Book: Stone Blind
Author: Natalie Haynes
Country: U.K.
Format: Audiobook
Narration: Natalie Haynes
Duration: 8h40min
Publication: 2022
My love for Greek mythology started when I was a teenager.
I had found a new book on my dad’s bookshelf: The Mythic Tarot, by Juliet Sharman-Burke & Liz Greene, and it ignited two passions at once: ancient myths and tarot. The book explained a deck of cards that contained depictions of Greek gods and goddesses, as well as the mortals, semi-mortals and other creatures that inhabit that universe. Each suit was a different set of characters, and I devoured all the stories multiple times.
Ever since then, I haven’t been that active in this topic, but every now and then I would watch a movie or listen to a podcast about it. And then last year I learned that there was a whole trend of modern Greek myths re-telling, reframing it from the perspective of characters that were not always in the center, namely women and LGBT characters (and yes, there were lots of gay men in ancient Greece).
I started with Madeline Miller’s Circe, which ended up being one of my few 5 star reads of 2023. This year I’ve picked up The Song of Achilles by the same author (4.75 stars), Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood (4 stars, not her best work in my opinion) and now I’ve just finished Stone Blind, by Natalie Haynes.
Stone Blind tells the well-known story of Medusa, the gorgon that could turn people into stone with just a look. But instead of depicting her as a terrible monster, she shows her humanity, as well as that of her sisters, Euryale and Stheno. The fate of Medusa can be interpreted in many different ways, but I like the author’s choice to depict her as a girl who was loved by her family and fell victim to terrible crimes.
“It’s important that you know this because he will try to claim there was a battle. But there is no battle to be had between an armed man and a sleeping girl. Don’t forget.”
Stone Blind
It’s also interesting to note the type of personality that each author gives the characters, especially the gods. In Miller’s work, the gods are powerful entities that say little but intimidate with the mere sound of their voices. In Haynes’ book, the gods are petty and spiteful, often quarrelling with each other and completely unaware of human needs.
“Imagine being a god, she thought, and still needing to tell everyone how impressive you were.”
Stone Blind
Perseus, contrary to the traditional myth that depicts him as a hero, is shown as a spoiled idiot boy who could not have pulled the feat without constant assistance from Hermes and Athena. The interactions between the three of them are hilarious and permeated with all the sarcasm that the British sense of humour requires. By the way, Haynes’ narration of the audiobook is awesome.
It was interesting to see how all the Olympians interact with each other, including Zeus, Hera, Apolo, Artemis, Hephaestus and other creatures. On the other hand, I could do without some of the quarreling in my ear and there were some battle scenes that didn’t serve much of a purpose in the book. There’s also one of the Titans present at the beginning that made no sense at all to me until I did some research afterwards.
“Certainly not Perseus who – you’ll soon see – has no interest in the wellbeing of any creature if it impedes his desire to do whatever he wants. He is a vicious little thug and the sooner you grasp that, and stop thinking of him as a brave boy hero, the closer you’ll be to understanding what actually happened.”
Stone Blind
Overall the book was really fun and interesting. I already have another one of the author books on my list The Children of Jocasta, other than Jennifer Saint’s Ariadne, Nikki Marmery’s Lilith, Claire North’s Ithaca and another one of Madeline Miller’s books – Galatea.
I also want to read similar books about other types of mythology, especially African and Indigenous. I’m open to suggestions!
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