CULTURE CLUB
Book Club CAMBRIDGE EDITION THERE IS NO BETTER WAY TO SNUGGLE IN AND COSY UP THIS AUTUMN THAN WITH THESE RIVETING READS
WORDS BY CHARLOTTE GRIFFITHS
BY NATALIE HAYNES STONE BLIND Another addition to the welcome wave of literature that reimagines myths and legends from Ancient Greece, the brilliant Natalie Haynes’ newest is the heart-breaking tale of Medusa, one of three ‘monstrous Gorgons’ – winged human females with snakes for hair. Medusa is best-known for two reasons: she had the power to turn people to stone, and was subsequently beheaded by Perseus, who then used her disembodied head as a weapon on his own conquests. Facts like this make you realise just how reductive Greek legend always was towards women – but how exciting the gaps must be to imaginative authors retelling these ancient tales from new perspectives. Such simple questions can explode entire universes: what was the relationship like between Medusa and her sisters, the other Gorgons, safely isolated from the world before Perseus came calling? What would it have felt like to have writhing, sentient snakes for hair? Just how much of a hero was Perseus, anyway? Assaulted, abused and vilified: should Medusa really be remembered as a monster – or does Perseus better deserve that epithet? Haynes’ prose flows like silk, evocative and sonorous, and feels appropriate for the scale of the stories she seeks to retell. Her ancient gods and humans speak with modern tongues: they exchange side glances when unimpressed; they get embarrassed by their shortcomings and angry when humiliated. The sections featuring Medusa and her two sisters, Euryale and Stheno, are agonisingly emotional: the gentle care these ‘monsters’ take with each other and the young baby abandoned on their shores is deeply affecting, especially the two elder Gorgons’ stumbling attempts to learn to look after a very breakable mortal child. The growing Medusa’s
ENGROSSING This month’s books will take readers on an unforgettable voyage of discovery
awkward questions about her true origins are hugely relatable for anyone who’s been left in charge of an infant. Haynes’ Medusa is reshaped by the author’s words: given life, interests and recognisable, relatable connections with those few precious figures in her life – but what happens when a good person becomes a monster? She also re- weaves Perseus as a coward, a man who “always takes short-cuts and gives up when they aren’t available”. Her gods are as flawed as humans: simple, lust-ruled and power-dazzled, who interfere with humans with erraticism. Haynes’ new interpretation will leave you reeling and wondering why you never questioned this narrative before now.
Haynes’ prose flows like silk, evocative and sonorous
36 OCTOBER 2022 CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK
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