THE COLOR OF DREAMS, Polish Student Reviews (2009)

(The Reviews Were Written By College Students In Przemysl, Poland In 2009)

I edited the reviews a little bit since English is a foreign language to them.  I didn't change the content in any way.  I just wanted to make sure that they were understandable to people that read in English.

Agata Brycka  IIb

The book I have recently read is called “The Color of Dreams “ written by an American author Robert Strzalko .

    “The Color of Dreams “ is written in a very interesting  way. It consists of many free spaces between the lines , however in my personal opinion it can be described as a free verse poetry.  The author took me into a voyage along his dreams . He shows his  feelings , emotions , thoughts , and in a very unusual way he describes all the things  by which he is surrounded .  The reader may simply identify all these words to his /her own  experience . 

    It is not very easy to describe the plot of book , it seems to me that it is a story within a story . The author presents the world of dreams . He talks about the passing time “ time , time , time passes by me the pain of what used to be but is no longer “ , love “ my soul is on fire , burning with love” . However the main element of the book is a woman , who seems to be in the center  of attention of the author “ I can’t  imagine being apart from you” . While reading I have noticed that she was very important for him however it might have been a love without a happy ending . It is not clearly stated but she might  have left or passed away . Not everything seems clear in the book so it can force the readers to create their own ideas and thoughts .

    To sum up I would like to say that never before have a read a book like that. It was very hard for my to understand the idea of it because I am not into poetry. I had to read it a few times to guess what the author tried to express by his work. For those who like to read this type of poetry I would truly recommend it because it is something different , the way it is written , description of the beloved , expressing emotions , feelings it  presents the book as a very interesting piece of work .

THE COLOR OF DREAMS_review

by Katarzyna Niemczewska, IIw

  

“The Color of Dreams” might be regarded as a perpetuum carmen of changing matter that circulates in the nature through the process of creation and dying. The concept is embodied in the characters of the man and the woman being separated by the death of one of them.

The poetic world of Robert Strzalko echoes the principles of the Chinese cosmology. The universe is viewed as a mixture of yin and yang, two complementary forces vibrating together in the continuous movement. As long as they interact with each other, the balance in the universe is held. The duality of the world is reflected in the nature, all natural phenomena resemble higher cosmic harmony, e.g. a day’s yang corresponds to a night’s yin over the course of a day. The world becomes a metaphorical cauldron filled with the five elements (wood, fire, earth, metal, water), either yang or yin in character, taking their turns in the perpetuate cycle of creation and destruction as the rising process has to be balanced out by the process of falling.

The narrator of the story acts in the poem as yang particle. What stands behind this concept is the idea of masculinity. His yin opposition is the passionate, mysterious woman who comes to him at night, in his dreams and memories, with the white flower in her hair.  She describes her as though she was dead. He longs for her to return, he regrets having burnt her letters, finally, he burns with love himself. His grief is alternated with the questions on the condition of world, relativity of time and essence of abstract notions. While he is associated with light and life, the woman’s domain is darkness lit by the colors of his dreams.

So what are the colors of these dreams? The answer is put into blank verses flowing freely through pages as a stream of consciousness. It is believed that the flow of thoughts imitates the continuous transition of the world never existing in absolute stasis.

The book portrays the poet's feelings and states of mind. By using the first-person-narrative, the mood of the poetry becomes intimate and nearly confessional.

The book seems to be open to multiple interpretations. It is very demanding, ambiguous, and mutable…..like flowing water which is never the same. If you are the gourmet of literary works, immerge in this poetry and feel its unusual taste.

Anna Korecka

 

     The Color of The Dreams” is a first book written by American writer Robert Strzałko. It might be a bit confused as far as the understanding is concerned. One poem consists of several separate parts which in some way are connected with each other. In which the author describe his sore lost using many colorful comparisons.

      The author presents his memories, feelings about his tremendous love to a woman which once upon a time he lost. The book reminds us about valuable things about which we forget during our life. There are many questions that the author asks – to some of them he tries to answer but the others are rhetorical.

      Reading this masterpiece is like a dream that you don’t want to wake up.  There is no visible limit between dream and reality. Curiosity is something that you feel while reading. The poem have different layout a lot of space between lines may help to understand the story. More time to make reflection. He broaches the subject of passing time that causes many irreversible changes in our life. I read the book twice but I think that in a couple of time I will read it once more. Mysterious language used by Strzałko stimulates imagination. Robert Strzałko uses metaphors for unusual description miracles of the nature.

Although poetry is not in my favour, I was under great impress. It is incredible experience could have read this book. I recommend this book to people who want to take their own journey through “The Color of The Dreams”.

Ewelina Krasnopolska- gr. 2a

If you are looking for slightly different kind of book, which can be treated like a story or like a set of separate poems, you should definitely read `The color of dreams` by Robert Strzalko. I recently read this book and I must say I was impressed. The author of the book, who is a narrator at the same time, is a writer with Polish roots who moved to the USA some time ago, and after personal experiences decided to start write poems.
According to my interpretation, the book tells a story of unhappy, disappointed man who looses his lover. He looses his `turtle`- in that way he calls his darling- but he never stops love her.  Despite the fact that separation is a source of huge disappointment and misfortune for the narrator  `desperation, inspiration, reverberation pushes me forward past`-p. 5, he can talk about their relationship using a sequence of beautiful expressions `she loves me, she destroys me, then she wants me`-p. 7.  The past is heart-breaking but it is also the reason for happiness for the narrator  `when we were happy together in the arms of yesterday`-p. 50. Life for him is fulfilled not only by reverence but also by hope `will I know her dynamic beauty again?`-p. 70.
As far as the style is concerned, the book is beautifully written, with poetic description and advanced language. It is unique and distinct in mood and very modern in form with exellent and gripping monologue of the narrator `how you will feel and where your heart travels when we are near?`-p. 31. In that way the author creates optymistic mood which is linked with rays of hope. The love story is not the only theme of the book. `The color of the dreams` is full of questions concerning the importance of life, what is more and the most significant in our life `why is it more important to find the remains of a dinosaur that it is to feed hungry children?`-p. 46.
`The color of dreams` is certainly wonderful book and was a pleasure to read it, despite the fact that if you want to understand the plot fully, you should be advanced reader and read whole story very carefully. In my opinion,  the book is well worth reading and it will change the way you perceive and think about the world and feeling which governs it, namely love. Read the book and find out yourself.

Jakub Stankiewicz

‘The Colour of The Dreams’ is a story written by Robert Strzalko. The main and the only narrator is travelling through his soul. Monologue is the technique used, probably the most strange and at the same time life-like story I have ever read.

