Stone Blind
by Natalie Haynes
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Longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2023 "Haynes is master of her trade . . . She succeeds in breathing warm life into some of our oldest stories."--Telegraph (UK) The national bestselling author of A Thousand Ships and Pandora's Jar returns with a fresh and stunningly perceptive take on the story of Medusa, the original monstered woman. They will fear you and flee you and call you a monster. The only mortal in a family of gods, Medusa is the youngest of the Gorgon sisters. Unlike show more her siblings, Medusa grows older, experiences change, feels weakness. Her mortal lifespan gives her an urgency that her family will never know. When the sea god Poseidon assaults Medusa in Athene's temple, the goddess is enraged. Furious by the violation of her sacred space, Athene takes revenge--on the young woman. Punished for Poseidon's actions, Medusa is forever transformed. Writhing snakes replace her hair and her gaze will turn any living creature to stone. Cursed with the power to destroy all she loves with one look, Medusa condemns herself to a life of solitude. Until Perseus embarks upon a fateful quest to fetch the head of a Gorgon . . . In Stone Blind, classicist and comedian Natalie Haynes turns our understanding of this legendary myth on its head, bringing empathy and nuance to one of the earliest stories in which a woman--injured by a powerful man--is blamed, punished, and monstered for the assault. Delving into the origins of this mythic tale, Haynes revitalizes and reconstructs Medusa's story with her passion and fierce wit, offering a timely retelling of this classic myth that speaks to us today. show lessTags
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A book club pick :)
“You’re the one who thinks anything that doesn’t look like you must be a monster.”
Natalie Haynes retells the myth of Medusa. This is a story of how we create monsters and who we think of as monsters, of rape victims being blamed for what has been done to them.
I love Greek mythology and I love seeing it retold. I had enjoyed Haynes’ non-fiction [book:Pandora's Jar: Women in the Greek Myths|51135393] and came to this book with high expectations. I ended up liking the what but not the how – the author’s take on the myth, but not the execution.
The things I appreciated about the book were:
👌 The way the Gorgons, Euryale and Sthenno, learned to take care of their mortal baby sister, Medusa, when she suddenly show more came into their lives.
“Sthenno had never felt a moment of fear in her life before she was responsible for a child.”
“This, she knew, was love. And she felt it even though she did not want it.”
👌 The scene in which Medusa meets Poseidon is very suffocating, very scary, and very emotional. It was heartbreaking how brave and discerning Medusa was.
“Imagine being a god, she thought, and still needing to tell everyone how impressive you were.”
👌 Haynes told Danaë‘s story very well, in a way that was humane and true.
My disappointed three stars are because of:
☹️ I was not fond of the writing, its simplicity created a detachment that kept pulling me out of the story. Sometimes I felt strong emotions, and sometimes I felt nothing at all and wanted the author to just get on with it.
☹️ The snarky dialogues sounded very 21st century. It was supposed to be amusing, and sometimes it was. But most of the time it didn’t work for me at all. It was simply annoying. (A random clever person might tell me that if I wanted hexameter, I should have just reread Homer. They would have a point.)
☹️ Gigantomachy chapter was meant to be riveting, but amazingly, I was bored.
☹️ Dictys, Danaë‘s rescuer, is the only decent male character in the book. He is probably asexual. I wonder if this was intentional? If yes, then I want to throw something and talk about the difference between toxic masculinity and masculinity in general.
☹️ All right, so Perseus was a spoiled, stupid, incompetent, cowardly brat. “Never attribute to malice what you can attribute to incompetence”, right? Fair enough, it’s Haynes’ retelling. But I felt that the approach was too simplistic and an easy way out for the author. Let’s make a hero into a villain, easy-peasy. At the same time, Perseus’ interactions with Hermes and Athene were priceless and hilarious – and they happened right after the narrator derisively told me not to have any sympathy for Perseus. This was jarring!
☹️ For a retelling of Medusa’s story, there was too little Medusa in this book. Would this novel have been better as a novelette, with a tighter plot?
So far, I think I prefer Haynes’ non-fiction to her fiction. show less
“You’re the one who thinks anything that doesn’t look like you must be a monster.”
Natalie Haynes retells the myth of Medusa. This is a story of how we create monsters and who we think of as monsters, of rape victims being blamed for what has been done to them.
I love Greek mythology and I love seeing it retold. I had enjoyed Haynes’ non-fiction [book:Pandora's Jar: Women in the Greek Myths|51135393] and came to this book with high expectations. I ended up liking the what but not the how – the author’s take on the myth, but not the execution.
The things I appreciated about the book were:
👌 The way the Gorgons, Euryale and Sthenno, learned to take care of their mortal baby sister, Medusa, when she suddenly show more came into their lives.
“Sthenno had never felt a moment of fear in her life before she was responsible for a child.”
“This, she knew, was love. And she felt it even though she did not want it.”
