Wednesday,Sep 9 2009, 05:35:02 AMREVIEWS for THE COLOR OF DREAMS

Iwona Barska

‘The Color of Dreams’ is poetry written by Robert Strzalko. This book comprises a great number of poems that are formed as a whole. This masterpiece of art concerns universal subjects, which are: love, longing, pain, and the passing of time. The main ideas of the book are the loss of a beloved woman and the results of it. The author is full of sorrow, he remembers the day she died as though it was yesterday, and at the same time he has hope that one day they will be together again. When he looks at the sky he wonders where she is, he pines for her. The author compares her to a star and love to water. At the end of the book they are together again and their souls are melted together. In the poem we also find some references to time. The author conveys the idea that a particular moment will never occur a second time. I think I may compare ‘The Color of Dreams’ to metaphysical poetry because of the feelings and thoughts that we can discover while reading this book and paradoxes that appear here and there that create human nature. In my opinion the rightness of the words in this poem can be used as a source of quotations. ‘The Color of Dreams’ is definitely worth reading. It is very moving and well-written. Not only the content, but also the layout is very interesting. The book is special as you can read it many times and each time you find something new and this is the biggest advantage of it.


Sebastian Ryo Hombek

Have you ever walked through your mind? Yes, walked? Have you? Try to imagine that you are taking a long walk through a park, everything is so colorful and your head is full of thoughts, colorful thoughts. The Color Of Dreams is a book written by Robert Strzalko who probably likes to wonder...To be honest, in my opinion it's not a book that you read through all the pages one by one. You can do that but you won't make much sense of it. That's why it's so original. You read it like a blank verse at first but suddenly what strikes you are the empty pages with only one sentence. That makes you think doesn't it? Just like your thoughts break in the middle. It's not a book for people without imagination, without sensibility and without something that lets you stop and look at the world from a distance, from every possible point of view. The dreams of Robert Strzalko concern many fields of life but you can interpret them in different ways. For some darkness means just darkness, but for others darkness is a place of different colors of mind, of pleasures or peace. Surely this book can be read a couple of times and still we will find something new in it-in us. Some new thoughts will appear; new colors will emerge in our brains. After reading this book, which I recommend to you dear reader, try to think, use your brain and read it again, and again, and again, as long as it brings you new ways of interpretation.


