8-25-2020 7:14pm

Book Review: A Rambling Wanderer's Tale by Cristina Marrero

Rick Amburgey Neighbor

I think it is harder to review poetry than to review a novel or a memoir. I think it's more subjective. I am going to start this by talking about the technical things. It is formatted like a poem. It doesn't always rhyme, but rhyming isn't a pre-requisite for good poetry. Some of the best poems don't rhyme. I love the use of repetition in some of these poems. I think repetition makes the poems more powerful and emphasizes the point.

Who is the target audience here? I think anyone can read and enjoy this book of poetry. This isn't Shakespeare, and I don't mean that in a bad way. I happen to be a fan of Shakespearean tragedies in particular, but they can be difficult to understand. These poems are very clear and easy to understand. I think almost everyone can relate to the emotions discussed here.

Lastly, I want to talk about this author. As someone who recently released a very personal non-fiction book, I know it can be scary to tell your story. According to the bio on the author's Amazon page, Marrero is transgender, identifies as queer, non-binary and uses their/them pronouns. This book was written in the author's 20s before their transition. It is published under their given name. Marrero prefers Kent, which is their chosen name.

Knowing their background, I think it was incredibly brave to publish this work. If you are wondering if you can relate to these poems, I ask for you to give it a chance. Things like love and heartbreak are so universal regardless of how we choose to identify. These are raw human emotions. It is written in such a way that it is both personal to the author and in a way that most people can relate to it. That, in itself is not easy to do.

More of Kent's writing can be found on their website at www.KentWritesStuff.com.