"The Mask of Apollo" by Mary Renault

After a wonderful summer vacation I thought I had better bring our blog up-to-date. We had a very interesting discussion on June 6th about "The Mask of Apollo" by Mary Renault. The setting is Ancient Greece, 370-340 BC and the intricacies of Greek Theater. Critics have said that her "historical novels are excellent, and hold their own as atristically wrought and moving stories." The "Mask of Apollo" is perhaps the most satisfying novel and brings together the themes of virtue and art. We also talked about the symbolism of the mask, in both the theater and in life-- the mask can be achieved not only by a physical mask, but also with makeup. This mask can liberate us to be someone else, and put our game face on-- which was shown very clearly by the characters in the novel.