Alicja Mendychowska

Have you ever wondered about criteria that you personally follow when buying or at least borrowing a book? Are you attracted by its cover, price, the amount of pages, theme explored within its content, genre, layout, or is there anything else that focuses your attention on a particular piece of writing? Imagine that you are not a bookworm. To challenge you to delve into the content of a book, you need to be truly intrigued so that your inner self resolves to zero in on it. And what if I am in possession of a book that manifestly proves it is possible to permeate all the potential recipients? Would you confide to me to such a degree that you would not be discouraged to abandon attempts to examine it, when seeing it takes the form of a poem? If I, by any chance, arouse your interest, spend some time on reading this very review. Robert Strzalko, an American author, has made an attempt to reveal the story of his true, deep, passionate love towards already dead lady of his heart. What makes the story both unique and novel, is that although it appears to carry a single, glaring plot it is in fact much more complex, organized, and that it is a mixture of poetic diction and genre. It is structured to form various surfaces so a reader can select the most appealing one according to his preferences; let it be a poem written in a free verse, a narrative story, a philosophical writing or a loose author’s discourse, the book displays ambiguity, openness; thus, distinct interpretations can be found. The book which stands as proof of the author’s aptitude for comprising diverse dimensions in a professional guise that they form a unique whole but still preserve their features is titled The Color of Dreams. There are many motifs explored within the book like truth, time, water, war, belief, the universe, all of which created to make readers ponder on their essence, yet in the concept of the whole book they serve the role of aids of the more powerful theme that is love. The author gradually divulges the aspects of his love to a woman who inhabits other realms no more bounded by time. In dreams, he recalls and admires her beauty, longs for her, recalls time spent together, expresses his unshakeable despair. The journey through his memories takes the form of a soliloquy performed in a series of dreams, visions, in which he compares and interprets both abstract and concrete things in terms of love. The title The Color of Dreams may implicitly suggests features of dreams. It is known that dreams are reflections of our mind and feelings; however, they convey them in unconventional way using distortion, exaggeration that makes them impossible to consider in a single approach. This is also true for Robert Strzalko’s The Color of Dreams which may be analyzed according to various criteria. What distinguishes this very book from other writings is its particular layout. The author does not economize on using irregular line spacing which is not surely a product of his carelessness, but is either used for placing emphasis on thoughts; thus, when inquiring: Why is it more important / To / Find the remains / Of / A / Dinosaur / Than it is / To / Feed hungry children?, a truth that we occupy ourselves with things of slight importance, forgetting about more urgent ones is unfolded; or functions as rhetoric encouraging a reader to contemplate on his life, ‘Have you ever longed for fate/ On dark, starry, rainy nights?’ It is a work full of paradoxes that, again, imply contradictions of life. As the author asserts, on one side we escape the wild but on the other side we return to nature. Does it mean then we try to escape the belief of being an integral part of nature in defiance of hard evidence that we in fact are? Quite intriguing is the treatment of water and viewing it as a metaphor of love. Both sustain our lives, heal us, without them we are nothing, for we need them to exist. The Color of Dreams rewards the ability to read between the lines, for it does not explicitly expresses all the ideas. Hence, in order to figure that out, among other themes and motifs, it also includes a consignment of a carpe diem, a reader need to notice the correlation between nature’s circulation and the transitory nature of a moment implied by the author. The description of his lover alternates with subjects which to some extent influences or troubles his mind yet it is more personal and vivid. The moment when the poet describes her as a star shining in the sky, I find in a bad mood. In his soliloquy, the writer says: ‘I simply / Look at the sky / Amazed / By / All I see / Sadly /There are /Too many lights / Now / For you / To Compete with’, this may demonstrate us a common belief that when a person dies, a new star is born and in this moment he unites with those who also turns their eyes to the sky to look for their relatives with melancholy and desolation; however, he believes that, ‘Maybe someday / We will be / One.’ The Color of Dreams by Robert Strzalko is a book that I find quite precious. It really challenges readers’ minds to re-think subjects that were always considered in terms ‘out of the question.’ It is the kind of a book that you need to go back to again and again, for each time you discover something new. It is fascinating how within a few pages, the author places all the eternal truths about humans, nature, the universe, in such a way as to provoke our open-mindedness. I can thoroughly recommend this very book because not only can it serve as a guide which we use to find the right path but also as an aid to change the hierarchy of values in our lives, for: ‘If you believe in nothing / If you stand for nothing / Then / In essence / You are nothing.’


Renata Karal

If you are looking for a book which is completely different from the previous ones you have read "The Color Of Dreams" by Robert Strzalko could be the perfect choice. It is distinct not only in form but also in content. It provides reflection on the world around us as well as offers insight into human nature. The design of the book makes the impression that it is comprised of separate poems. However, each part is connected with the previous one when contemplated deeper. The poet asks many questions about the philosophy of life which should be accepted, making the reader think about his behavior. He makes us realize that there are many paradoxes inside us and we often contradict ourselves. One of the passages reads "Why is it more important to find the remains of a dinosaur than it is to feed hungry children?", showing human's vanity. Many questions are not answered which provokes thinking. The book reminds us that life is very changeable and nothing lasts forever. In its center is a story about love. The poet brings back memories connected with his beloved woman. Although they are not together anymore, she still awakens many emotions in him and he still loves her. As well as revealing poet's deeply personal feelings, the book offers a truly rewarding and enjoyable journey into space with plenty of opportunities for reflection on human identity. Its mood is absolutely stunning and the book is really worth reading. I would recommend it to anyone who doesn't want to live an empty life and who wants to have a feeling of personal fulfillment.


Maria Jemiola

“The color of dreams” by Robert Strzalko can be easily called a volume of poetry since it consists of, at least, thirteen “poems” touching the same problem: existence of human beings, and unfulfilled love. Reading this amazing book, you go on a journey to the undiscovered world of a man's dreams and desires. The book begins with three rhetorical questions which gives the basis of the general content. Then the “journey” starts. From the beginning, there is a mystery hidden behind the words. But the more time I spent thinking deeply about it, the less ambiguous the message was for me. The author, in a very subtle way, describes his beloved woman. Their love is compared with nature- both vivifying and killing. This splendid description of pure love is sometimes framed by pieces of eroticism, shown in a delicate and sensual way. Each time this absorbing portrait of the author's deepest feelings is interrupted by unpleasant and even scary memories, full of sorrow and violence. Robert Strzalko tells readers about his feelings and remarks about the world and life but not in a direct way. What is really inspiring, is that he is not imposing his own opinions. The book gives the reader “free space”- some clues which provoke further reading and using the reader's own imagination. Although the first reading of the book takes no longer than 30 minutes, it does not allow the reader to leave it on a shelf. It is like an extreme sport, the more times you do it, the more you like it. I like the book very much, nevertheless, I would not recommend it to everybody. I think that only mature and experienced people can appreciate Strzalko's “dreams”.