The whole story begins in an intriguing way, I would say philosophical. The narrator gives us the chance to look inside him. The main reason of this ‘journey’ is his lost, namely woman that he loves. He asks questions, wants to find the way to recover or to deal with current situation. He describes his emotional stages in comparison to colour. He realises that he is lost in darkness because the only light which shines in his life suddenly disappeared, it was when she has gone .He cannot find himself in a ‘civilised world’, feels trapped like in cage made of concrete walls. He wants to return to the natural world, far away from complicated life and even more complex world. Struggling with himself, considering and realising that ‘the truth is only the one (…) that you can hate the truth, deny the truth but it is not possible to defeat the truth’. He goes through stages that he forgives her, but he cannot forget that he has lost his faith and his hope has gone away. The reason of this is only one; he admitted that he does still believe in love. Finally he knows that he done the right thing, he sets free somebody who he loves.

It is not a straightforward story, but I do recommend it. The other way it is very demanding story but it gives you the choice to your own interpretation, feelings, leaves you with uncertainty and at the same time force you to reflection, help you to understand particular situation in our life.

Jan Sawicki

“The Color of dreams" is a poem written by Robert Strzalko which provides reflections about life and human existence.  Generally the book is about love but the way it is written makes me think that heart and mind without love hurts. The author contemplates about significance of the truth, world and his love.  At the beginning the author shows us that our dreams can be colorful when we are in love and the beloved person is close to us. By reading this book author draws in some way the picture of girl he loves. Even though being alone he still feels as if she was present and close to him. After this few question came to my mind: What happened? Where is she ?

I would recommend this book because, in wonderful way, it shows essential part of our life, love and it's absence. The book can show us  the answer to many questions about love, existence which bothers us trough our life and the things we appreciate only when they are gone. 

Joanna Mazur, grupa B, the colour of dreams

    The colour of Dreams is a book written by Robert Strzałko is unique, not only because of its unconventional form, but also because of its thought-provoking content.

     Its style is similar to monologue, hence it is hard to name the genre of the book. The author seems to simply transformed his thoughts to the paper, that is why it is hard to understand all its plots after reading it only once. The book considers many problems of nature and existence of the human being. His thoughts circle around life, universe, humanity, love.

     The book provides also an insight of well-known themes such as prisoning of animals, war and so called rat race which are usually ignored by the people. The author often asks questions, however, he rarely answers them. He rather lets the readers to find their own answers. His monologue is very twisting. He changes the topic very quickly. One of the major plots included in the book is love to a mysterious woman. The author describes his despair caused by the absence of his beloved. It is not stated exactly whether she left him or passed away. The only thing we can be sure of that he still loves her fervently. He brings memories of her, says that she loves him and hates him the same time. He also confesses that he did something to her.

    I like the book very much because it is completely different from the previous books I have read. The author asks questions and lets them be unsolved, that is why the book is original. I find the book perfect for people with vivid imagination, who like contemplation. I think it is worth to read it.

Łukasz Drąg, gr. 2bs

“The Color of Dreams” unexpectedly takes us from the very beginning into totally Robert Strzalko’s poetry world. The way the author does it, is surprisingly interesting and undoubtedly innovative in comparison to other literature I have read or dealt with so far.

The first characteristic feature of his book is the fact that book is written in very strange way but it brings about the reader to enjoy. However, the structure allows you to return to the book and read from the moment you want because it is somehow created as a set of short stories in one long form.  In the same time poetry makes the reader  wonder about content included in the book, concerning human’s dreams, passing love, human nature and etc.

The book let us come into the world of imagination and our very own personal thoughts, sometimes charming, other time overwhelming or even depressing but there is no possible way to stay neutral and calm without any emotions. The book gives the opportunity to travel  among your own thoughts, feelings, fears, weaknesses but also the bright side of life like happiness and love.

Although I am not a fan of poetry, and the book is for sure not really the type of literature you can read and forget easily, it makes you think about something more important than everyday life but chiefly about some philosophical approach to your own and the life you lead and this is the main factor that won’t let you forget about this book.

Natalia Krężel

"The Colour of Dreams" written by Robert Strzalko is breath-taking and extraordinary book with poetic descriptions of human feelings and emotions. The form of his book resembles a couple of brief stories rather than typical poetry. However, each story is connected with the previous one when contemplated deeper.

The most important aspects the poetry deals with are love and human existence. It provides reflection on the world around us as well as offers an insight into human nature. This book takes the reader on a travel inside his soul.

First of all, the main issue on which the author tends to concentrate on is a mysterious woman who definitely plays an important role in his life. The poet paints somehow her portrait, he returns to the moment when he saw her for the first time. Although, they are not together any more, she still evokes many emotions in him.  He can still not forget about her face, her hair, shapes of her body. I would also say that the author feels her presence, as if she was with him. That is why, his dreams are probably colored.  Another aspect of the book focuses on the human existence. I have never before read a poetry that gives so many answers to the complexity of existence. The author wonders what is consciousness  and why do people dream. Thanks to making references to the universe, he gains general and ubiquitous clarity of life. The diversity of feelings is depicted here. The poet asks many questions about the philosophy of life, making the reader think about his behavior. Some questions are not answered which provokes thinking.

  In my personal view this book is worth not only reading but also understanding. I recommend this poetry to anybody who would like to look at their life from a slightly different perspective.

                                                                                                        

Radosław Niemiec Gr. 2A                              

Robert Strzałko’s “The Color of Dreams” is a set of poems which deals with questions about our consciousness, love and life.

The beginning of tome is quite exceptional, because it starts with interrogative statements, which place the reader into an inquisitive frame of mind. In this way, he/she is prepared for the intensive thinking and analysis demanded by the book. 

At the first glance this book might seem a bit chaotic (in terms of sentence structure) with lines divided with a special manner. Almost all words are entirely written with capital letters. This may suggest that every word and every sentence is crucial to understanding the message of this book.  

Within the book lies many different stories and tales, which are mostly interconnected with each other. These are written in both a conventional fashion and a disorganized style, where sometimes a single sentence occupies an entire page. There are also stories which are not written very clearly. It may suggest that the writer himself wants us to contemplate the text and meaning of certain lines/stanzas.  

Robert’s book deals with different topics, some regarded as taboos. There is something about love, death, animal instincts, living in cities and consciousness. He describes those situations as if he were a passer-by. He is neutral. 

At the end of each thought, the author finishes each piece of text with a question. This is a deliberate procedure, intended to invoke our thinking. Many lines are devoted to his beloved one. In these parts, the artist recalls times spent with his “other half”. They can’t be together even though he seems to love her very much. 

I am not into poetry, and I do not like spending long hours thinking about what author had in mind while writing a particular piece of text, but this book is nevertheless quite interesting. Mostly because it forces you to think. I am certain that every “poetry-fanatic” will love it, because of the layout, number of unanswered questions, and a great mass of metaphors.

IWONA BARSKA

“The Color of Dreams” is poetry written by Robert Strzalko. This book comprises of great number of poems that are formed as a whole. This masterpiece of art concerns universal subjects, which are: love, longing, pain. passing of time.

