Stone Blind: A Novel

Written by Natalie Haynes

Narrated by Natalie Haynes

Longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2023

""Haynes is master of her trade . . . She succeeds in breathing warm life into some of our oldest stories.”—Telegraph (UK)

The national bestselling author of A Thousand Ships and Pandora's Jar returns with a fresh and stunningly perceptive take on the story of Medusa, the original monstered woman.

They will fear you and flee you and call you a monster. 

The only mortal in a family of gods, Medusa is the youngest of the Gorgon sisters. Unlike her siblings, Medusa grows older, experiences change, feels weakness. Her mortal lifespan gives her an urgency that her family will never know.

When the sea god Poseidon assaults Medusa in Athene’s temple, the goddess is enraged. Furious by the violation of her sacred space, Athene takes revenge—on the young woman. Punished for Poseidon’s actions, Medusa is forever transformed. Writhing snakes replace her hair and her gaze will turn any living creature to stone. Cursed with the power to destroy all she loves with one look, Medusa condemns herself to a life of solitude.

Until Perseus embarks upon a fateful quest to fetch the head of a Gorgon . . .

In Stone Blind, classicist and comedian Natalie Haynes turns our understanding of this legendary myth on its head, bringing empathy and nuance to one of the earliest stories in which a woman—injured by a powerful man—is blamed, punished, and monstered for the assault. Delving into the origins of this mythic tale, Haynes revitalizes and reconstructs Medusa’s story with her passion and fierce wit, offering a timely retelling of this classic myth that speaks to us today.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperAudio
• Release date: Feb 7, 2023
• ISBN: 9780063258426

Natalie Haynes

Natalie Haynes is the author of six books, including the nonfiction work Pandora’s Jar, which was a New York Times bestseller, and the novels A Thousand Ships, which was a national bestseller and short-listed for the 2020 Women’s Prize for Fiction, and Stone Blind. She has written and recorded nine series of Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics for the BBC. Haynes has written for the Times, the Independent, the Guardian, and the Observer. She lives in London.

Reviews for Stone Blind

[Carmen Nunez · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Marvelous! Although I would have liked more of the story from Medusas’s point of view. Many people complain that this book is not all about Medusa, but I disagree. It is about her, told from all of the gods, goddesses and demigods perspective. No matter what events happened with the gods/goddesses; quarrels and caprices lead to Medusa in a way or another. The stories are interconnected in a one way or another. You just have to pay attention to realize it at the end.

[tatumnsmith0 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

gut wrenchingly beautiful, thank you for telling her story as no one has.

[Guy Naim · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A new version of some famous tails from Greek mythology, told in a great voice with neat attention to details

[NoelReneCisnerosPeña · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Haynes toma la tradición en torno a Atenea, Medusa y Perseo para recontar el mito, a través del coro de los olivos. En esta versión se ponen en juego las motivaciones de Atenea, la misoginia que ya lleva a castigar a las víctimas de violación (o negar que la agresión de Hefesto cuando él intentó violarla y eyaculó sobre su vestido), la violencia que Perseo comete al asesinar a Medusa, etc.

[Katie Jones · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book was moving, hilarious, inspiring! Would recommend to anyone including those with or without an existing interest in mythology.

[MsPoshdiva · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Amazing. The authors narration of the book took it to another level!!!!

[Liliana Caballero · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Couldn’t put it down!! Never a dull moment in this book!

[Dawn Shull · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great perspective shift of a timeless story! Women are complex

[Carolyn Koss · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Enjoyed this very much. Great story with lots of drama.

[Shannon Munn · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was a beautiful and heart wrenching retelling of the Medusa story. I am in awe after finishing this!

[Cindy Gordon · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved it! Extremely well written and as usual the author's narration brought all of it to life. I look forward to many more of her books.

[Alexis Baker · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a great book that featured so many characters that otherwise be missed, my only thing is I wish I got more of medusa’s story. I still loved!!!

[sharon herriot · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed this book, taking as it does some old myths and translating them into a novel. Having read many of the old myths before, I found this version so much more engrossing and more enjoyable to engage with.
The plot revolves around Medusa (the wronged woman rather than the monstrous demon of many versions of this myth) and helpfully weaves around it the tales and back-stories of other significant characters - Perseus, Andromeda, Athena, et al.
I loved it and didn’t want it to end.

[Scott · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great story that looks at the myth from Medusa's perspective. Many perspectives. And lives in an Ancient Greece with all the moral complexities. And is not shy about it. Presenting that complexity, but never giving a moral pass for the harm caused.

On the whole, a well made story. A wonderfully read tale. I recomend it.

[Caterin Juliana Pereira · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This book should be call: Not About Medusa. If you're looking for a Medusa retelling, this is not it. We spent more time following men than Medusa. I loves the less than 20% of this book that was actually following Medusa. The other 80% I was bored and annoyed. I'm going to ban this author forever for me. I honestly don't care about Perseus, or any other men... But every other chapter was about something related to him that I honestly couldn't care less. This feels wrong. To have a book that was marketed as a Medusa retelling, but she ended up being barely a plot to the story... Almost a prompt to everyone's else story. Maybe that was the point, and therefore, was wrongly marketed. I hated it, and would not recommend.