Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes

‘So to mortal men, we are monsters. Because of our flight, our strength. They fear us, so they call us monsters.’

Medusa is the sole mortal in a family of gods. Growing up with her Gorgon sisters, she begins to realize that she is the only one who experiences change, the only one who can be hurt. And her mortal lifespan gives her an urgency that her family will never know.

When the sea god Poseidon commits an unforgivable act in the temple of Athene, the goddess takes her revenge where she can – and Medusa is changed forever. Writhing snakes replace her hair, and her gaze now turns any living creature to stone. The power cannot be controlled: Medusa can look at nothing without destroying it. She is condemned to a life of shadows and darkness.

Until Perseus embarks upon a quest to fetch the head of a Gorgon…

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I adore retellings of Greek myths and particularly those that give a voice and agency to the women who have for so long been relegated to the side-lines given the “traditional” focus on the kings and heroes that populate those tales.  I love these different takes on these narratives, and Stone Blind presents the particularly intriguing story of Medusa to the reader.  However new to the Greek myths a person might be, I think that most have heard of Medusa, usually in the context of a monster with snakes for hair and whose gaze will turn a person to stone.  What some may not realise is that she wasn’t always that way, and Haynes uses this novel to give the background and context to this story. 

We first meet Medusa as a baby, left with her Gorgon sisters (Sthenno and Euryale) to raise.  She has little in common with them beyond their parentage – she is mortal where they are not, and appears almost human aside from the wings on her back.  I love this part of the story.  We see her sisters take on her care and upbringing, not understanding her needs initially, but learning and adapting as Medusa grows from baby to child to young woman.  It’s beautiful to behold, and I think it would be a cold heart indeed that doesn’t become invested in the story of Medusa and her sisters.  It makes her fate at the hands of Athene all that much harder to bear.  She doesn’t deserve it, and it seems a particularly cruel punishment to bestow on someone who comes across as a brave, kind, and caring individual. 

As well as Medusa and her sisters, Haynes also introduces the reader to the relevant individuals who play a part in this tale.  This includes various gods and immortals as well as the more regular humans who have a role to play.  There’s a lot going on, but Haynes sets the scene brilliantly, and the novel does start with a cast of characters should you get a little lost along the way.  These narratives – which seem initially disparate yet come together beautifully as the novel progresses – provide the context and background to the story that I thought I knew but quickly realised that I had barely scratched the surface of.

One of these individuals is Perseus, a son of Zeus and one of his many mortal partners, who sets out on a mission to obtain a Gorgon’s head.  He has his reasons for doing so, but it’s fair to say that he wouldn’t stand a chance were it not for the assistance of Athene and Hermes, provided at Zeus’s insistence.  His own efforts are laughable, particularly when he doesn’t even have the wit to ask what a Gorgon is or looks like when assigned his quest.  He does initially come across as a normal young man, but it doesn’t take long for his true colours to show.  With his mission bestowed upon him, there’s a sense of inevitability as Medusa’s story begins to overlap with that of the supposed hero.  And I have to admit that I while I knew what the outcome would be (that part of the story is well known), a part of me still hoped for a different ending. 

If I did have any slight niggle with Stone Blind, it’s that Haynes seems to assume that the reader will take the side of Perseus, that they will sympathise with his quest and the motivation behind it despite the outcome, and that they will mistake his cruelty for cunning and cleverness.  It’s fair to say that he is no match for the wily Odysseus on that last score, and I think that anyone who has read much about the myths will recognise that the supposed heroes are, generally speaking, utter dicks.  To me, it seems obvious who the victim – several times over – is in this novel, and so being told not to sympathise with Perseus seems unnecessary to me.  That’s just my view, of course, and other readers may take a different interpretation from the text. 

One element to the novel that I did enjoy was the exploration of what it is to be a monster.  For Perseus (and many others) it seems to be someone or something that looks different to themselves or that cannot be easily conquered, and so their fear is masked by designating its source as a monster.  But here, for me, the monster in this narrative is not a Gorgon, and I think that there’s a strong message to judge less by an individual’s appearance and more by their actions.  It’s a poignant message, and one that seems as applicable to today as it does to these ancient tales. 

Despite my one slight niggle with the novel (and it is a slight niggle that’s very much down to me personally) I found this to be a fascinating read. It’s fantastic to see Medusa’s story shared in full, moving away from the portion of the tale that is so well known and providing the background that casts her in a very different light.  Written with her trademark wit, Haynes delivers a feisty, feminist tale that I highly recommend. 

Stone Blind is published today (15 September) by Mantle in hardback, digital, and audio formats.  Huge thanks to the publisher for the opportunity to read and review ahead of publication.

Disclaimer – I received a copy of this novel from the publisher. This has in no way influenced my review.

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Also by Natalie Haynes:

• The Amber Fury
• The Children of Jocasta
• A Thousand Ships
• The Ancient Guide to Modern Life
• Pandora’s Jar: Women in the Greek Myths