Reviews with content warning for Misogyny - Stone Blind

At the time I rated it 4 stars, but the more I thought about it, I decided to lower my rating. The reason I gave it 4 stars in the first place is because I thought the last third of the book was great, specifically after

Medusa's death/beheading. Ironically, dead Medusa seems to have more personality and character development than live Medusa.

To me, it seems that the author only had enough of a story to write a novella, which I personally think would've worked a lot better, but decided to add more content to make it a full novel. But this additional content doesn't really add a lot to the story of Medusa, and I would argue that it actually takes attention away from her. As others have pointed out, a vast amount of the book focuses on Athena and Perseus, and a bit on Andromeda too, to the point in which they seem to be bigger characters than Medusa.

One thing that really bothered me, is that a very large plot point of the book doesn't get resolved.

Throughout the book, we are shown several times how other gods have disrespected Athena, most prominently Poseidon (by raping Medusa in Athena's temple) and Hephaestus (by being tricked by Poseidon to ask Athena in marriage, and later sexually assaulting her by ejaculating on her). After both of this offenses she vows to take revenge, and we read an entire chapter of her pondering how she'll do it, but I guess she just forgot all about that? Because Hephaustus is not mentioned again in the third act, nor any of the other Olympians who voted against her in deciding who gets the land of Athens. Poseidon loses a bit of the sea, not by the hands of Athena, but by the the other two Gorgons, and in the end he gets it back anyway. So what was the point in wasting so much time figuring out Athena's great plan to get back at the other gods, if by the end she just gets turned into a statue without doing anything about it?

Anyway, I think this book would've worked a lot better if we just kept the chapters focusing on Medusa and her sisters. Because these parts were really beautiful, showing how much love she had for her sisters, and how her sisters loved her so much back, enough to being actually able to change, when their nature is to be unchanging and unmovable. I really wanted to know their grief and emotions after Medusa is killed, but instead, we just get it passively and briefly through other narrators. So, because of this, I decided to lower my original rating, but I'm still hopeful to read other works by this author.

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aseel_reads's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I really enjoyed this medusa retelling, especially how the story didn't try to redeem Perseus. I liked seeing the start of other important characters' stories (Athena's birth, her winning Athena etc). I also liked the focus on the Gorgon sisters love, it was really nice to see their relationships. It would have been cool to see Athena take the gorgona from Perseus, but I guess it's not his story, so I can see why it was omitted (unless it was in the story, and I just zoned out...)

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kendrashea's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Content Warnings

savage_book_review's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The myth of Medusa is beautifully retold in this book by Natalie Haynes, turning the focus from the 'hero' Perseus to the woman with the deadly gaze. Abandoned by her divine parents and victimised over and over again through no fault of her own, this book poses the question of just who really is the monster in this tale?

The book is written from the point of view of several different characters (much like 'A Thousand Ships'), utilising both third and first person perspectives. And yet the book still flows really well and keeps you immersed. I particularly liked the chapters that 'break the fourth wall' and address the reader directly - you can definitely sense the author's own attitude and comedic prowess coming through in those pages.

Equally though, because of the constant shifting in perspectives it doesn't always feel like you're getting the depth you want; it is very much skimming the surface. The chapters are also quite short, so it is a lot of bouncing around - the story is linear, but it's hard to tell how much time is passing between chapters, sometimes due to the author's own phrasing. For example, we know that Perseus has two months to retrieve the head of a Gorgon and return home to save his mother from an unwanted marriage. But at one point, the author includes the line (paraphrasing) 'she could have been married and had three kids by now!' And yet he manages to return home with a day to spare? I know that time is immaterial to Gods and this is illustrated throughout, but there's just something about the way it's written that muddies the waters a bit for me.

I've been listening to Natalie Haynes a lot recently - both her audio version of 'A Thousand Ships' and her Radio 4 show 'Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics' on Spotify, so I feel like I'm getting a good grasp of the way she expresses herself. As a result, it was very easy to 'hear' her reading the words in my head and this gave the book an extra lift.

While I knew the story of Medusa, I didn't know the wider story of Perseus and how he came to pursue her nearly as well, so this was something of a reintroduction to me. Overall, while this book is about Medusa, the author very cleverly balances the other strands of the tale, both human and divine. If you aren't familiar with the story, there are a couple of moments earlier on which do throw the reader and make you wonder how a mortal queen with vanity issues links into the story, but everything weaves together seamlessly and all is revealed as you progress. However, this does also raise a criticism - there's just not quite enough Medusa for me!

This books also highlights some of the 'problems' with Greek myths generally. How many times must a mortal woman be punished for being the victim of a God forcing himself upon her? I love the stories of Ancient Greece, always have, but I don't think it's ever come across to me so starkly that the men (human and Gods) aren't always quite as heroic or divine as they might seem, and how vindictive the Goddesses can be, even when it should be obvious to all that they're taking their anger out on the wrong person. This is one of the reasons I love these feminist retellings though; some of the women involved absolutely deserve to be seen in a different light!

Clever, different and a good read.

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goblinbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark informative sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I want to preface this by saying that I am a major Medusa fan (if you can say that), but I truly really loved this book.

The switching between many perspectives

(including her snakes and also some olive trees)

, made this ancient story still feel very fresh and interesting.

The author also took a holistic approach and investigated all the surrounding myths that all contributed to Medusa and Perceus. Haynes obviously deeply cares about the content of her stories and I can't wait to read more.

Content Warnings

hwerle's review

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dark emotional hopeful reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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sammy357's review

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dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

One of the best books I've ever read! It's heartbreaking and so horribly sad. The audio book is amazing and I insist everyone listen to it

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meant2breading's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

“I’m wondering if you still think of her as a monster. I suppose it depends on what you think that word means. Monsters are, what? Ugly? Terrifying? Gorgons are both these things, certainly, although Medusa wasn’t always. Can a monster be beautiful if it is still terrifying? Perhaps it depends on how you experience fear and judge beauty.”

“You aren’t monsters,’ Medusa said. ‘Neither are you. Who decides what is a monster?’ ‘I don’t know,’ said Medusa. ‘Men, I suppose.’ ‘So to mortal men, we are monsters. Because of our teeth, our flight, our strength. They fear us, so they call us monsters.”

This was my first major Greek Mythology read for me in many years. I don’t have a lot of background in Greek Mythology and I didn’t feel like I was missing context, though it may have helped. I enjoyed reading the multiple POVS and the short chapters! Love short chapter books!! The story also gives a glimpse into how Medusa faces sexual violence, misogyny, sexism, and dehumanization, among other oppressive realities in depicted Greek Life (I mean, not like we’re past that in society today…). For me though, this felt like more of a glimpse. I wish we would have had more of the story focus on Medusa herself and her perspective, but I appreciated the pacing, the ending, and I love some feminine rage. 💕

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