Medusa, a mortal gorgon raped by Poseidon in Athena's temple and forced to pay the consequences, is one of many women across Greek mythology who are punished for the sins of men or other immortals. Haynes reexamines her story, and the stories that are deeply intertwined with hers, in effort to humanize the most misunderstood villain in mythic fiction.
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Not for me... As a lover of Greek mythology, I recently have encountered so many books that try to include several myths in one story, rather that focusing on just one, and doing it well. Haynes unfortunately fall short of exploring the depths of this story and thus is unable to establish an emotion connection between reader and character. I felt like she was trying to redeem one woman and, in doing so, garnered dislike for several others (Athene, Andromeda, Danae...)
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Honestly, I nearly dnf'd at 25%. The style of writing is not loquacious. There are many run on paragraphs that feel disorganized. Several times the character's break the fourth wall and it felt like a whimsical play. Not what I was looking for when I picked this up.

My main gripe with this book was the lack of Medusa. I love Medusa. This was marketed as a story of Medusa. So why is she not in the majority of the book? I liked the story itself well enough, but it just wasn't what I was expecting based on the title, the subtitle, the cover, and the blurb. And because I was expecting a book about Medusa, I can't say I was thrilled to have the focus on the god who cursed her.

It took a little while to get into the rhythm of this book. I'm glad I was reading an ebook version so I could easily remind myself who which god/dess was, especially the minor ones. The point of view was really interesting and I think it was overall successful.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review, all opinions are my own.

Athene is a pick me girl. Perseus is a fuck boy.

In all seriousness, I did really enjoy this retelling of Medusa's story. As a strong believer that Medusa was not a villain, Haynes does a wonderful job at portraying how Medusa was done wrong, while also keeping the seriousness of the story.

The full cast of characters and POVs are really well done and all feel unique.

*much of this is copied/pasted with my audiobook arc as I was listening to that while I was reading this copy.*
Thank you to NetGalley, Harper, and Natalie Haynes for my arc in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

"Stone Blind" by Natalie Haynes is a retelling of the Medusa myth told from the perspectives of the women often overlooked in this tale and the "hero", Perseus. This is my first and may be my last Haynes book. If you know me, I was not a fan of Madeline Miller's "Circe" and so far, have yet to read a Greek myth retelling that does more than create a convoluted narrative behind a feminist facade. Anyways, I was excited for this because I had been told that Haynes would be more up my alley as her works have been compared to Miller. All of that said, I do want to say that Haynes' writing was definitely one of my favorite things about this retelling. Reading it and listening to it was pleasant just because of Haynes' writing abilities.

I'm fairly new to the Classics as I've rarely studied it in my academic career and have only very recently taken a Classics graduate seminar last fall so many of the myths that get retold, like the Medusa one, are fairly fresh in my memory. I'm not going to try and say that I know more than Haynes who I believe is a Classics academic, BUT I do feel that there is a way to retell a story and this just didn't feel like the right tactic. One huge issue I had was the amount of perspectives we get; THERE ARE SO MANY. I mean, it was hitting GRRM levels of perspectives. It honestly would not have been such a problem if the perspectives sounded different every single perspective sounded the same (both read and listened to). If the chapter titles didn't have the perspective's name, I would have assumed it was all basically one narrator. Haynes occasionally used the second person perspective which was cool but because it just sounded like a slightly more aggressive version of the other perspectives, I found it difficult to really enjoy those moments. I do like that that perspective seemed to really be calling out the reader for believing in the traditional myth.

Overall, this was such a massive disappointing read. I think Haynes is a fantastic writer and does a great job of telling me the story but the overcompensation of perspectives, the overly "woke" element present in this retelling (I feel like it's bordering on revisionist at some points), and just the general reading experience I had, makes this disappointing. If you enjoy Madeline Miller, I think you'll enjoy this.

Stone Blind is Medusa's story. But not just Medusa, Stone Blind also tells stories for the other women embroiled in the story of Medusa. This novel talks about her sisters, the gods and goddesses on Olympus, and a few mortals affected by the story of Medusa.
There are some great narrators in this story. All of them women and this novel is a great feminist retelling of the story of Medusa. Is she a monster or is she just someone cursed by a vengeful god?

Most modern understandings of Medusa is that she was wronged by the gods and this novel dives into what happened and who had a hand in the curse and following myths. I really enjoyed reading about the different stories that led to Medusa, including Perseus, and Athene.

Trigger Warnings- Rape

As several other reviewers have noted, this isn't really Medusa's story, except from a few crucial scenes describing what was done to her, the book scarcely even mentions the Greek mythological character outside of those moments. This is a nice place to start if you're unfamiliar with Greek myth and want to read about Medusa and Perseus, but if you're hoping for a version that puts Medusa center stage, you'll probably be very underwhelmed.

This is an accurate retelling of a Greek myth, although the title is a bit misleading. Medusa is the focal point of this story in only the broadest sense. Many of the other gods appear more frequently and much time is given to Perseus and his quest. The writing made it easy to keep the gods straight and the author injected humor into her writing. The chapters titled Herpeta and Cornix and the intermittent Greek chorus pages were outstanding! I enjoyed this version of Medusa’s life.

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers for the ARC to read and review.

