gives them a gem of a book, she sends them on a treasure hunt to find some more.
5.0 out of 5 stars
the emotional connection,
By
This review is from: The Mask of Apollo: A Novel (Paperback)
there are many reviews of ms. renault's work here already, so i will keep this very brief: the reason mary renault is my favorite author is that she can bring the emotional and human quality of her characters to the surface. she makes these long dead people with strange names come alive. she gives them a quotidian life. she makes them human, and humane. true, her knowledge of the ancient greeks is encyclopedic. true, her descriptions are wonderous, but her deep empathy for the people in her novels is what separates her from other historical writers. she also handles homoeroticism/homosocial behavior with a sweetness and sensitivity that demonstrates the value of the delicate bonds that men should be encouraged to explore and nurture. her compassion for the human experience is sometimes overwhelming.
5.0 out of 5 stars
A TIMELESS STORY,
By
This review is from: The Mask of Apollo: A Novel (Paperback)
Mary Renault has vividly recreated the world of the actor in ancient Greece, set against a backdrop of love, betrayal, and war. As a part-time actor, I thoroughly enjoyed reading the similar traits of actors and practices in ancient Greece that still exist today. Although production methods are very different, personalities and "egos" seem to remain the same. I found plenty of smiles on my face as I devoured this rich, lush novel. A must read for actors, historians, and lovers of good fiction
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