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.
