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A review by kitnotmarlowe
Becoming the Villainess by Jeannine Hall Gailey
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
this has been on my tbr since 2017 so it's time i finally got around to it. 'okay, ophelia' was one of the first poems i found on tumblr when i was 15ish that made me think 'hmm maybe i can like poetry' so i had pretty high expectations for this collection!
gailey's greatest strength lays in her ability to approach the same story from different angles. the subjects of her poems repeat, not out of a lack of material or talent, but in a pattern. each time she revisits a subject (i.e. philomel, persephone, wonder woman) she finds something new to comment on or a new angle of looking at image she's already introduced. i would much rather read 4 fully-formed poems about the same subject than 4 half-assed poems striving for originality. gailey's second biggest strength is that 9/10 times she sticks the landing, her last 2-3 lines are consistently great across the collection.
would recommend for people who don't think they like poetry! misses out on full marks because while i don't think there's a dud in the whole collection, it never made me feel as though the top of my head were taken off, to quote emily dickinson.
gailey's greatest strength lays in her ability to approach the same story from different angles. the subjects of her poems repeat, not out of a lack of material or talent, but in a pattern. each time she revisits a subject (i.e. philomel, persephone, wonder woman) she finds something new to comment on or a new angle of looking at image she's already introduced. i would much rather read 4 fully-formed poems about the same subject than 4 half-assed poems striving for originality. gailey's second biggest strength is that 9/10 times she sticks the landing, her last 2-3 lines are consistently great across the collection.
would recommend for people who don't think they like poetry! misses out on full marks because while i don't think there's a dud in the whole collection, it never made me feel as though the top of my head were taken off, to quote emily dickinson.