The main ideas of the book are loss of beloved woman and results of it. The author is full of the sorrow, he remembers the day when she died as it was yesterday, and at the same time he has hope that one day they will be together. When he looks at the sky he wonders where she is, he pines for her. The authors compares her to a star and love to water. At the end of the book they are together again and their souls are melted. In the poem we also find some refers to time. The author conveys the idea that particular moment will never occurs the second time.

I think I may compare “The Color of Dreams” to metaphysical poetry because of the feelings, thoughts that we can discover reading this book and paradoxes that appear here and that create human nature. In my opinion rightness of the words in poem can be used as the 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.

Alicja Mendychowska

Group 2B

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 conent, 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 a 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, it can be find with distinct interpretations. The book which stands as a 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 women who inhabits other realms no more unbounded 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 a from of a soliloquy performed in a series of dreams, visions in which he compares, 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 analysed 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 use 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, forgeting 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 escapes wild but on the other side we return to nature. Does it mean then we try to escape the belief of being 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 lifes, heal us, without them we are nothing, for we need them to exist. The Color of Dreams rewards ability to read between the lines, for it does not explicitly expresses all the ideas. Hence, in order to figure out that, among other themes and motifs, it also includes a consignment of a carpe diem, a reader need to notice the correlation between the 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 borns and in this moment he unites with those who also turns their eyes into 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 a kind of a book that you need to back again and again, for each time you discover something new. It is fascinating how within few pages, the author places all the eternal truths about a human, nature, the universe in such a way as to provoke our open-mindedness. I can thoroughly recommend this very book because it can not only 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 lifes, for: ‘If you believe in nothing / If you stand for nothing / Then / In essence / You are nothing.’ 

Joanna Skubisz

A Book Review – 'The Colour of Dreams' Robert Strzalko

     'The Colour of Dreams' written by Robert Strzalko is an original and outstanding book. It contains the collection of poems which together create one cohesive story. The book takes you to the world of colorful and tender thoughts about love, as well as it provokes you to think about the meaning of human existence.

     The author pretends to be a young man who falls in love for the first time, unfortunately he loses his lover (it still remains a riddle if she dies or leaves him). Although, she is not with him in the physical sense, she is still in his minds and memories. He remembers her face, body, the way of walking, smell – her beauty. The author uses simple, but subtle words to paint her portrait.

As a broken-hearted man, he ponders over human nature. He describes it in a very ironic way, however, his thoughts are the accurate ones and give a real picture of human existance. The most truthful statement in the book says that people must believe in something: love, God, freedom, otherwise our existence will be worhtless.

     In my opinion, 'The Colour of Dreams' may be a quite challenging book. It requires an open mind with lots of imagination, which aspires to find the truth about human nature. I highly recommend this book, especially under a warm blanket during the rainy weather. 

Monika Siedlecka 2a

           ‘The Colour of Dreams’ written by Robert Strzalko is a thought-provoking and I would even say intriguing book. This unusual piece of poetry presents the author’s deep thoughts about life, love and nature. He tries to share them with the reader as well as invite him to the journey of the author’s mind.

           The book consists of short pieces which bring pleasant pictures from the inner space of another human being. I think that it is very rare to find such a finely tuned instruments of poetical speech. Among of many separate ideas and feelings there is one distinct figure of woman’s adoration. Despite of sometimes raughly balanced structure of the verse eternal love towards omni present feminine element strikes with beautiful metaphore:

     ‘Her yin

     Was

     All over

     My yang’  (p. 91)

           I am not a poet expert but I am deeply enchanted by this fresh song of newly-born poetry. Although one thing has to be admitted – to understand this book fully an ordinary reader needs to read it many times. In my opinion that is the vast advantage of the book. Reading it more than once is pleasurable because every time you can discover more and set out on another beautiful journey as well.

Aneta Mindziak Gr. IIB

      If you are looking for mysterious and striking book where you can find the answers to many your questions you should definitely read The Color of Dreams by Robert Strzalko.

      The Color of Dreams is a kind of dream vision in which the author's thoughts are shown in the background of his previous experinces. This book is partly dedicated to a woman whose author really loves and who is far away from him, out of his reach. He suffers very much because of her absence. He tries to forget about her because she destroys him, but it is too difficult. The other part concerns how the author persives the world. He wonders about the sense of existence and the human position in those difficult times. He looks at it from psychological perspective analyzing surrounded him world. He asks himself questions but does not give answers allowing the reader to stop for a while and think about them.

      The book is unusually writen with somehow confusing system of versication which ordinary readers are not familiar with. The author has created a set of his thoughts and feelings characterising his psychological point of view about the world in forms of questions and separate maxims. Every page refers to new thought which makes the book gripping and fascinating. It allows us to understand ourselves and ranking us questions.

      I could recommend this book those who like to reach the inferior of onelselves. Once you have read it, you will never forget it because it helps you find the proper way and gain the distance in life.

Barbara Kijanka, 2c

    “The color of dreams” by Robert Strzalko is a unique collection of poems which leads a reader through the path of life of a man who is cogitating existence as well as spiritual values and endeavors to attain equilibrium between worldly matters and ethereal qualities.

     The protagonist is pondering the values that make life meaningful, the most essential being love, truth, and peace which together create a harmonic symphony. However, he notices the dichotomy between lyrical beauty and the omnipresent “pursuit of pleasure” of those who lack the sense of direction. Having found himself in such plight, the speaker attempts to reach balance and find answers to questions that haunt him. The recurrent theme of light, a symbol of hope and felicity, seems to be the solution.

     The book is original in its content as well as form. The writer has created a character whose scrutinies induce a meditative state in the reader as well. His soliloquies give readers the insight into his mental and emotional anxieties and consideration. A number of rhetorical questions, like “What is love?”, make a reader stop and think. Among the pages, one can find blank ones which are like tabula rasa – it depends on the reader what will be written on them.

The book’s main idea, the quest of the essence of life, is not illusory because each of us desires to feel complacent and fulfilled. The author gives a hint about that: “How can a flower open to the light if it is afraid of getting burned”

This means that we should try to make our lives meaningful instead of waiting for miracle and being timorous.  I recommend this book for those seeking a guide to introspection.

                                                                                   

Husar Justyna Gr IIA

"The Color Of Dreams"

         If you are looking for a book which is totally different from these you have already read, you should definitely read "The Color Of Dreams" written by Robert Strzalko. The book is unusual but it does not mean it is worse. On the contrary, this book is outstanding and truly makes you think. The author takes you on the journey into his world of dreams and nature.

         The whole story consists of many questions, In fact, rhetorical questions which the author tries to answer. What is more, the author makes the reader to stop for a while and think about many aspects of their life such as God, life and love. Personally I believe that it is really thought provoking book.

         The book is original mainly because of its design. What strikes me the most are the empty pages with only one sentence. That is really surprising, doesn't it? Just like the author erased piece of text accidentally. But this is what makes you even more curious about the book.

         All in all, I would like to recommend this book to everyone, even to those who are not keen on reading. I believe that the reader, especially the avid reader, will find plenty to enjoy. This book helps you to understand your place in a modern world. It is nothing short of magnificent. So do not miss it, it will change the way you see your life in today's world.

