Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes

24 reviews

sophs_mood_reading's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Ok well this was a lot. Greek mythology is never simple and never a straightforward story, I know this from Stephen Fry’s versions. This book held true to this trend. 
Stone Blind is a retelling of the Medusa myth but more from her point of view. Of course, because there are many players in this tale we get a whole lot of storyline’s and points of view. 

I loved how Medusa is not painted as an evil villain in this book and you really do feel sorry for her. Perseus is also portrayed as a bit of a dick (sorry but it’s true) which was also a nice break from the Hero mentality. 

I loved the multiple points of view but at some stages it got a bit confusing and well a lot (there was a chapter of the snakes opinions which seemed to drag a bit). Also one chapter we were literally being yelled at, and though I understand why it was there (to change the well known narrative) it was a bit condescending. 

It was a good way to learn about Greek mythology but I did finish wishing it had been more of a descriptive narrative and less dialog. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Rape, Kidnapping, Violence, Sexual assault, Murder, and Death

rdmoreland0801's review against another edition

adventurous challenging fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Not the book for me.  The first half just dragged on.  The second half definitely picked up, but it still didn’t leave me feeling satisfied at the end.

This book represents the gods in their usual selfish, greedy, slimey manner.  Zeus and Poseidon are just casually raping women and leaving them to deal with the consequences.  Random children popping up everywhere.

Athena was spoiled and a little unhinged, but she was mildly entertaining.  Perseus was an idiot the entire time, even more selfish and uncaring than the gods most times.  As per usual, I can’t fucking stand Zeus.

I usually enjoy a Greek Mythology retelling, but this completely missed the mark.  I thought we could get more Medusa, but instead she was just screwed over by the gods time and time again.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Rape, Abandonment, Misogyny, and Sexual assault

citybookspgh's review against another edition

adventurous emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Feminist retelling of classic Medusa myth. So good. Audiobook is read by the author. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Abandonment, Body horror, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Dysphoria, Incest, Rape, and Violence

Heartbreaking

notthatcosta's review

adventurous dark emotional funny informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I've never been a Classics girlie but I found this book utterly compelling and charming. Although it took about 60 pages to really grab me, it didn't let go after that.

I didn't know I was longing for a woman-centric take of mythology and one that challenges the notion of monstrosity and evil women, but I was so utterly captivated by Natalie Haynes' fresh and witty take on well-trodden ground.

Of course, many parts are deeply sad, but it's filled with humour, pathos and intention, so I can't really resent it. Also, most of the plot is pretty established...being based on Greek myths and all that. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Misogyny, Infidelity, Rape, Abandonment, Cursing, Sexual harassment, Grief, Incest, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Murder, and Pregnancy

aformeracceleratedreader's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? No

1.5

I love a good feminist retelling and I've read another Medusa reimagining before. This one was not good compared to the other I had read previously. I liked some aspects like how most of the povs were female characters, but it was so slow and that many povs didn't add anything to the story. It didn't feel like the focus was supposed to be on Medusa. The ending was okay, liked how Athene "went home", but otherwise the ending was quite a letdown. I was hoping for so much in this and didn't get much of anything. Honestly with how slow it was, I should've dnf'd but I pushed through.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Grief, Infidelity, War, Confinement, Death, and Murder

readingwithcoffee's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment and Death

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Murder, Sexism, Rape, Sexual harassment, and War

eilatan6991's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Violence, Murder, Misogyny, Infidelity, Death, Rape, Abandonment, Grief, Sexual assault, and Sexism

kshertz's review

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

I think you have to know about and love Greek myths for this book to be a book that you would really enjoy. A lot of the time I didn’t know what was going on and I think that’s because I don’t know a lot of Greek myths and the history. It was interesting to get these different perspectives but it’s almost too many perspectives and I got lost sometimes. But I really did enjoy when it all came together in the end and you got to see what really happened from the perspective of all these different people. The ending was the best part for sure

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Rape, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Misogyny, Sexual assault, and Violence

sophieamreacher's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book gave me ultimate feminine rage and made me heartbroken at the same time. Audiobook was amazing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Abandonment, Death, and Misogyny

Moderate: Rape, Sexual harassment, and Sexual assault

alexisgarcia's review

adventurous dark informative sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

i wish this focused more on medusa's story. i feel like the whole thing was about perseus :(

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Abandonment, Body horror, Cursing, Incest, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, War, Toxic relationship, Violence, Infidelity, Death, Gore, Murder, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Domestic abuse, Grief, Sexism, Blood, and Sexual assault