I loved this book! I am a bit apprehensive about the onslaught on mythological retellings hitting the market after the success of Madeline Miller. Stone Blind, however, hits the mark in a gut wrenching tale of Medusa. Who she might have been and the folly of "heroes". In mythology and in real life there are monsters but how do we define who/what the monsters are.

The author uses distinctive voices for all of the narrators/POVs. I loved the bored and impatient Athene, the sweet yet strong Medusa, the sarcastic and witty Hermes, and even appreciated the comically pathetic Perseus. The tone is approachable and bitingly humorous. The reader develops really fondness for Medusa. The tale reads like an allegory for power dynamics in the modern world. Perhaps that's what Natalie Haynes, if not the Greeks, intended. The Gods are like the 1% or the government, making power plays and wreaking havoc on the normal creatures of the world. Perseus is every white man ever. He fails upwards with help from the Gods; taking what they think they need caring not for how it affects anyone around them, least of all women.

This story has lingered with me. And I'll be recommending it to many people for years to come.

Unfortunately this book did not connect with me, I did not find it engaging. The author had some humorous lines in the book, almost laugh out loud, but that was not enough to keep my interest. Also, I expected more Medusa. Thank you for the advance copy of Stone Blind.

Stone Blind was a cleverly written novel but may be very confusing to a reader who did not have a basic understanding of classic mythology. However, for readers who enjoy putting a new modern twist on the old myths, this is the novel that will bring you some smiles and laughs.

I'm a big fan of a mythology retelling, and especially one about someone like Medusa. I enjoyed this for the most part, I do think the writing felt very modern which threw me off a little bit, but overall it was good!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

It has to be said before going into this book that it is a story of Medusa, not Medusa’s story. Medusa herself isn’t in a whole lot of this book- it instead covers all the things happening around and leading up to and following her death at the hands of Perseus.

It was nice and refreshing to read a story where she wasn’t the villain or monster that traditional classical mythology made her out to be, though. In this book, she’s much more sympathetic, and Perseus is much less heroic (he’s actually kind of childish, bloodthirsty, and more than a little bit of an asshole, really). The gods are also showed as petty and childish, which I enjoyed.

Overall, this was a good read that put a good spin on classic mythology. Well worth a read for mythology fans.

I really enjoyed this retelling. I thought the manner in which the story unfolds and the narrator is unique and engaging. A must read for mythology buffs and myth retelling junkies!

I enjoyed this unique story which shows a different perspective. Very well written. ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

I don't know where to start in explaining how much I loved this book and didn't want it to end! Everyone knows the story of Medusa, but, as Haynes says, more from Perseus' side so I didn't know what to expect. I wish I could go back and listen to it from the beginning for the first time. Haynes is an incredible narrator which makes perfect sense since she's lived with and given voice to her characters, so giving them actual voices is so seamless that the story draws you in even more. Medusa and her sisters are now my absolute favorites and I am rethinking all of those books that my children read that focus on the updated version of Perseus and his heroics. The only downside that I found was that this book comes out after Christmas so that I can't buy a copy for the stocking of everyone I know. A huge thank you to Harper Audio, Natalie Haynes, and NetGalley for the early listen in exchange for my honest opinion. I will be recommending this book for months!

Very engrossing, and surprisingly at times touching and funny telling of the myth of Medusa. Fans of mythology will love it.

A new Natalie Haynes book?! About Medusa?! Sign me up! Haynes tends to take an interesting approach to her retellings by expertly switching the narrative through many different perspectives. This drives home the discrepancies and variety within different versions of the same myth. Medusa is a character claimed by many. The martyr, the feminist, the whore, the monster: all characterizations Medusa has been assigned for millennia. Through this book Haynes carefully weaves the story we know with expert characterization and modern wit. I especially liked how she brought in elements of other myths that aren’t as obvious to the story of Medusa, like the birth of Athena and her assault via Hephaestus. Yet, how Haynes crafts this narrative, it works because we can see how this effects Athena post the rape of Medusa. I also appreciated that Haynes didn’t try to make Athena a feminist queen like a lot of modern retellings try to do. While I understand the drive behind that mindset, it’s factually incorrect with the surviving mythology we have of her. (She was decidedly a boy’s-girl.) I can keep going with things I loved about this book: the characterization of sisters relationships, complicated parent child dynamics, the handling of trauma, talking snakes, etc. But I won’t. I will pick up anything Natalie Haynes writes, I bet even her shopping lists have humor to them.

I'm sorry. I just found this book rather dull. I love mythology retellings, and when I saw the coverI was hoping for a story about Medusa, and very little, may a third? of the book was actually focused on Medusa. It jumped all over the place, a little Medusa, a little Athena (quite whiny really), then over to Danae and her son. The lack of focus on any particular character for long, made it difficult to become invested in any of them. They did all tie together, but the constant shifting of focus was off putting.
I did enjoy the struggle of Medusa's sisters in deciding what to do with her (should we eat her?) and trying to raise her. But off in another direction the story went...

I was very excited about reading this book. There have been some very good mythology retellings in the last few years that have reignited my love of the time period and genre. I liked to learn more about Medusa and the other gods. They are such petty beings and this book perfectly shows their pettiness. I had previously read Haynes' book, Pandora's Jar, and enjoyed learning about the women of mythology and their portrayals through history.

Perfect for fans of Jennifer Saint.