Artur Kuropas

If you want to read a book which probably is different than books that you have read so far,

“The Color of Dreams” by Robert Strzalko will be a good choice. Author of this book concentrated on two aspects – love and reality, namely people, world, universe.

    He describes his great love for a woman, about who we know very little. One thing that we can clearly deduce is that she is not present in his life now, and that he suffers from her lost.

    Author also writes about things that he observed. He describes how everything is changing and paradoxes present in the society. We can read about a mother whose son went at war, and how she prays to God to help him survive and kill sons of other mothers.

    From the beginning we know that this book is different. I believe that, it is not a common thing to do, to devote a whole page just for a one sentence. It is full of metaphors, questions and some brilliant thoughts. It really makes you think about the world, that we are living in.

    To sum up, “The Color of Dreams” book by Robert Strzalko is worth reading . I am not a “poetry lover”, but I really enjoyed reading it. This book is not easy to follow, but maybe that is why it is so interesting.     

Aneta Horochowik, 2a

"The color of Dreams" by Robert Strzalko is a beautifully written book with poetic descriptions of human feelings and emotions. This well written book consists of a set of ` rhetorical questions', and their explanation can be sometimes startling and sometimes  rather confusing. The most important aspect is that the book is like a journey - from one dream to another. Thought provoking layout of the book force reader to think about it all over again.     

The story begins with three rhetorical questions. It covers different kinds of problems which, although are different but mostly the same… It’s because of a enigmatic woman who plays a very important role in his life. Although she left him, he is still in love with her. He can’t stop thinking of her, can’t forget her.     It is curiously to go with the author across his memories about the woman he loved, certainly still loves, but it doesn’t change a fact that it makes me sad every time I read it.                                                                                              

During the process of reading I felt as the whole book is like author’s ‘a cry for help’. He is looking for any solution, which probably will cure him from this huge feeling as the love is.                                                                                                   

Maybe it’s not easy to follow the authors thought but it’s worth of trouble yourself. I guarantee you will go back to this book all over again.

Katarzyna Kurpiel

The colour of dreams is a book written by Robert Strzalko that reads like a story rather than as separate poems. Fabulous description of love connected with unusual descriptions of nature and natural phenomena.

          First page take us to the galactic and spiritual world where people, spirits and nature are dependent on each other in existence and have:

Mingles energy

       Yin and yang.     (p2)

The speaker is Receding from yesterday which means that he is thinking about the past when he was happy and in love with a beautiful girl. He describes her undecided feeling:

She loves me

She hates me

She destroys me

         Then wants me     (p7)    

He is very fascinate by her which express:

Explosing breasts

Not meant to nourish

Her flesh calls me

With eyes that dare me

To

           Not be human      ( p7)

He mention about the rain all the time which could be a metaphore for his tears. He is longing for love which he lost.

           We don’t actually know what happened with the girl, but it seems like she died unexpectedly:

Her flesh still calls me

          No longer imprisoned     (p93)

Together again

Our

Souls melted

Into

          Each other     (p93)

He is dying without her, he want to look in her eyes, touch her like before. He behave like a Romeo who rather prefer die than live without beloved woman. The speaker also want to die and get through to her.

          This is very moving and great formed story about never ending love for sensitive readers. Appropriate for couples for example as a present on Valentines.

Maria Żołnierz IIC

        Dreams are integral part of one's life. If people do not notice them, do not try to understand them then they loose a particle of themselves. Robert Strzalko takes us into his world of dreams and thoughts in his work ''The Color Of Dreams''. It is a marvelous writing which provokes one's thoughts.
       The poem consists of two planes which are connected in a very subtle way, and together create story about author's beloved lady. Mistress of his heart is not nearby. He misses her, but he knows they will meet together ''when the moon is full of light''. What is interesting, description of his love and lust is just a reason to move forward, into the deepest thoughts about mankind. The writer reflects on such questions as ''Why do we live on a planet that orbits a star?'' or ''Why it is more important to find the remains of a dinosaur than it is to feed hungry children?''.
      Interestingly enough, the poem is written in a curious way, with space after each thought. Maybe author leaves it to us, to stop for a while, and to think about what we have just read. Remarkable is the stream of thoughts and unanswered questions, like ''What is time? Where is love?'', which make one think. All these things give the impression of amazing and incredibly involving piece of writing.
       All in all, I strongly recommend this book, as it is a great source of magnificent description, surprising questions and recognition of miraculous love. I assure that everyone will read it more than once, as with each reading one can find something completely new, and this is the greatest thing about this poem.

Joanna Tucka

If you are bored with all silly romances, pseudo – intellectual stories and poems containing well – worn cliché, you should definitely read ‘The color of dream’ by Robert Strzalko.

          It’s a unique in style, form and mood poem, which takes the reader in the world of provoking questions, considerations and journey into slightly separate spheres of life, e.g. love, soul, dreams, nature etc., which in fact are tightly linked together.

The major plot focuses on author’s love of a woman who passed away. He can’t stand the fact that she isn’t on earth any more. The author remembers the time when he was still with her. He makes a lot of comparisons with love e.g. he writes that love as water cleanses, quenches, heals; that without it he ceases to exist. Love as water never dies, it only changes forms.. in this way he wants to tell us, that even though the woman of his life passed away, their love still exist, but is acting out in a different way, experiences differently.

“The color of dream” while listening to Miles Davis’s jazz made on me a quiet good impression. Not only did they fit together well, but also the music made me feel what I was reading. The book wakes our imagination, senses and keep our brain constantly thinking and that makes it well worth reading( a book is  good only than, when it stimulates our thoughts, and opinion, isn’t?) Read it either listening to a good piece of music, or in absolute silence. Just read it, but not only once – you will discover that each time your answers and thoughts are different - depending on present mood, experience etc. This book will convince you that dreams have a color – which?- it depends…

Pawel Kida

“The color of dreams”  written by Robert Strzalko is an sophisticated and original book, which procure that readers can stop for a while and escape from real world to the world of imagination. It is a set of free thoughts, which very deeply and emotionally concerns the world of dreams, love, and nature.

The form of book is very unconventional. It looks like separate poems which should be read as a one story. It is written with no punctuation but a question marks, some pages contain only one sentence. Author asks many questions concerning metaphysical problems and many of them are not answered what provokes to deep considerations. All those things might be not only surprising for the reader but also confusing, that’s why it is not an easy  book.  Robert Strzalko encourage people to stop their busy life for a moment during reading his book and start thinking about things which are important but usually forgotten or hidden deep in their minds. I could say that this book shows the reader that he should find himself in the chaos which is around him.

I can thoroughly recommend this book for people who are not afraid of discovering something new. Once you have read it, you will never forget it.

Dawid Kaszycki

     “The Color of Dreams" by Robert Strzalko is the description of the author's adventure into his world of dreams, nature and love. The author mentions about his found and lost love and contemplates about feelings such as pain, hurt and love.

