Although I enjoyed this, I found myself struggling to stay focused. Perhaps I struggle to connect to Hynes' voice or style? I'm not sure! But thanks for the ALC!

I have been dying to get my hands on a good retelling of Medusa's story, and Natalie Haynes did not disappoint! I love that this took a story that is well-known and provided us with a new perspective from several different points of view.

The narrator was fantastic and really brought this story and the characters to life for me. I would definitely recommend this book and can't wait to read the authors other novels!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this early.

Natalie Hayne’s previous work “A Thousand Ships” retold the tale of the Trojan War from the female character’s point-of-view, recasting the well-known history with a unique and funny perspective. In “Stone Blind,” Medusa’s tale gets a similar treatment, and Haynes has confirmed her talent at bringing ancient Greek myths to life in a retelling that would make a Netflix runaway hit. The timeless challenges of life are all there: relationships, jealousy, sarcasm, personal strengths/weaknesses, and of course, the accompanying gossip. There is no need to be an ancient literature scholar; Haynes explains the relationships and family structures in a seamless way. Chapters are told from different characters points-of-view, allowing insight into their motivation, misguided as it may be. Athena punishes Medusa (Poseidon’s victim), as she cannot punish her uncle (Poseidon); victim shaming is not a modern concept, after all. “Stone Blind” is a delight, especially listening to comedian Hayne’s reading: I’m sure reading the print edition would be great, but the audiobook is the way to go with this one.

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.

Ms. Haynes did an absolutely wonderful job of telling the story of Medusa from a feminist perspective and I loved it! All of the characters are well fleshed out and perfectly flawed. The story keeps you enraptured from start to finish. She also does a wonderful job of narrating. I'm so glad I had a 6 hour drive to devote to listening to this because I probably wouldn't have wanted to take a break from it anyway.

Perfect for anyone who loved Circe.

I love Greek mythology, and I eat up retellings of classic myths. Haynes takes the story of Medusa and makes the gorgon the hero. And it works incredibly well. The gods are jerks, we all know this. Haynes doesn't shy away from showing their flaws, but also uses a deft enough brush when painting them to make them feel more callously indifferent than actively cruel. It's an incredibly fine line; I'm not sure how she pulls it off, but I know she does. Medusa herself is the hero here. Readers will empathize with her in her innocence, her hope, and her deeply justified rage.

TW: rape, sexual assault, violence, depression, and death

I had an interesting experience with this book, particularly due to the synopsis misleading me. Now I have never read a Natalie Haynes book before. I don't know if this is just a part of her writing style, but Stone Blind was not just Medusa's story. It was Medusa's, her Gorgon sisters, Perseus, Andromeda, Athene—even Hera had a few POV chapters. While I would typically love this incredibly intricate chain of POVs that come together due to the sequences of events of Medusa's story, the synopsis focused pretty solely on Medusa, so I made the assumption that she would be the lead. I counted up the chapters that are solely hers before the Perseus/Medusa scene, and there's only six chapters in her name. And most of those chapters involved her doing next to nothing. She felt like a side character at times, and I really didn't enjoy that aspect to this novel.

The most moving scene of this book, in my opinion, is the chapter where Poseidon corners Medusa in Athene's temple. The scene actually cuts before Medusa's rape, but the conversation between the two of them held me enraptured. I couldn't stop listening to the audiobook, and my breath was held inside my chest. It was tense and haunting, and I just wanted to save Medusa. But once this scene concludes, I don't think we get closure, or Medusa doesn't for sure. She never leaves her cave until Perseus comes, and we all know how that ends. Maybe Natalie wanted readers to feel angry and upset about Perseus's cowardly self attacking Medusa in her depression, but I felt like we missed out on a whole part of Medusa's life. Something just feels wrong.