👌 The scene in which Medusa meets Poseidon is very suffocating, very scary, and very emotional. It was heartbreaking how brave and discerning Medusa was.
“Imagine being a god, she thought, and still needing to tell everyone how impressive you were.”
👌 Haynes told Danaë‘s story very well, in a way that was humane and true.
My disappointed three stars are because of:
☹️ I was not fond of the writing, its simplicity created a detachment that kept pulling me out of the story. Sometimes I felt strong emotions, and sometimes I felt nothing at all and wanted the author to just get on with it.
☹️ The snarky dialogues sounded very 21st century. It was supposed to be amusing, and sometimes it was. But most of the time it didn’t work for me at all. It was simply annoying. (A random clever person might tell me that if I wanted hexameter, I should have just reread Homer. They would have a point.)
☹️ Gigantomachy chapter was meant to be riveting, but amazingly, I was bored.
☹️ Dictys, Danaë‘s rescuer, is the only decent male character in the book. He is probably asexual. I wonder if this was intentional? If yes, then I want to throw something and talk about the difference between toxic masculinity and masculinity in general.
☹️ All right, so Perseus was a spoiled, stupid, incompetent, cowardly brat. “Never attribute to malice what you can attribute to incompetence”, right? Fair enough, it’s Haynes’ retelling. But I felt that the approach was too simplistic and an easy way out for the author. Let’s make a hero into a villain, easy-peasy. At the same time, Perseus’ interactions with Hermes and Athene were priceless and hilarious – and they happened right after the narrator derisively told me not to have any sympathy for Perseus. This was jarring!
☹️ For a retelling of Medusa’s story, there was too little Medusa in this book. Would this novel have been better as a novelette, with a tighter plot?
So far, I think I prefer Haynes’ non-fiction to her fiction. show less
"And the monster? Who is she? She is what happens when someone cannot be saved?"
"Who are you to decide who is worthy of love?... And who are you to decide who is a monster?"
I fell in love with book almost immediately and think it might be one of my favorites of the year so far. It really takes the Perseus story and turns it on its head. I think it showcases a lot of empathy for women, especially Medusa, in a story that typically paints her as a monster. It was fun to start out realizing that the "hero" of the story might not actually be a hero at all. I loved the way Hayes wrote the story and the wit she added into the narrative. Her take on gender and power dynamics can be seen throughout the entire story. I especially liked the power show more dynamics among the same gender, and the way that this plays out; like for Medusa.
We see early on men using power over women in the story to get what they want; but she also shows us what happens when women who have equal power to men feel they don't. It isn't the men who suffer, it is other women. We see this with Medusa being turned into a monster and with Andromeda being sacrificed for something her mother said. I really can't complain about this story at all. Perseus is very unlikable in this one, but not in an extreme way. It's just that Medusa's character is so pure and he is so selfish.. that is until everything changes. One of my favorite parts of the narrative was watching the relationship between Medusa and her sisters and the pure love they had for each other. It was simple and beautiful. It didn't make any demands and they completed each other in all ways. Medusa's character really highlights that outer beauty isn't what makes someone beautiful. At the core love drives all the actions the characters make but, that love is shown in such contrasting ways. It's who they are inside and what they do for others that makes them that way. I could spend all day talking about how perfect I found this book; but honestly go find out for yourself. show less
"Who are you to decide who is worthy of love?... And who are you to decide who is a monster?"
I fell in love with book almost immediately and think it might be one of my favorites of the year so far. It really takes the Perseus story and turns it on its head. I think it showcases a lot of empathy for women, especially Medusa, in a story that typically paints her as a monster. It was fun to start out realizing that the "hero" of the story might not actually be a hero at all. I loved the way Hayes wrote the story and the wit she added into the narrative. Her take on gender and power dynamics can be seen throughout the entire story. I especially liked the power show more dynamics among the same gender, and the way that this plays out; like for Medusa.
We see early on men using power over women in the story to get what they want; but she also shows us what happens when women who have equal power to men feel they don't. It isn't the men who suffer, it is other women. We see this with Medusa being turned into a monster and with Andromeda being sacrificed for something her mother said. I really can't complain about this story at all. Perseus is very unlikable in this one, but not in an extreme way. It's just that Medusa's character is so pure and he is so selfish.. that is until everything changes. One of my favorite parts of the narrative was watching the relationship between Medusa and her sisters and the pure love they had for each other. It was simple and beautiful. It didn't make any demands and they completed each other in all ways. Medusa's character really highlights that outer beauty isn't what makes someone beautiful. At the core love drives all the actions the characters make but, that love is shown in such contrasting ways. It's who they are inside and what they do for others that makes them that way. I could spend all day talking about how perfect I found this book; but honestly go find out for yourself. show less
Abandoned on a distant shore by her demi-god parents, Medusa is raised by her sisters, the Gorgons. Medusa is a normal girl until she becomes a source of desire for the god Poseidon who rapes her in Athena's temple. Athena takes her revenge by turning Medusa into a monster with snakes for hair and a gaze that turns living things to stone. Meanwhile Zeus' illegitimate son Perseus wants to prevent his mother having to marry someone she doesn't want to, so he goes to find a Gorgon's head.
