Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes

 

This is the story of Medusa, one of the Gorgon sisters.  But it is told not from the viewpoint of Perseus, who kills her, but from that of Medusa.  Medusa is half human.  When she is raped by Poseidon in Athena's temple, Athena is outraged.  Unsure if she wants to get in a battle with Poseidon, instead she punishes Medusa by replacing her hair with snakes and by changing her eyes so that any living thing that meets her eyes is turned to stone.

Perseus is not seen as a hero but as a bumbling fool who would have had no chance of success if he had not been helped by the gods.  He was given Hermes's sandals to help him run and Hades's hat to make him invisible.  He was given the quest of bringing a king a gorgon's head to save his mother from being married to the king against her will.  As he returns from his quest, he saves Andromeda, who is set as a sacrifice for her mother's hubris.  

Natalie Haynes is an English author who is considered one of the world's foremost experts on mythology.  She gives lectures on the subject and has written several novels on the subject.  The novel reads easily, in short chapters and approachable text.  It is not the dry mythology many expect when reading on the subject.  Readers will be interested in this feminist approach to mythology rather than the male-centric viewpoint that was traditional.  This book is recommended for readers of literary fiction and those interested in mythology.