Reviews

STONE BLIND - Der Blick der Medusa: Roman by Natalie Haynes

dkel10's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

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

4.0

I actually really enjoyed this retelliof a classic, but more from the perspective of the "monsters" than the usual "heroes". Blunt in its critiques of ancient mythology and how people tend to overlook the monstrosity of the fabled heroes of Greek mythology. Fun and worth the read.

kchisholm02's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.0

yaskb's review against another edition

dark 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

4.5

kba76's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective slow-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

3.75

Stone Blind, our book club choice this month, is a book that takes a while to get underway and, if I’m being honest, suffers from telling a story that is already familiar.
We are offered the story of Medusa through her eyes. Starting from her conception and the way she is looked after by her Gorgon sisters to her death at the hands of Perseus, there is nothing new in the actual story (of course). What is new is the attempt to give voice and to create empathy for the character so often presented as a monster.
The opening of the book was slow and hard to get into. I wasn’t really interested in the petty squabbles of the gods and found myself desperate for the story as I know it to get underway and become our focus.
What I did like was the attempt to help us see beyond the familiar, though - like a number of other reviews point out - this is done without really spending much time on the eponymous character. Once we were in the final part where we really are in Medusa’s head it got hard to put down.

nuclearself's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

2.0

jenilew's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

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

2.5

ashhunt's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative mysterious reflective sad fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

steamybob's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious reflective medium-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

4.75

poseidons_siren's review against another edition

emotional reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I have always and will always be so picky and critical of the myth of Medusa. She is my favorite in all mythology and her story is always confused and misconstrued. Not with Natalie Haynes. Haynes is a goddamn mastermind, beautifully integrating both Greek and Roman style myths into something so incredible and breathtaking that I'm without words and was choked up on many occasions while reading. Medusa was born a gorgon, yet not. Born beautiful, but still a monster. Taken advantage of, made a monster, loved, feared, used, betrayed. This was the most beautiful and stunning books I've ever read, and I do not mean that lightly. I loved this book so much and I love Haynes immensely more for creating such a work of art. 

jenhurst's review against another edition

3.0

I think this was good but I just felt like there was something missing, that’s holding me back from giving it a higher rating.