Reviews with content warning for Death - STONE BLIND - Der Blick der Medusa: Roman

"Who decides what is a monster?"

Aside from the final chapter, I wouldn't call this book a retelling so much as a reframing; the character of Medusa is given space to be a fully fleshed-out character as opposed to simply a monster. Haynes turns the idea of a "hero" on its head through the character of Perseus, who is portrayed as impulsive, bratty, and incompetent instead of brave and adventurous. The tone of the story is elegant and wise but not overly serious - as much as I enjoyed Madeline Miller's books, I found that they lacked levity. I appreciated that there was some humor in Stone Blind. It helps the book feel more modern, reinforcing the idea that its themes and topics are still relevant. I liked the multiple POVs and getting to see how the different aspects of the story tied together through different characters.

Overall a super enjoyable read. I'm often skeptical of Greek mythology retellings, but this one definitely exceeded my expectations and I'm very interested in reading more of Haynes's work.

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atamano's review against another edition

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adventurous funny medium-paced

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

2.75

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charlielizabethm's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging informative reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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twoesplease's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.75

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savvyrosereads's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny medium-paced

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

4.5

[Thank you, Partner @bibliolifestyle @harperperennial for the #gifted copy!]

Out in paperback on February 27!

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

The story of Medusa and an exploration of what it means to be a “monster” to the world.

I absolutely loved STONE BLIND! I’ve always been fascinated by the story of Medusa and was so excited when this one was the February pick for my book club, and even MORE excited when I had the opportunity to join a book tour to celebrate the paperback release.

My favorite thing about this book is the writing, which is unexpectedly hilarious, and made me want to keep reading at all times. The story itself is tragic and heartbreaking, but Haynes tells it in such a captivating way and infuses a layer of hope that transforms the myth into something truly beautiful.

If you enjoy retellings, I cannot possibly recommend this one enough!

CW: Sexual assault; violence; death

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magistran's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

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little_sheep_mc's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad medium-paced

Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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booksjessreads's review against another edition

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challenging dark slow-paced

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

2.5

I was somewhat disappointed with this book and I really had higher expectations from this novel. There were things that did work well, but for the most part, I don't think the format worked for what Haynes was trying to achieve.

I will start with what I enjoyed about the book first. The portrayal of Perseus as a self-righteous and stuck-up 16 year old was my favourite thing. I liked how Haynes had depreciated him in the story and really emphasised how much of a coward he was, despite being praised as a hero. However, there were several chapters where Haynes breaks the 'fourth wall' and writes in second person to the reader, instilling her fury in you that Perseus has always been painted in this way. Listening to the audio of this, this was quite jarring, although I appreciated her intentions of the chapters anyway.

When we got a perspective of Medusa, I also appreciated her point of view.

I even quite liked the separate perspective of her head after it had been decapitated.

However, I really thought that for a book about Medusa, which even on the cover says 'Medusa's story', I didn't really feel like we got much from Medusa herself. We had perspectives from so many Gods, who largely seemed one-dimensional, and it detracted away from the story. Whilst I liked having multiple perspectives to tell the story, there were far too many God's, statues and creatures involved in telling the story. It would have been more effective had there been less. Further to this, there were so many points of view and their background or purpose to the story was never really explored. I appreciate Haynes is a classicist, but she could have been more explicit with her character's purpose and background.

Perhaps this is just me, as I don't read lots of mythology books, but I felt a lot of the conversations in this book were really basic or childish. And it only ever worked well when we got conversation from Perseus, as it helped build Haynes' portrayal of him. One example that really stuck with me was

Medusa's conversation with Poseidon before he rapes her. I know Medusa is 16 as well, but the conversation felt drawn out and unnecessary in parts, especially painting Medusa, who I know was largely sheltered from the world, as completely oblivious and naive. It just didn't work for me.

I can appreciate why people have enjoyed this book, but I just felt as though this book did not deliver to the standards that it was marketed by. I do enjoy Medusa's story generally so I stuck with it, but there was certain elements that just did not work for me.

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