     The content of the book is like an enormous, astonishing metaphor. While reading you find yourself in another world, your imagination starts to create every single detail of the poem. The poet included in his book many philosophical questions about various aspects of life as well as descriptions of many metaphysical problems during his journey through the world of dreams. It seems that all stages of the book are connected with each other creating a sensation of unity, the poem reminds us that everything in the life has a certain end, it is inevitable.

     The author created a unique format of reading the book which allows us to read it in a very short time, but reading this poem only once is not enough to understand the complexity of the author's reflections about life, love, truth and passing time. The question marks are the only punctuation marks included in the book; they do emphasize the big importance of every given question.

     "The Color of Dreams" is a book well worth reading for sensible and romantic people; although it may seem a bit confusing at the beginning I would recommend it to everyone who wants to escape from the everyday world into another, spectacular "dimension".

Dawidoff Klintonix

“The Color of Dreams" by Robert Strzalko is the description of the author's adventure into his world of dreams, nature and love. The author mentions about his found and lost love and contemplates about feelings such as pain, hurt and love.

     The content of the book is like an enormous, astonishing metaphor. While reading you find yourself in another world, your imagination starts to create every single detail of the poem. The poet included in his book many philosophical questions about various aspects of life as well as descriptions of many metaphysical problems during his journey through the world of dreams. It seems that all stages of the book are connected with each other creating a sensation of unity, the poem reminds us that everything in the life has a certain end, it is inevitable.

     The author created a unique format of reading the book which allows us to read it in a very short time, but reading this poem only once is not enough to understand the complexity of the author's reflections about life, love, truth and passing time. The question marks are the only punctuation marks included in the book; they do emphasize the big importance of every given question.

     "The Color of Dreams" is a book well worth reading for sensible and romantic people; although it may seem a bit confusing at the beginning I would recommend it to everyone who wants to escape from the everyday world into another, spectacular "dimension".

Bożena Tasior II C

“The Color of Dreams ” is a poem written by an American writer Robert Strzalko.

I must admit that I do not like poems, but I am flabbergasted that this short book is so captivating and causes unusual emotions.

          This poem is somehow divided. There are three main rhetorical questions : “ Where is love?” , “Why do we dream? “ and “ What is consciousness? “. It seems that the reader can learn the meaning of real love, life and soul. The primary plot is focused on a woman, this woman is a significant person to the author. She has died recently and he feels conflicted about the pain of his loss. The poet remembers with precision the moments when they were together, he remembers her marvelous eyes and the smell of her body. At last he writes “I’ve burnt your letters, but I wish I still had them”- without a doubt he misses her very much.  Another aspect of this poem is the power of nature.  The author warns that life is variable and there could be many events which we never expect.

         Personally, I find this book really absorbing. During reading I felt as though I knew what the next line of text would be about.  The poet so precisely and mysteriously describes a real world, a world full of lust, riddles and uncertainty. It is the first time that I have read a book which gives so many truly and unforgettable emotions.

        I strongly recommend this book, it is invaluable and absolutely amazing writing. This book detached from reality, provokes thoughts and allows you to look at the world from a different perspective.

                                                                              

                                      

                                                                                                     

Katarzyna Chmura gr. IIc

     If you are looking for a short book providing reflection about our life, you should definitely read “The Color of Dreams”. “The Color of Dreams” is a poetry book written by Robert Strzalko, who comes from Poland but lives in the USA. The form of this fascinating book is not conventional because is a set of short poems which are somehow arranged. The book is like a journey into writer’s world of dreams.

     The story of the book is extremely original – I have never read anything like it before. When I read it for the first time I was confused, but the second reading helped me to understand the plot better.

The first aspect of the book is author’s lost love; he describes a woman of his heart. Although they may not be together, he can not forget about her because he still loves her.

The second aspect provides reflection not only on many spheres of life which can be explain in different ways but also on human existence, our interaction with nature; we are part of it.

     The book is beautifully written, with poetic description of human feelings such as love or hurt. The writer asks many philosophical questions (e.g. What is consciousness? p.86), not every question is answered in the book, The author forces readers to consider deeply about human nature and his place in the universe.

     In my opinion “The Color of Dreams” is a book well worth reading more than once because each time you read it you find something new. I recommend this book to everybody with an open mind for new concepts and ideas.

Jan Dorosz

The dreams – one of the few things that remain a mystery in our lives and give each one of us a small thrill from time to time . Robert Strzalko is a writer who tries to solve the mystery of our dreams or at least take us on a right track to the answer of this puzzle. In his book “The color of dreams” he takes the reader on a wonderful and exciting journey through his dreams, where many aspects of life gather up and mix, creating that unreal yet so well known to us world.

   The book is unique, not only in words organization but also in content. The story does not provide us with any simple answers at all, but as we get from one page to another we meet new questions, new stories. It’s like a rollercoaster, you get from one world to another without too much time to think about the last one. The time for thinking is when you close the book, but to be honest with you, instead of thinking you will read it one more time. That’s why the book isn’t boring, actually to get a small answers of this riddle you have to read the whole book at least a few times.

   At the beginning, the reader is asked about the reason of existence, creating this mysterious atmosphere that is the invitation to the journey and a stimulation for your imagination. Then the journey continues. The reader is taken through different worlds: world of power and violence, nature, tranquility and many others. But there is one thing that is still unique and omnipresent – the world of love – somehow lost. It seems like a remedy to the madness, but also a beginning of it if lost. This I think is the biggest mystery in this book, which the reader has to discover and work out for his own. I will leave the rest to read.

  If you’re a person with an creative imagination or someone that likes to wake it up from time to time – that book is definitely for you. If you are an average person, I would also recommend this book to you, it will make your thinking go wild and make you a person with creative imagination.

Bernadeta

I recently read a book by Robert Strzalko entitled ‘’The color of  dreams’’. This book is unique and extraordinary. The poem is full of personal  thoughts and feelings.  Author presents us world seen by his eyes, and tells the story about woman which he was in love.

The book is full of many questions some of them are rhetorical which makes the reader to wander about the answers. The plot concerns thoughts about universe, humanity, nature, and love with the girl who passed away. Author still remembers the time when he was with the woman, her appearance, the way of walking, smell, as well as her beautiful eyes, he makes a lot of comparisons.

The writer has created intellectual atmosphere in every page of his book. Surely, this book should be read a couple of times because still we will find something new to us – some new thoughts some new things. This poem provokes thinking, it is outstanding and completely different from all books that you have ever chance to read.

 In my opinion "The Color of Dreams" is a book well worth reading. It is beautifully written and makes one think about life and the surrounding world. I really recommend to read it.

Monika Fudali Gr. IIc

     “The Color of Dreams” by Robert Strzalko is great, thought-provoking book.  It brings up such subjects as love, nature, war. The text of  this book is divided into short paragraphs so they look like separate poems, but while reading one finds connection between them and treats them as a story. This book is written in quite original style. In every line is one or very few words. At first this book makes an impression of  confusion, chaos, and lack of coherence. After first reading one wants to understand the book better so the reader is in the mood or the second reading. It makes message of this book more clear for him.

