Stone Blind: Friend or Fiend? Review

As with most books, I went in blind. I had some notion it was about Medusa as I saw a colleague of mine get the book during secret Santa. We were tasked to buy a book we enjoyed, to wrap up, and place in a box. When we were free, we all selected a book and opened them together. My colleague seemed really happy and excited to receive the book that it secretly went into my list of books to buy.

Synopsis

As the only mortal amongst Gods, Medusa is brought up by the Gorgon sisters from a baby. Hayne’s beautifully characterises the Gorgon sisters as compassionate and loving as they try to figure out what a human baby needs to survive. Unfortunately, as she ages, Poseidon assaults her in Athena’s temple and as punishment Medusa is cursed. This is when she becomes the Medusa we often hear about, snakes for hair and a gaze that turns anyone to stone. In fear on hurting anyone she loves, she isolates herself in darkness. However, Perseus had a quest that would end Medusa’s solitude…

Stone Blind Review

“Men will tell you that Gorgons are monsters, but men are fools. They cannot comprehend any beauty beyond what they can see. And what they see is a tiny part of what there is.”

Natalie Haynes – Stone Blind

I found this a beautiful and sweet read on the Gorgon chapters. Often, reading about mythology and Gods always involves a lot of chaos and disturbing scenes. It was no surprise that similar activities happened in Stone Blind, but what I enjoyed in this re-telling by Hayne is how the Gorgon’s govern themselves away from the Gods. They are usually depicted as awful creatures, but here they are honest and loyal to one another. They are characterised to care and look after a mortal baby, showing that they delicate and full of love.

‘And who are you to decide who is a monster?’

Natalie Haynes – Stone Blind

Perseus is characterised through a masculine lens, whereby he takes on a seemingly impossible challenge to prevent his mother marrying an unpleasant king. Zeus, and his children, help Perseus in his quest to retrieve a Gorgon head. Though, Hayne’s narrative elicits humour and mockery towards Perseus through Athene’s and Herme’s jibes as he pursues the impossible. From this, Hayne’s characterisation of Perseus as rude, arrogant, entitled and easily influenced, adds to his masculine immaturity as he quickly uses ultra violence towards anyone who stands in his way.

As readers, we indulge in various perspectives of the Gorgoneions, Athene, Andromeda (Perseus saved her), Medusa, and aspects of different points of views throughout. Not only this, but there are scenes of drama between the Gods.

The Title: Stone Cold

This leaves the reader thinking about the title of the book. On the surface, it seems to be targeted towards Medusa, who turns those she looks at to stone and thus chooses blindness to prevent this. But also, I believe Perseus is stone blind. He is cold as he slaughtered and manipulated others which blinds him of his original ambition to save his mother. Athena, is also stone-like in her decision to punish a girl who was assaulted and turned a blind eye to the man who did it. It is a great title which leads to many questions.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the Gorgon’s and Medusa’s upbringing. This part of the story pulled on heart strings as Hayne creates lovable characters who protect each other. Because of this, Perseus is less heroic than pervious perceived as he coldly seeks to kill what he believed to be monsters that no one would care about. It was a brilliant read, well written, captivating, and great fun.