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    Stone Blind: A Novel
    Stone Blind: A Novel
    Stone Blind: A Novel
    Audiobook8 hours

    Stone Blind: A Novel

    Written by Natalie Haynes

    Narrated by Natalie Haynes

    4.5/5

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    • Greek Mythology

    • Mythology

    • Family

    • Gods & Goddesses

    • Fear

    • Mythical Creatures

    • Chosen One

    • Damsel in Distress

    • Forbidden Love

    • Divine Parentage

    • Fish Out of Water

    • Love Triangle

    • Found Family

    • Love at First Sight

    • Sacrificial Lamb

    • Sacrifice

    • Gorgons

    • Betrayal

    • Love

    • Revenge

    About this audiobook

    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 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.

    Editor's Note

    Reimagining Medusa…

    Haynes adds to her body of Greek myth retellings (“A Thousand Ships,” “The Children of Jocasta”) with “Stone Blind.” The classics paint Medusa as a monster, but this reimagining questions the very meaning of the word, offering a fresh perspective with male-perpetrated violence at its core. True to form, Haynes gives voice to women characters previously pushed aside.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateFeb 7, 2023
    ISBN9780063258426
    Author

    Natalie Haynes

    Natalie Haynes is a writer and broadcaster. She is the author of The Amber Fury, The Children of Jocasta, A Thousand Ships, which was shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction in 2020 and Stone Blind. Her non-fiction book about women in Greek Myth, Pandora’s Jar, was a bestseller in both the UK and the US. She has written and performed eight series of her BBC Radio 4 show, Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics. In 2015 she was awarded the Classical Association Prize for her work in bringing Classics to a wider audience.

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    Reviews for Stone Blind

    4.5/5

    331 ratings24 reviews

    What our readers think

    Readers find this title to be a beautiful and heart-wrenching retelling of the Medusa story. The book explores the myth from Medusa's perspective and delves into the moral complexities of Ancient Greece. It features a great story with lots of drama and a shift in perspective that highlights the complexity of women. Although some readers wished for more of Medusa's story, the interconnectedness of the gods and goddesses' events ultimately lead to her. The book is moving, hilarious, and inspiring, making it a recommended read for anyone interested in mythology.

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      Marvelous! Although I would have liked more of the story from Medusas’s point of view. Many people complain that this book is not all about Medusa, but I disagree. It is about her, told from all of the gods, goddesses and demigods perspective. No matter what events happened with the gods/goddesses; quarrels and caprices lead to Medusa in a way or another. The stories are interconnected in a one way or another. You just have to pay attention to realize it at the end.

      2 people found this helpful

    • 4/5
      Stone Blind was a fun trip through mythology. I enjoyed reading about a woman of mythology verses a male protagonist. This book was great at holding a story line while also being rich in character development. The gods and Goddess’s were both petty yet at times humorous. This was a fun read for anyone who wants to dive deeper into one mythological character more deeply.
    • 3/5
      For me, this story focuses too much on everyone around Medusa. I was expecting front to end to be a story of lovely Medusa and her sisters, however that is not the case. I throughly enjoyed the rewriting of Perseus, understanding why the additional stories and side quests were key to this book. I wouldn’t recommend this title for someone solely looking for a tale of Medusa, but I do believe one would still find it enjoyable.
    • 5/5
      Natalie is a Goddess of her craft. She gives classic Greek tragedies such a contemporary perspective. Her ability to give the women of mythology a soul is so crucial to fully understanding the heartbreak at the root of the tale.

      Her prose is witty and effortless. I literally laugh and cry while reading.

      At the end I always wish I could reread her novels for a first time.
    • 5/5
      So good, it’s the book you’ll be sad is over. I love books that inspire me to explore and this is one. I kept going back to the myths to revisit them, and love how she crafted the story to make the women sympathetic by giving us their point of view. Excellent writing and narration.
    • 5/5
      Perfection, the author narrating this audiobook is pure perfection .
    • 5/5
      Brilliantly written and brilliantly narrated by the author. An absolute treasure.
    • 5/5
      So good! Fantastic audio version! I can't wait to read more!
    • 1/5
      the reviews for this were so good, but i could not finish it. i made it about 25% of the way through hoping it'd get better, but I was bored to tears.
    • 4/5
      I love when the author is the narrator! This beautiful book was a bit slow at times, but the poetic lilt of the narration kept me enthralled.
    • 5/5
      gut wrenchingly beautiful, thank you for telling her story as no one has.
    • 5/5
      A new version of some famous tails from Greek mythology, told in a great voice with neat attention to details
    • 3/5
      Haynes toma la tradición en torno a Atenea, Medusa y Perseo para recontar el mito, a través del coro de los olivos. En esta versión se ponen en juego las motivaciones de Atenea, la misoginia que ya lleva a castigar a las víctimas de violación (o negar que la agresión de Hefesto cuando él intentó violarla y eyaculó sobre su vestido), la violencia que Perseo comete al asesinar a Medusa, etc.
    • 5/5
      This book was moving, hilarious, inspiring! Would recommend to anyone including those with or without an existing interest in mythology.
    • 5/5
      Amazing. The authors narration of the book took it to another level!!!!
    • 5/5
      Couldn’t put it down!! Never a dull moment in this book!
    • 5/5
      Enjoyed this very much. Great story with lots of drama.
    • 5/5
      Great perspective shift of a timeless story! Women are complex
    • 5/5
      This was a beautiful and heart wrenching retelling of the Medusa story. I am in awe after finishing this!
    • 5/5
      I loved it! Extremely well written and as usual the author's narration brought all of it to life. I look forward to many more of her books.
    • 4/5
      This was a great book that featured so many characters that otherwise be missed, my only thing is I wish I got more of medusa’s story. I still loved!!!
    • 5/5
      I really enjoyed this book, taking as it does some old myths and translating them into a novel. Having read many of the old myths before, I found this version so much more engrossing and more enjoyable to engage with.
      The plot revolves around Medusa (the wronged woman rather than the monstrous demon of many versions of this myth) and helpfully weaves around it the tales and back-stories of other significant characters - Perseus, Andromeda, Athena, et al.
      I loved it and didn’t want it to end.
    • 5/5
      Great story that looks at the myth from Medusa's perspective. Many perspectives. And lives in an Ancient Greece with all the moral complexities. And is not shy about it. Presenting that complexity, but never giving a moral pass for the harm caused.

      On the whole, a well made story. A wonderfully read tale. I recomend it.
    • 2/5
      This book should be call: Not About Medusa. If you're looking for a Medusa retelling, this is not it. We spent more time following men than Medusa. I loves the less than 20% of this book that was actually following Medusa. The other 80% I was bored and annoyed. I'm going to ban this author forever for me. I honestly don't care about Perseus, or any other men... But every other chapter was about something related to him that I honestly couldn't care less. This feels wrong. To have a book that was marketed as a Medusa retelling, but she ended up being barely a plot to the story... Almost a prompt to everyone's else story. Maybe that was the point, and therefore, was wrongly marketed. I hated it, and would not recommend.
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