     Strzalko ponders human’s being and life in his book. He also describes woman of his heart. They are far from each other and he misses her so much. It seems that love is that what he goes by. The writer touches on problems of present-day world too. War, universe, destruction of natural environment are thoughts crowding in on him.

     He sees famine and poverty in today’s world. He asks “Why is it more important To Find remains Of  A Dinosaurs Than it is To Feed hungry children?” He doesn’t understand why people fight with each other, especially in the name of God, why they let wars to broke out. He appears to be moved by changes arising nowadays.

     The writer asks different questions that remain unanswered but he just leaves the empty space. So that the reader could answer himself. This technique gives one food for thought. Reading takes a lot of concentration and persuades the reader to reflections. Its style and mood distinguish this book between books of similar significance.

     I would recommend it because it can make one realize importance of human’s and world’s existence. Don’t miss this book, it will change the way you see love, longing and your own inner being.

Marta Jamrozik

I have recently read the book ‘The Color of Dreams’ by Robert Strzalko. It takes the reader on a poetic journey, among colors of dreams and life, that sometimes bring tears, sometimes a smile.

This book surprised me many times during the whole reading, because of the way in which it is written. There is a few empty pages with only one sentence which seems to be atypical and nothing here is so obvious just like in ours dreams. I suppose that the plot focuses on author’s love to a woman. The author’s feeling might have been unrequited and lady of his heart left him. In this book author reveal his emotions, feelings memories about his love and about many aspects of human life: war, poverty, happiness, nature. It is aimed to motivate reader to wonder about meaning of life and values of human being. This amazing book includes many questions about surrounding us world and reading it gives the chance to find the most important answers, conclusions for us.

Taking everything into consideration I must admit that it is not easy book to follow, but I recommend this book to everyone who is looking for something new, fresh and definitely thought-provoking.

                                         


               

Patrycja Gajda gr. II A

I recently read the book "The Colour of Dreams" by Robert Strzalko and I must admit I was very impressed. Besides, not only I but also my friends who read this book deemed it to be admirable. It is difficult to say what the plot is about. During the reading I felt as if I was in a totally different world, magic world of dreams. The main element to which the author draws the reader's attention is a woman. I think that she was very important to him. It seems to me that he loved her very much and she reciprocated his emotion but now she is in a different place, far away from the author. He tells the reader what he feels now, what his dreams, memories and whishes are.

     From the very beginning there is a mystery that the author reveals step by step. It is his desire for something and the reders must guess it. What I also liked about the book is its imbiguity. The author doesn't tell the reader everything, he has a free space that can be filled with his own images.

     I think "The Colour of Dreams" is really worth reading. Its mystery and beauty absorbed me completely. Moreover, there are a lot of timeless truths concerning the man and the world that surround him.

     Al in all, it was a real pleasure for me to read this book. I can thoroughly recommend it.

Magorzata Grela

The color of dreams written by american writer Robert Strzalko is an extraordinary and an out-of-this-world book that I have read recently. The form of writing is very original and unprecedented as it covers a lot of space between the lines, which I found very helpful while understanding the whole story. In general, the book presents poetic description of human feelings and emotions.

The most important regards that book deals with are love and human existence. The main aspect presented in this book is love - lost but still present in poet’s life. Poet describes a mysterious, beloved woman who left him or just passed away. Despite the fact that she has gone, she still awakens many emotions in him. The way of describing his affection that he feels for his beloved, makes readers think about their own experiences and memoirs. Another important aspect that appears in book is inexplicable human existence. Poet uses a lot of comparisons to the nature which helps readers to understand some of the metaphysical problems that people, as the society, have to struggle with.

Questions that are not always answered, make readers realize people’s weaknesses “Why it is more important to find the remains of a Dinosaur than it is to feed hungry children?” which shows humans vanity.

 The color of dreams is very worth reading book. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to open their mind and to look at their life from a slightly different view.

Małgorzata Mach Gr 2A

"The Color of Dreams" written by Robert Strzałko is a volume of poems, but they seem to form one long story.

The book begins with three quite abstract questions. It introduces special atmosphere and prepares the reader to rather not very mundane thinking.

“The color of dreams” is written in a specific way and language which may be confusing at first. Every sentence of the book seems to be very important. Every sentence makes the reader think and wonder what did the author exactly mean.

Each story of this book presents a different matter. Some of the stories are long and written in a typical layout, and some are very short and not organized as we would expect them to be. There are some stories that are not clear but it’s one of the reasons why the reader wants to read it once more to look for some answers.

Robert Strzałko in his book encourages people to stop for a moment in their busy lives and think about the values which are of great importance, but unfortunately forgotten.

He describes people's habits and behaviors as if he was an observer. He shows the irony of human life.

The poet asks many questions about the philosophy of life. Many questions are not answered which provokes thinking. The book reminds us that life is very changeable and nothing lasts forever. Among all the stories we notice a story about love. The poet brings back memories connected with his beloved woman. Although they are not together any more, he still has feeling for her.

I think the book is worth recommending to people who want to look at their life from different perspective. While reading this book, they will be able to do a lot of thinking as “The color of dreams” contains many metaphors, unfinished thoughts and questions which are not answered. It gives the reader a chance to create his/her own point of view.  It provokes to reflection on life.

Maria Jemiola

“The color of dreams” by Robert Strzalko can be easily called the volume of poetry since it consists of, at least, thirteen “poems” touching the same problem: existence of human being 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 give 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 the nature- both vivifying and killing. This splendid description of a pure love is sometimes fanned by the pieces of eroticism, shown in a delicate and sensual way. Each time this absorbing portrait of 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, he is not imposing his own opinions. The book gives the reader “free space”- some clues which provokes further reading and using reader's own imagination.

     Although first reading of the book takes no longer than 30 minutes, it does not allow the reader leaving 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 person can appreciate Strzalko's “dreams”.

Agata Karwańska

'The Color of Dreams' written by Robert Strzalko is a book full of personal thoughts of the author. They are so intimate that for an average reader they are really hard to follow.
The book is considered to be about life, love and destiny of the world. The author presents his impressions concerning these but metaphors used don't amaze or excite. The themes they are describing seem to be exploited to the very end by former poets.  Sometimes they even  look like lyrics taken from a song, for example:

'My soul is on fire
Burning with love
Burning for you' (56-58)

Nevertheless, few  verses make a person think and are worth remembering, for example: 

'But
If you believe in nothing
If you stand for nothing
Then
In essence
You are nothing' (27)

Being a writer gives freedom while choosing language and themes. It also exposes to the barrage of criticism. Hardly do I understand using writing method based on shattered verses (unreasonable enjambment) and blank pages left on purpose. I have a strange feeling that this poetical work would be interpreted better  if its layout was different.

