I told you I’d be Back Soon

I’m back! Already! See, I told you I’d do it. But the praise should really go to the books I’ve read the last few weeks because they were all so good, I couldn’t wait to talk about them:

Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes (Harper)

Harper Caveat: PAY YOUR PEOPLE

My first foray into Natalie Haynes’s work was Pandora’s Jar. I was doing research for a novella about Marilyn Monroe and I had this whole gorgon subplot going on (it made sense at the time, I promise); while I ended up going an entirely different way with the story, Haynes’s work on womens’ rightful place myth definitely stuck with me (I’m working on a sapphic/queer Iliad retelling in which Achilles and Patroclus are very minor side characters) and have a Judith retelling sitting on my idea board waiting for me to have time). 

As you can imagine, I was very excited when I heard about Stone Blind. I was even the first person to borrow the copy I got from my library, so there. 

This book is so damn good. 

Haynes is a master of capturing mythic form. She does so while also updating the style and language in ways that flesh out characters about which the archaic texts tell us very little in ways that make sense. Her voice, while paying homage to that of the original myths, is modern in a way that makes her retellings both accessible and darkly, darkly fucking hilarious, which is my favorite kind of hilarity. 

The funniest character in Stone Blind, for example, is the Gorgoneion, Medusa’s head, who delivers such gems as, “What I would like to say to him (him being Perseus who won’t stop complaining) is that if it is so inconvenient carrying someone’s head around in a bag, perhaps you should think about that before you decapitate them.” Being sarcastic, however, doesn’t detract from her power or poignancy; in most versions of the tale, Medusa is silent after she’s murdered, a weapon to be wielded by men for their own purposes, until they have what they want and are finished with her; not so in Stone Blind. Here we have a Medusa determined to have her say even if it’s only a ruthlessly, scathingly, condescending (deservedly so) inner monologue. 

Which brings me to another aspect of Stone Blind I adored: its ruthless women. Medusa, Stheno when she must be, Euryale just for fun, Athena when she’s in the mood, Artemis on days that end in “Y”… And not a single one of them, at any point, ashamed. And why should they be? The patriarchy gets what it wants by taking its pants off, to some extent and with the “be careful what you wish for” caveat; Zeus, Poseidon, and Perseus definitely enjoy the spoils despite doing nothing besides making everyone’s lives a million times worse. Especially Perseus. OMG, people, Haynes’s Perseus is such an utter dipshit, I was legitimately laughing out loud and I don’t do that often while reading. I’m sitting here giggling just thinking about it. 

Why shouldn’t the women have the same opportunity? 

As Haynes showed us in Pandora’s Jar, mythical women often did, and took advantage of their opportunities until politics and patriarchy stole it from them. And I wholeheartedly agree with Haynes: it’s time to give that power back as snarkily, ruthlessly, and unapologetically as possible. 

Medusa’s Sisters by Lauren J.A. Bear (Berkeley, 8/8/23)

How much do I love that Medusa is big right now? 

A lot. 

How much do I love it that we’re getting a book not just about her but also about her sisters Stheno and Euryale?

Even more. Especially because it’s this book. 

There’s a potential danger in reading two books featuring the same characters back to back; you can’t help but compare them. In this particular case, however, it actually gave me a bigger picture of both books in a context I might not have noticed if I’d read a bunch of other stuff between them. 

Stone Blind is one woman’s story. A case study, if you will, in the way that world deals with a powerful woman, a woman who could potentially upset the patriarchy’s supremacy, a woman who needs to be stopped before she can start, before she can weight the scales even the tiniest bit in her own favor. 

Medusa’s Sisters is a book about women. About the ways we come together, the ways we fall apart. The ways the patriarchy seeks to separate us so that we, as women, are so busy fighting and judging one another, we don’t have time to wonder who established the rules we live by in the first place. It’s a story about growing up and finally seeing the truth of the matter and how it’s never too late for us to make it right, even if the person we loved and wronged, is gone. 

It’s also a book about all kinds of women. About hard women and soft women, cruel women and kind women, women who spend their lives in search of revenge and those who change. The thing I loved about all of them (well, not Athena, Athena is a bitch but as with Stone Blind, I love that Bear doesn’t truck with godly and heroic shenanigans which is, most often, where the problems start) is that they never regret who they are. Even Euryale, who changes the most across the years of Medusa’s Sisters, while she acknowledges events during which she could have made different choices, doesn’t dissolve into self-hatred or self-doubt. She says, “That is who I was then. This is who I am now.” She forgives herself even before Stheno forgives her, and that is something all women could use more of: the ability to forgive themselves. Acceptance of  who they have been and who they are and the changes that bridged the gap without the self-loathing and judgment other people, often other women, force upon us. 

