Stone Blind

December 19, 2022
Haynes (A Thousand Ships) reframes the story of Medusa from Greek mythology as one of victim-shaming in this sharp retelling. Haynes recasts Medusa, the only mortal from a family of gods, not as a monster but as survivor of rape by Poseidon, whose wife, Athena, then punishes her for it. As Medusa deals with her new life with a head of snakes and a gaze that turns people to stone, Haynes interjects by addressing the reader with a question: “I’m wondering if you still think of her as a monster.... I suppose it depends on what you think that word means.” Haynes’s inventive reappraisal extends to her narrative devices, including rueful passages from the perspective of Medusa’s severed head (“I have a much lower opinion of mortal men than did, for reasons which I would assume were obvious”), and she invites the reader into Medusa’s point of view with rich sensory details: “She could hear the cormorants arguing with the gulls and she knew exactly which rocks they had perched on before picking their quarrel.” Even before the plot builds toward Perseus’s pursuit of Medusa, Hayes conveys an urgency to Medusa’s life as a mortal woman among vengeful gods. Fans of feminist retellings will love this.

March 1, 2023

Haynes (A Thousand Ships) offers a feminist retelling of Medusa's story, suggesting that she may not have been the horror that she has always been made out to be. Haynes creates a beautifully loving life for Medusa--pre-Perseus--growing up as the only mortal among a family of Gorgons. But then Medusa is raped by Poseidon and further traumatized by Athene, who jealously turns her into the snake-haired creature of legend. Haynes poignantly explores what makes someone human or monstrous. Her Greek gods are distilled to their base characteristics--petty, dramatic, sometimes hilarious, but also devastating in their arrogance and privilege. Worst are those who have the benefit of being both divine and male, as their sense of entitlement has no bounds. Haynes narrates her own novel, bringing a transparency and passion that elevates the audio into something truly special. Her depiction of sweet Medusa's death is devastating; listeners' hearts will break as they consider the wrongs that she endured. VERDICT In this gripping narrative, Haynes stays true to the original myths, using them as a lens to explore modern tragedies and to put forth an urgent message about the true cost of misogyny. Highly recommended.--Matthew Galloway

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