'The Color of Dreams' seems to serve the author's self-need for expressing himself. Although, the reader finds himself lost too often.

Anna Szpytman

     The Color of Dreams is a poem by Robert Strzałko, consisting  some philosophic ideas and considerations concerning the life.

     The book seems to be the poetic record of thoughts of a person who is pondering the most important problems of human being, such as the reason for living, unrequited love, dreams, passing the time. The author express his feelings that are caused by those particular experiences. He shows some absurdities of the people, undermines accepted truth.

     The book is a valuable insight into a soul of a person living in a contemporary world, his concerns, feelings, doubts. It shows how important and timeless is the need to answer the philosophic questions: what is the essence of living and what for do we live. However some ideas to show people’s nonsensical behavior are not new and because of it not revolutionary or important for reader to see something from different point of view, but still it can be exciting not to discover something different but to try to understand how the same world can be seen by just another person.

     The book definitely is not a fascinating adventure through unknown spheres of the world but it is a good choice for those who seek something more than pleasures of everyday life and like to stop for a while to try to find out the sense of it.

           

Justyna Bak

The Colour of Dreams is a kind of poem which takes the reader in the world of reflection and contemplation. An author reveals us not only his thoughts, but also ask questions which make us thinking about our life.

The plot focuses on memories about his beloved woman who passed away long time ago. He keeps thinking about her and recalls images from their mutual life like it was yesterday. In the meantime, he makes an observation of the world which is full of evil. He wrote that for people it is “more important to find remains of dinosaurs than it is to feed hungry children”.

The book is quite unique in style, mood and form. Although it is written like a poem, the readers reads it rather like a story. An author’s leaves several time a space which may indicate a break for reflection. When I read it for the first time I was quite confused what this book is about but then I noticed that the more I read it, the more I can find out .

This book original plot guarantee to keep the reader absorbed from beginning to the end. Every time you read it, you will certainly discover something that previously was left unseen. So, if you like unconventional literature – you won’t be disappointed.

Marta Kielar

     Have you ever thought deeper about human mind, our emotions and the complexity of our existence? Robert Strzalko, the Polish-born, American writer, tries to deals with these themes in his book entitled “The color of dreams”. It is hard to define unequivocally the genre of the book as its form resembles a couple of brief but incoherent stories rather than typical poetry.

     The book is very ambiguous. It considers many aspects of human life, feelings and abstract values which, at this aspect, I have to agree, makes it thought-provoking, and gives the reader insight into the writer’s personal thoughts. The poem describes the men who tries to understand surrounding world and its sense, through asking questions about metaphysical aspects, mankind, love and time. ” Time, time, time passed by me The pain of what used to be But is no longer.” The plot is like a dream- very often chaotic, confusing and consists of many separated thoughts. Between them, the poet tells us about his lost love, which is eventually, the main point of the whole story. He describes the women using meaningful metaphors and some sexual innuendo. The beloved has passed away, however, she is still present in men’s heart and mind. “I remember the moment you died As though It was yesterday Sometimes I think you’re still with me In ways I don’t understand.”

     What are the strongest points of the book? It is like a journey into human mind. It’s  surrealistic atmosphere really make us contemplate about our world. However I don’t find the book very convincing. The way the author intersperses the plot make his work confusing. It is true that our thoughts are often to complicated to express them in clear way, however the form of the book and lack of punctuation make it hard to understand the content of it. I didn’t also like the style in which the author expresses his love towards the women .Ofcourse not only sophisticated words make a work good love poem, however the men’s words seem to me immature.

     In  my personal view The “Color of dreams” is not a book for everyone. Admirers of the classical poetry can be rather disappointed. I would recommend this book to those who are searching for something completely different than other books.

Tomasz Jaroch II W

The color of dreams - review

  The book titled “The color of dream” written by Robert Strzalko is one of unpopular sort of literature.  Probably this poem would never become a bestseller but it is not a target of the author.

  The book is written as a collection of separate poems but Robert Strzalko made a very impressive and reflective one story. We can read about a lot of problems which are connected each other in a some way. The author touch on problem with human life, living in a society ,and maybe the most important topic for the author, love. He tells a lot about dreams. Every kind of problem gets a color. Expressiveness of colours depends of situation. The author’s love is showed in dark colours. At the first sight the plot of the book is very enigmatic. During reading we can discover a main idea. The author asks “ why do we dream ? ”.

  “The color of dream” is a provoking book. It provokes us to reflection and Robert Strzalko shows his world through his experience. I would recommend this worth book which is sort of very important questions. It is a one the most educative book I have ever read.

Agnieszka Szpond

‘The color of dreams’ written by Robert Strzalko, who comes from Poland but lives in USA, is completely different book from the other ones which I have ever read. It provides reflection about the world, tries to woken our imagination.

The design of the book makes the impression that it is comprised of separate poems but they create one story. The author takes up the topic of love. He describes a mysterious woman who plays a very important role in his life. Her image and her values are described by using sophisticated language. The next  topic is human existence. The book reminds us that life is very changeable and nothing lasts forever.

The atmosphere of this poetry is rather melancholic. Sadness because of the loss of someone important and pessimistic. The author asks many psychological questions, some of which are answered and some are rhetorical. Thanks to them everybody can reflect for a while on the own life.

I recommend this book not only for those who are romantic and sensible but as well for people who seek the answers on questions about their own life.

This book can be read a couple of times and still we will find something new in it.

 There are a lot of metaphors, unfinished thoughts and questions which are not
answered. It gives a reader chance to create their own point of view.

Agnieszka Pietraszek

“The Color of Dreams” is a poem written by Robert Strzalko. The author comes from Poland but he lives in the U .S. A.  It is his first  published book.

       The book is like a short poems which are related together that’s why they are create one story.

     “The Color of Dreams” is focused on the most important aspects of every human being life which are feelings, emotions, and existence.  

This book provokes readers to think carefully about their life. 

       I have impression that there are two part of the book.

 First, where the author tell us about his love, about woman who was very important person for him . He writes that she loves him ,she hates him, she destroy him . The writer miss her very much an he is depressed of the fact that his love is passed away. Although, she left him, she is still in his heart.

The second part of the poem is about life, about existing.

The poet compare life with the nature and he asks questions about the philosophy of life :

            “Water comprises/ Most of my body/ Water covers/ Most

              of the earth/ For/ What is life/Without water/A/Desert? “ p.65

I think that questions asked by the author makes that readers stop for a moment and think about the answer.

       I recommend Robert Strzalko’s book because for me this book is really nice and pleasure to read even if someone do not like a poem.

         

Anna Olchowa, 2A

The Color Of Dreams by Robert Strzalko is a book which contains the author’s reflections of many aspects of life in a form of free verse poetry. If I would like to find a main  thesis, it could be difficult to do that. There are so many themes that author touches on, however, the title of the whole is significant and influences on the entire text.