Again Haynes has written a wonderful book which turns the myth on its head. Medusa is a figure of pity and Perseus is a petulant boy in this telling. The prose skims throughout, light, knowing and incredibly clever.
Again Haynes has written a wonderful book which turns the myth on its head. Medusa is a figure of pity and Perseus is a petulant boy in this telling. The prose skims throughout, light, knowing and incredibly clever.
I am absolutely here for this wave of female-centred retellings of Greek myth, and Stone Blind might be my favourite so far. Previously Is this my favourite retelling so far? I did really love Circe, but I think this one is a more adventurous narrative (lots of different narrators, the identities of which make a fun surprise). I would 100% consider this the canon version of Medusa’s story. She is humanized (or rather, demonstrified) so well, and the men in this story don’t come off very well. Perseus is a total wuss!! Neither does Athena to be honest! (As an extremely nerdy Greek-myth reader I always had a soft spot for Athene, and perhaps there was more than a little of the prickly know-it-all in me as well.) Loved the Hesperides show more too. I laughed out loud many times and was so surprised by the end! Excellent work. Definitely recommended if you like Greek mythology but want something new. show less
Creative retelling of the myth of Medusa, and I *loved* the diversity of viewpoints and voices the author uses - it took me a chapter or two to get into the groove, but once I did, this was a delight. I think it worked well as a daily nibble read, rather than something I wanted to devour in long chunks, which gave the different voices room to breath. This brought me so much joy in different ways (The Herpeta chapter!) highly recommend
This is good, like very good. Retells the Medusa myth, but frames it from the female perspective. We hear from Medusa herself, Athene, Danae, Andromeda, the Nereids, Medusa's snakes, a crow and an Olive grove. It works remarkably well, the cast each telling their little bit of the story. They do it with charm and humour but they are also not at all afraid to call a spade a spade - there's no sugar coating here. The male characters are made to appear less than they are in the stories handed down to us, so that when they are being vindictive, stupid or selfish, they are called out as it. Rape is called exactly that. Perseus comes out no better than any of the others, the first person appeal to the reader being the only element that jarred show more slightly, breaking the 4th wall.
If I'm honest I enjoyed her earlier novel A Thousand Ships more, but I wonder if that is as I knew that story slightly better. This works, it works very well and I will certainly be looking out whatever she writes next. show less
If I'm honest I enjoyed her earlier novel A Thousand Ships more, but I wonder if that is as I knew that story slightly better. This works, it works very well and I will certainly be looking out whatever she writes next. show less
Everyone knows that Medusa was a monster and Perseus was a hero, right?
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.
I wasn't expecting so many different storylines that comprise the backstories of the major players: Athene, Perseus and his mother Danae, Cassiope & Andromeda, etc. It all works for the most part, although it's a bit jarring at the beginning. Ms. Haynes shows us how much there is to unpack in Greek mythology: sexism, cruelty, and show more a ton of rape. I mean, I knew Zeus was an asshole, but this really brings it to light. Now I need to reread the "original" versions.
Musical accompaniment: "Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?" (concert version)
And bonus track: "Feminine Rage" by Peggy show less
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.
I wasn't expecting so many different storylines that comprise the backstories of the major players: Athene, Perseus and his mother Danae, Cassiope & Andromeda, etc. It all works for the most part, although it's a bit jarring at the beginning. Ms. Haynes shows us how much there is to unpack in Greek mythology: sexism, cruelty, and show more a ton of rape. I mean, I knew Zeus was an asshole, but this really brings it to light. Now I need to reread the "original" versions.
Musical accompaniment: "Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?" (concert version)
And bonus track: "Feminine Rage" by Peggy show less
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- Canonical title
- Stone Blind
- Original title
- Stone Blind
- Original publication date
- 2022-09
- Epigraph
- [None]
- Dedication
- To my brother, who was there at the beginning, and the sisters I have found along the way
- First words
- I see you. I see all those who men call monsters.
And I see the men who call them that. Call themselves heroes, of course.
I only see them for an instant. Then they're gone.
But it's enough. Enough ... (show all)to know that the hero isn't the one who's kind or brave or loyal. Sometimes - not always, but sometimes - he is monstrous.
Gorgoneion.
As far towards the evening sun as it is possible to travel, there is a place where the sea winds inland in a narrow twist.
Panopeia. - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)The Gorgoneion is lost beneath the waves, and no one can reach it, not even the creatures of the sea. It has closed its eyes, one last time.
- Original language
- English
- Canonical DDC/MDS
- 823.92
- Canonical LCC
- PR6108.A9686
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