Ultimately, I found most of the other POVs to be quite boring. Athene really annoyed me besides her final few chapters involving Medusa's head. Actually, the ending was incredibly poetic and perfect, but it can't counteract all of the previous chapters that didn't do it for me. All of this is to say that I'm pretty sad with my reading experience of this book. I wanted a Medusa retelling that emotionally destroyed me, and instead, this book just felt "eh" to me. It was neutral besides that one chapter. It makes me a bit more hesitant in picking up A Thousand Ships for sure.

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...
The narration was good.

Another mythology retell that nailed it. Very accurate, but brought new depth to the story. Easy to read, fun, and enlightening. Highly recommended for mythology lovers.

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.

Captivating

This audiobook
had me locked in every word every chapter. The author did such an amazing job you could close your eyes and see yourself on Olympus, or as Poseidon watching on the shore. Athene was the best voice

The chapter of the snakes of Medusa's head we're perfection!

JUSTICE FOR MEDUSA
Poor girl
Did nothing wrong

wow
Gods are terrible
This book did a great job of retelling the story of Medusa and included all the horrible monsters that turned her into a monster.

I loved how the story included all the important characters associated with this classic mythology tale. All the characters that we know as heroes but are the creators of all horrible things that happen. This is the ONLY version of this story that exists for me from here on out
The writing was patient and poignant, beautiful but devastating.

Thank you SO MUCH netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review, it was a pleasure!

I was kindly given a copy of the audiobook by NetGalley in exchange for a review and I am so happy to be given that opportunity because this is now one of my favorite retellings. Natalie Haynes pulls you into her immersive world and leaves you delighted, amused, and heartbroken all at once. I adore her writing and will be buying a copy to reread often. Well done. Five stars. Ugh. I loved it so.

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!

Well I’m a huge Haynes fan now! This was my first so I will be reading those beloved backlist picks. The cover of this one really drew me in what I thought would be a story about Medusa became much much much more… like incredible more. I easily could have listened to the audio in a day. The story was hypnotizing. The chapters are alternating POV of a ton of different gods, nymphs, demigods, mortals, and anything else I missed. What you will get from this is stories of pettiness of the gods, and of course Medusa’s sad story that I loved hearing retold! Haynes writes a POV like I have never read before. A retelling that I will always remember. I will be snagging a physical copy for sure!

The narrator was briefly difficult to understand with the accent but it got easier very quickly. The names were the most difficult part to distinguish due to the different pronunciation of some, but the title of the chapter being the name helped with that. Overall I enjoyed the narrator and the story! A great take on historical mythology without fantastical plots or spice. A very well written account from multiple points of view

I love Stone Blind the way I love Circe. Both books bring villified women forward and invite us to reconsider their stories and listen to their reasons. There is so much interesting moral ambiguity in Stone Blind and an unflinching engagement of the reader's preconceived notions. I loved the audio narration and also the perspective that the author chose.
Only one complaint-- I may never read Percy Jackson the same way again, but it's a small sacrifice, really.

Stone Blind was a complete joy to listen to. A Thousand Ships, Haynes' earlier work was familiar and comforting, as far as retellings of Greek myths go. With Stone Blind, however, I felt like she was able to spread her wings creatively and show us her vision of gorgons, heroes, gods and mortals.

What really made Stone Blind shine to me that Haynes touches not just on the life of Medusa, the story's primary protagonist, but also everyone her life touches on and affects. From a devoted priestess of Athene who is accidentally turned to stone decades after Medusa loses her head, to the Gorgons themselves who both gain and then lose a sister. Each character is given such personality and justice.

I also enjoyed that she didn't overcomplicate any character's motivations. Sometimes what makes a hero or villain horrifying is how little they consider the lives of others.

Her narration, in addition to everything else, was delightful and added definite depth and personality to the characters. It was lovely to listen to at 1.0x speed (I wasn't bored or felt that it went too slowly), and was certainly entertaining.

Stone Blind was one of my favorite reads this year, and that's why I forgive it for breaking my heart at certain points. As a bookseller, I can't wait to sell it next year, and to recommend the audiobook on Libro.

What a gorgeous novel full of loveable characters and a storyline that I couldn't put down. This one is a must read!