The author talks about mysterious female, he mentions her in many parts of the book. We can assume that everything in book happens at night because author many times talks about stars, night, moon. In a very short poem we can find many issues. Author reveals his sensitivity to suffering of animals, cruelty of war. He notices the absurdities of our world.

The form of the poem is like dreams: chaotic, unfinished, there are many abrupt words. In poem like in our dreams appear some visions, memories, people we know.  Author ask many questions and doesn’t provide answers. It may be a task for us- readers to think about them. Although the questions may seem important, in fact, they are only repetitions of questions asked by many people in many epochs. They don’t contribute any new light for presented matters. They aren’t revealing. In many cases what he says are simply truisms. Especially, the parts when he mentions the female aren’t very good. They are banal, conventional, sometimes boring. The words: My soul is on fire/ Burning with love/ Burning for you are so often repeated in many text that they are totally meaningless now, they carry nothing new.

After reading that book I had ambivalent feelings. On the one hand the great matters concerning all mankind: creation, God, war, suffering, passing of time, memories, love. But on the other we can ask question- what innovative did he present? I haven’t found any new approach to these subjects, only commonly stated truths in a not very sophisticated form. 

Bartosz Kurek, 2A,

The Colour of Confusion

The Colour of Dreams by Robert Strzalko seems to be a poetical attempt of gainig an inner sight into a very tissue of dreams, feelings and even contracted reality that is supposedly to be shared by all of us. In this way it justifies so called “author’s licence” for being inconsistent and free of any formal bounds. Such approach could be perfectly appropriate but there are too many feeble metaphors embedded in an extremely exhausting layout. I cannot understand application of torn lines by enjambment that serves all purposes excluding melody and rhythm of the verse, if there is any.

The content of the book is so called poetry, and I am aware that we live in a world of relentless postmodernism, which could be an sufficient excuse for producing incoherent pictures from “inner space”. They tray to deal with every-day problems (loss of beloved one, pointlessness of killing each other – the best parts of the book) and higher causes like ethernal desire, admiration of the world’s beauty, etc. All of the above could stand alone as a means for conveing charm which should emanate from pages, yet unfortunately, there are no stunning metaphors. What the reader finds instead are childish challenges taken up by mature man: “Deep / Within her / Thrust / Into / A / New world / Wet / Soft / Midnight arrows / Pierce / Virgin space” (p. 87) (sic!).

We have a wide range of brilliant poets. Robert Strzalko probably would reach a prominent place in the refined array, if he was focused on the virtues nurtured by the classical authors: consistency, clearness of language and sympathy for the reader expressed by a well-posed form.

Magdalena Blejwas

Do you have enough  time in your everyday life to stop for a moment and think about  dreams?

I suppose that the answer is: No…but everyone  has  such  thoughts.. If you are looking for an original but also interesting story about men who reflect on various elements of the human condition, you should definitely read ‘The Color Of Dreams” by Robert Strzalko.

The plot focuses on…It is hard to say on what exactly…I had a different feelings and emotions when I read this poetry. The book is breath-taking and provoke to reflection on our life.  The author, who is also the main character of the story, from time to time turn to the women who was very important to him. I think that she was felt in love with Robert, but she left him . Robert very hurt. He can’t dealed with his thoughts. She will be forever in his mind…

This book is like a journey – from one dream to another. The spaces between lines helped me to understand the story better. You will spend less than one hour on reading it!  Mr Strzalko  use al lot of questions like : what it is? What should be? What could be?,   express his own dreams  which in fact, are our dreams too. It is a huge portion of reflections in a small pill.

I recommend ‘ The Color Of Dreams’ because it presents in great way reflections on time, truth, and love. The book can be the answer to many questions: What is the most important for us? What should we appreciate before we lose it? It is really worth considering.

Aleksandra Wichryk

“The color of the dreams” is a love poetry written by an American author R. Strzalko. He is an astrologer who is written in original way.

This short book is about love. Author is written about his imaginary woman.. He compares his beloved to star in the sky. Her beauty is the most important in the world. Author often refers to the ancient mythology. He enumerates different names of ancient woman. He wonder how his beloved beauty is better than their one. The plot of the  book is original and confusing. The title-dream is associated with the woman. The woman symbolize the colors of his dream. Main theme is focused on woman and her beauty. Author describes the character of his imaginary beloved as gently and supportive to him.

The language of the book is sophisticated. It is not written as a whole, there are separate pieces of the text. The book has many metaphors and epithets , which gave its content deeper sense.

I didn’t recommended this book because it is a bit confusing. The theme written about everything and at the same time about nothing. During the reading this book there are so many references that you lost plot.

Kasia Kasperska

Rich with unforgettable characters and history, intricately plotted and utterly absorbing, The Colour of the Dreams is a book written by Robert Strzalko which you have to read by reading between lines in order to understand it clearly. Reading this book through all the pages one by one does not make sense. I have to admit that one reading is not enough to understand the real message of this poem. I have gone through the book several times so far and each time I found something magic.

     The book deals with description of people's feelings, moods and desires. The author is an observer who describes people's emotions and behaviours. The most important aspect it deals with is love. The author expounds a woman in a gentle and romantic way who plays the most important role in his life. The poet suffers because she escapes but he is still in love with her. Although they can not be together any longer she still awakens many emotions in him. I was captivated by this story.

    This book has a beautiful message in it. I was enchanted by this story as it turns out that we should live every day as it was the last one because one of these days, it will be. The story shows us that we should not try to achieve success at any price because life is too short and we should take advantage of every opportunity we have to enjoy every moment in life.

The Colour of the Dreams is so gripping book that reading seemed to pass in the twinkling of an eye.

    In my opinion "The Color of Dreams" is a book well worth reading. I would recommend this book because it is the best way to stop and think about our life.

Iwona Bundyra

      'The Color of Dreams' by Robert Strzalko is a well-written poem which deals with love and human existance. The author of this book comes from Poland but lives in the USA. This book provides many poetic descriptions of human feelings and emotions.

      The plot of the book focuses on describing and presenting various feelings and emotions such as love and hurt. The author shows a mysterious woman who plays a very important role in his life. He describes her appearance, way of walking, smell and beautiful eyes. The author of the poem hurts because his beloved passed away. He shares with the reader his deep feelings and memories. This poem contains several rhetorical questions such as: Why do we dream?, What is consciousness?, which persuade the reader to think about life. The book provides us with an insight into the themes well known to us but very often ignored such as: love, nature and war. The author does not impose on the reader his own opinions on these subjects but he puts them in different light which makes the reader contemplate them and form his or her own opinion.

       The plot is quite fascinating but also dramatic because the author cannot be with his beloved. The script is touching and convincing which encourages the reader to contemplate about discussed issues. What is more, the book offers enjoyable and entertaining journey into the space with plenty of opportunities for reflection on human identity. It is sensitively written book for people who like to think about matters which are not important for everyone.

       On the whole, I would recommend it in view of the fact that it is really a good piece of poetry. I recommend this book to an open-minded, sensitive people who adores to read about love. Don't miss it, it will change the way you look at the world.