I had mixed feelings finishing up this book, and I honestly don't know how to feel about it.

Is it the fact that the book did not really highlight Medussa as a character but more so on how everything leads up to the tale of Medussa actually happening?

Was I perplexed by the fact that I had cried eventhough I was angry half the time of the book?

I had sat down and took some time with this review, and I had come to the conclusion that:
I do like the book but the plot could have been better.

Hence , giving this book a : Personal Ratings : 3.75🌟

Whilst the cover wrote " A Medussa Tale", its not exactly it. Written in 5 parts, Stone Blind tells the story of Medussa from the perspective of various characters that we had used to know before. We have a myriad of characters like Zeus, Athenna, Perseus and loads more, which adds context to the events that made Medussa as what she is. A heartfelt tale that made me super angry and sad as well.

Personal Thoughts

It took me awhile to process my thoughts on this book as I struggle to fathom what the intention of the author was, until I had the time to sit down and look through the book again, and in some ways, I understand why the author had told the story as it is.

The main point of the story is to emphasize the outer beauty and how humans judge a monster based on their appearance. This quote alone:

Summarises the whole novel, in which how Medussa had came to be in the condition that we know she is, due to the beliefs and perspectives in humans in appointing who is a monster and who is not. Its honestly saddening how Medussa, who; even in her creation, was a child born due to sexual assault, hidden by the ancient Gods of the seas from her jealous father's wife, and having learnt love through the two creatures that had been deemed as monsters from even the ancient times.

I love stories like this, where the author shows another side of the story. Even from when we're younger, we have been told that the heroes are the best people and that the monsters are seen as 'evil' just because they look different from humans. This book is somewhat humbling and shone light to the 'true evil' in which the one with the most Greed and Acquired the most Power is the one to blame. Its truly saddening how Medussa was painted as evil from when we're younger, when in fact, she was raped by a God and cursed by a God itself, in which she pours her anger and sadness to everyone else. It shows that there are always two sides of the story, and the winner is not always right.

In this book, Haynes had shown multiple views from even places and unalive objects, which gives more depth to the story, as its being told in a neutral tone. I find that these chapters are the most interesting and intriguing and adds the layer of depth to the story, as its addressing the readers. Writing wise, I do think Haynes is such a good storyteller, and focused on showing how women at the time was sexualized and used only to satisfy the lust of another. What made this a bit of a letdown was the super long chapters of the characters, that I don't really give a damn about ; in which makes some of the chapters super tiring to read.

The plus points of this book, is indeed, the chapters of Medussa and her sisters. Lord, I love them with my whole heart and I loathed everyone that disturbed their peace. I hated Poseidon to my very core and I hated Athenna as well. Haynes had shown that both men and women can be unkind to a woman who did the right thing. Haynes had unraveled who is the Real Monster in which they are those who had killed for their own curiosity. Its horrifying and saddening and its a true depiction of even our society nowadays, where we scorn whoever looks different from the rest of us.

I will definitely pick up the rest of Haynes book especially A Thousand Ships, as it is more of a favourite . Stone Blind for me was a bit of a missed potential, eventhough I understood what the author was trying to convey. I would honestly love that the author could focus on Medussa's backstory, but being the point to show that monsters are not always the bad people that we've been fed when we were younger, its definitely still good, but do manage your expectations coming in .
Nevertheless, I would still recommend it, especially to beginners to greek mythology.

Biggest thank you to Pansing Distributions (@definitelybooks) for this gorgeous copy of this book!