Book Review: “Into the Forest and All the Way Through” by Cynthia Pelayo
Into the Forest and all the Way Through
Cynthia Pelayo
We know some of the stories. Some names, situations, or even a phrase here and there in this collection will be familiar to the reader, but for every name we recognise, or place, there are a lot more we don’t. Into the Forest and all the Way Through is a true crime poetry collection, with the majority of poems including the victim’s name, date of birth and other information, including the investigating agency. This is a powerful collection, one I had to put down multiple times and take a break from before it got too much.
This collection is also, unfortunately (which seems an odd word to use for such a powerful book), necessary. These women deserve to be remembered. Pelayo combines language, imagery and format to make each poem as distinct as the women themselves. Her mastery of language means each poem is as powerful as the last, and there is a lot power, heartbreak and rage in these pages. Each poem chips away a little at your heart, and although a large number focus on specific cases, there are those moments captured by Pelayo that all women will have experienced.
The sound of footsteps behind you on a dark street. The way that man watches as you just try to make your way home. And even if you’re not a true crime aficionado, this collection shows how many of these cases have something in common. It also demonstrates how it takes mere seconds for something to go wrong and how women walk the line, though no fault of our own, between safe and unsafe every single day.
This is a difficult read, especially if you’re a woman, and more so (I imagine) if you are a parent. It’s incredibly hard not to relate to many of the women and girls reflected in the poems, who, more often than not, are just going about their daily lives when tragedy strikes.
The poems resonate, tributes to missing and murdered women who may not be remembered by many others. Women who deserve to be remembered, for their lives lived and not just the circumstances of their death. This is a hard but necessary collection to get through, and I can only imagine what Pelayo went through while researching it. If you haven’t read it already, you really should. Just be warned, it’s far from an easy read.
Grade: A
Review by Elle Turpitt
Twitter: @elleturpitt
I purchased this ebook via Amazon.