Medusa’s Sisters has an overall more tragic (vs comedic since we’re in the Greek world here) tone than Stone Blind, but don’t expect a dour novel; there are plenty of slice of life moments and some fabulous humor woven in (my favorite is Bear’s explanation of how Medusa’s head ended up on Athena’s aegis which is the best revenge moment I have ever beheld and, as far as I am concerned, now canon). It also weaves bits and pieces of other, previously unrelated myths into the fabric of the gorgons' story creating a beautiful tapestry of the lives of women in Greek myth. 

It’s gay but I’m not going to give anything else about that away. 

In short, read both. You will love both Stone Blind and Medusa’s Sisters both for what they share and for the myriad ways in which they are each their own. 

PS: Lauren, I know you said in the acknowledgments that you don’t have sisters but, as the oldest of three, standing ovation, IMMACULATE depiction of sisterhood.

Harley Quinn Romances Issue 1 by Various (DC)

I don’t buy many Big 3 Comics anymore but I saw the cover for Harley Quinn Romances Issue 1 and thought, well, this is going to be an absolute banger so when el husbando had to run an errand over near the comic shop last week and asked me if I needed anything, it seemed like kismet. 

I would like to tell you that I was correct: Issue 1 is an absolute banger. 

Between its covers… hahahaha, that fucking cover… are eight short romance stories, several of which do feature the titular Harley Quinn in all of her bisexual glory and the rest of which feature other relationships set in the DC Universe; some well-known, some less so, and some created just for the book. I would rate six of the stories between 9/10 and 10/10, the 7th there simply to remind us that Apollo and Midnighter fuck which I am 100% here for in any form, and the 8th, which is a Batman story, is cute but not anything special. 

My favorites? I’m glad you asked (I know you’re wondering). The Harley writes fanfiction about her and Ivy for Valentine’s Day is #1. #2 is the anchor story during which all of the DC girls go out for brunch, come to the realization that they’ve all dated Aquaman, and ruminate on the fact that, at least according to Arthur, Mera seems to spend a lot of time in “the other universe.” Of course the couple then shows up and the girls invite the Queen to join them leaving the King of Atlantis sweating. To round it out, I’m going with the Apollo and Midnighter story because it’s adorable and sexy and I love those two so damn much. 

I thought I had heard this was going to be a miniseries but from what I can find online right now, it appears the plan was for a one shot (which makes the “Issue #1” sort of misleading?) I’ll keep my eyes peeled for more info because I, for one, would really like another. 

The Way of the Househusband Vol. 9 by Kouske Orono (Viz)

Well, it’s finally happened. Tatsu has disappointed me. 

I guess Househusband couldn’t maintain its standard forever and it’s not as though Vol. 9 is bad. Far from it and if it were any other book, I’d probably be thinking, “Yeah, this was pretty good.” But Househusband has been so consistently, absurdly hilarious for so long that what would be pretty good in another manga feels… bleh in this one. But the hypercompetent ex-Yakuza using terrifying language as metaphor while doing cooking or crafting or saving his fellow mafiosos from the weather is getting kind of old. I think our man needs a new challenge. 

A pet maybe? Because of all the issues compiled into this volume, the only one that really hit the sweet spot was the beetle fight. I’m thinking a bunny? A chinchilla? Definitely something soft and fluffy that can sit on Tatsu’s shoulder and glare at his enemies when he’s not looking, scare the absolute shit out of them, and then give him the giant anime eyes when he tries to figure out why everyone is running away. 

Or, I mean, far be it from me to suggest anyone should have a baby before they’re ready, but… is he not the perfect stay at home dad?

Bungo Stray Dogs: Dead Apple Vol. 2, BSD Partners and Gunzi (Yen)

Okay, listen: I know a bunch of you have watched the anime and know how this all shakes out already but I haven’t; sometimes I like the anime better and sometimes I like the manga better and I find, with BSD, I tend to gravitate toward the manga. So no spoilers, please. 

So, one of the big questions in this second installment is: what the Hell is Dazai doing? Of course, that’s often the question and that’s one of the reasons 1) we love him 2) he drives Kunikida bonkers and 3) he reminds me of Thrawn. Who is one of my favorite morally ambiguous, do what he needs to do, let me mind-fuck you characters of all time. Well, except that I have booty shorts that say, “If lost, return to Grand Admiral Thrawn,” and I do not and will never have booty shorts that say “If lost, return to Osamu Dazai.” No, I’m not kidding. As a writer and an avid reader, I’m relatively hard to surprise; one of the reasons I enjoy Dazai (and Thrawn) is that they do surprise me, though with Dazai, at least in the present, you know he’s ultimately on the side of the really, very annoying angels.

I’m also intrigued by the twist regarding Akutagawa, Kyuka, and Atsushi regaining their abilities after doing battle with them and what that means for the skill-users who are victims of the fog. There’s also something important about Akutagawa’s unfinished business with Dazai that’s playing a role in his insistence on defeating the villain and I’m curious to see which angle the younger man is coming at it from this time. 

Don’t wanna wait till May. 

I guess I could watch the anime…

No! I shall resist. 

Be back soon