Special Book Review Number 5
Title: The Masks of God (4-book series)
Author: Joseph Campbell
Summary: The four-volume magnum opus was Campbell's most comprehensive attempt to lay out his theories of the history of myth and religion. Published between 1959 and 1968, Campbell's The Masks of God covers mythology from around the world, from ancient to modern. Where The Hero with a Thousand Faces focused on the commonality of mythology (the "elementary ideas"), the Masks of God series focuses upon historical and cultural variations the monomyth takes on (the "folk ideas"). Where The Hero with a Thousand Faces draws perhaps more from psychology, the Masks of God series draws more from archaeology and history.
Breakdown of Info: 4/5 stars
Diversity of Opinion: 4/5 stars
Minimum Bias: 4/5 stars
Use of Research: 5/5 stars
Overall: 17/20 stars
Goodreads Rating: 4/5 stars
Review: Joseph Campbell's The Masks of God series was a fantastic series. It really balances out his work The Hero with a Thousand Faces. I had a couple of issues with the series, mostly with how slow certain parts of each book felt. Additionally, there were also a couple of parts and phrases where it felt like Campbell was judging Eastern mythology from a Western perspective, which bothered me a bit. However, this only happened a couple of times throughout all 4 books, so it wasn't a major issue for me. (And considering the time when Campbell wrote this, although I don't agree with Campbell's analyses, it's understandable.) While you don't need to read each book in the order they were written and are in the series, I do recommend giving these books a read.
For the specific reviews of each book, refer to the following Instagram posts:
- Primitive Mythology review
- Oriental Mythology review
- Occidental Mythology review
- Creative Mythology review
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