Adrian Konieczny

"The Color Of Dreams" is a book written with the aim of taking into consideration some abstract entities connected with human's life. Its style is similar to monologue, however it is very original, because it seems as if the author simply transformed his thoughts directly from his mind to the paper. This books contains mainly psychological questions, some of which are answered and some are rhetorical. Robert Strzalko in his book encourages people to stop for a moment in their busy lives and think about those values which are of great importance, but unfortunately forgotten. He describes people's habits and behaviors as if he was an observer. Asking questions to himself he reveals in a very distinct way the irony of human life which has its backgrounds in all those factors which are imposed on people - by people. This generalized description stands as a stimulus for a reader to understand in a deeper way what do people need, what governs the entire world and how should we find ourselves in this chaos. What is more, this book also makes us aware of the fact that we are equipped with a plentiful source of knowledge and wisdom which is our mind, but the thing is we do not always remember about it. I enjoyed the book very much. Each question asked by the author gave me a great opportunity to contemplate, hence to travel in my thoughts to a completely abstract and interesting world. The books is very short because it does not have to be long. It's content is so rich that I spend far more time thinking about it than reading it - and that is the point.


Justyna Bechta

"The Colour of Dreams" written by Robert Strzalko is an outstanding and extraordinary book. It seems to be a volume of poems, but they are compounded together and create one seamless story. The book is breath-taking and provoke to reflection on our life. The story begins with three rhetorical questions, after which we may expect that the whole book is based on an abstract thinking-over. At first sight the book seems to be rather confusing. It covers different kinds of problems which, although are different, create a compact integrity. The author compares life to a dream: "Our Planet moves between shadow and shade night and day In a dream". Like in a real dream, the plot seems to be a little bit secret, magic and sometimes even frightening. The author includes there his doubts about the world's justice, his sadness, despair, he describes all-embracing darkness and his tragic love. He shows life as a full of colours but at the same time faded of them. There is nothing which is stable and truthful; "Seven colours of time remind me that everything is relative". "The colour of dreams" is well worth reading. It is a riveting and thought-provoking book. It will change the way you perceive the world. It provokes reflection on our life, on the rules of our world. It is highly entertaining as well as educating book.


Rafal Malinowski

What do we need in our everyday life to organize our thoughts? The answer is dreams. "The Color of Dreams" is a book which has a great power, power to make you think for long hours even though you will spend les than 30 minutes on reading it. This well written book consists of a set of ‘stories’, and their layout can be sometimes surprising and sometimes confusing. For me, reading this book was like a journey across the authors mind. Every ‘story’ was like a thought. Some of our thoughts are long and organized, and some of them are short and we don't know how to describe them. I must admit though that not every ‘story’ is clearly presented. There are some which I can't understand but that is good because it makes me think about it all over again. The conclusion is that this book has been written for people who like to think a lot about matters which aren't so important for everybody, but are important to see our gray life in colours.
I recommend this book to an open-minded person who likes to compare his own thoughts with those of others. Don't miss it will change the way you look at the world.


Katarzyna Mazur

The Color of Dreams is the first published book, I hope not the last one, written by Robert Strzalko. Strzalko's poem reflects on the meaning of life, it is a commentary of it. ..The Color of Dreams' contains several rhetorical questions, such as ..Where is love?', or ..Why do we dream?'. It allows the reader to wonder about the answers. This book deals not only with different aspects of life, but also with love. Although the author lost a lady of his heart, she is still present in his mind and memories. He does not use any sophisticated words to describe how great affection he feels for his beloved, but the simplicity of his thoughts causes you to think about your own memories. I have to admit that one reading is not enough to understand this book thoroughly. The form of it is not conventional, and this may make some problems with fathoming the content of it. There is also lack of punctuation which additionally poses unnecessary interruption to the flow of the text. In my opinion this book is well worth reading. If you have the chance, you should read it immediately. ..The Color of Dreams' is the kind of book which will arouse no less emotions than during the first time, irrespective of how many times you read it, and, I am sure, you will find it totally riveting. I am convinced that you will return to this book many times, each time with a new perception. I would unreservedly recommend The Color of Dreams' to everyone who is fed up with the old forms of books and enjoys reading ones, making deep analysis.

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