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nikkuaki's review against another edition
2.0
eh some stories were better than others. am a Sylvia Plath and Lana fan so I expected more but I appreciate the book.
kamrynkoble's review against another edition
3.0
I bought this interesting anthology of short stories purely because of Lana Del Rey and Sylvia Plath on the front cover. They feature a wide range of topics, all controversial, tragic, and jarring.
The collection is a bit eclectic, and honestly, none of the pieces stand out to me as profoundly moving. They work efficiently together, but would not stand separately.
Most of them picked a controversial topic or focus, but the topic was more important than any other aspect of storytelling.
I don’t regret buying this volume, but I won’t remember any of the pieces in a year. That feeling is certainly different from when I listen to a Lana Del Rey song or read Sylvia Plath.
The collection is a bit eclectic, and honestly, none of the pieces stand out to me as profoundly moving. They work efficiently together, but would not stand separately.
Most of them picked a controversial topic or focus, but the topic was more important than any other aspect of storytelling.
I don’t regret buying this volume, but I won’t remember any of the pieces in a year. That feeling is certainly different from when I listen to a Lana Del Rey song or read Sylvia Plath.
livia_666's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
eimicapote's review
5.0
loved! it is everything you expect it to be, very plath and lana and i love the spooky elements some of the stories have. The language is assessable which is very hard to do with this kind of extravagant writing.
exorcismofemilyreed's review against another edition
3.0
"All I want is my loneliness and my dreaming and my want to be realized." -Lisa Marie Basile
3.5⭐
I was so excited when I heard about Tragedy Queens! I adore Sylvia Plath and Lana Del Rey, and I love that so many authors were inspired by them. The idea for this anthology is amazing.
Unfortunately, my experience with reading it was kind of uneven. There are some amazing stories in here, but there are many that I couldn't connect with. I think I may have expected something different, and that led to me being a bit disappointed. Some of the stories seemed to just tuck a Sylvia or Lana quote into the story, and that counted as the inspiration.
I expected the stories to have deeper connections with the people who inspired them, and I just didn't feel it for most of these. My ratings run between 2⭐ and 5⭐ for each story, so it was all over the map. I appreciate that the stories were written by authors of all different genres, but I was hoping for the anthology to be darker and deeper as a whole.
My top 5 stories were Girls in the Garden of Holy Suffering by Lisa Marie Basile, Gods in the Blood by Gabino Iglesias, Sphinx Tears by Cara Digirolamo, Rituals of Gorgons by Larissa Glasser, and Because of Their Different Deaths by Stephanie Wytovich. In my opinion, these ones (and a few others) were what I was hoping for from this collection. These stories were captivating, bold, and haunting, much like the women who inspired them.
3.5⭐
I was so excited when I heard about Tragedy Queens! I adore Sylvia Plath and Lana Del Rey, and I love that so many authors were inspired by them. The idea for this anthology is amazing.
Unfortunately, my experience with reading it was kind of uneven. There are some amazing stories in here, but there are many that I couldn't connect with. I think I may have expected something different, and that led to me being a bit disappointed. Some of the stories seemed to just tuck a Sylvia or Lana quote into the story, and that counted as the inspiration.
I expected the stories to have deeper connections with the people who inspired them, and I just didn't feel it for most of these. My ratings run between 2⭐ and 5⭐ for each story, so it was all over the map. I appreciate that the stories were written by authors of all different genres, but I was hoping for the anthology to be darker and deeper as a whole.
My top 5 stories were Girls in the Garden of Holy Suffering by Lisa Marie Basile, Gods in the Blood by Gabino Iglesias, Sphinx Tears by Cara Digirolamo, Rituals of Gorgons by Larissa Glasser, and Because of Their Different Deaths by Stephanie Wytovich. In my opinion, these ones (and a few others) were what I was hoping for from this collection. These stories were captivating, bold, and haunting, much like the women who inspired them.
friendsheyho's review against another edition
2.0
While there were a couple knockout stories in here- Crazy Mary and Sphinx Tears especially- this anthology usually fell into the tropes of Lana Del Rey and Sylvia Plath rather than truly exploring their worlds. Some of the stories, like Corinne and Dayglo Reflection, reeked of misogyny somewhere deep inside, while many of them, like Because of Their Different Deaths and Dayglo Reflection (again), were just poorly written. The biggest problem was the editor, who missed typos throughout and fundamentally didn't understand how"its" and "it's" worked, because "it's" was always used even in egregiously incorrect places. That's like, the number one criteria for being an editor.
It was a sloppy job from beginning to end.
It was a sloppy job from beginning to end.
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