A review by monitaroymohan
Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes

dark sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

Heard of this book on a podcast and it sounded interesting. It’s not that the book isn’t interesting, it’s that in its effort to re-contextualize the story of Medusa, all it does is make one extremely angry. I understand that most myths are about vengeful gods and they’re mired in misogyny, hence the female characters go through hell. But this book feels more like an endless parade of assaults and insults hurled at every female character and goddess featured. Maybe that’s what reading the Greek myths is like, I don’t remember. It’s been a while. I just wasn't sure what the intent was. Maybe I came at this from the wrong angle. But the book purposely posits the protagonist as sweet, innocent and kind, the antagonist as whiny and most others as disgustingly cruel. So it doesn’t give you the chance to decide on your own who you’re rooting for—which is fine—but then it starts berating the reader for “feeling sorry” for the antagonist, but we’re not. Because it’s specifically written for us not to feel anything positive about anyone. So, yeah, kind of an exhausting book actually. 
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