(The Reviews Were Written By College Students In Przemysl, Poland In 2008)
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.
Joanna Wielgus
I recently read the book ‘The Colour of Dreams’ by
Robert Strzalko and I must admit I was impressed. It would not surprise me if
it gained a huge interest of the public.
The plot
of the book focuses on … - it’s difficult to say. During the whole process of
reading I felt as if I was in a different world, sleepy world of dreams. The
book is like a journey – from one dream to another. The main element to which the
author tends to turn to is a woman who was very important to him. ‘Was’ because
it seems as though she is now in completely different dimension. When I look
closer to the situation I think it is he who loved her very much and it is she
who might have left him or even passed away. The author tells us what he feels
now, what his dreams, memories and wishes are.
I like
the way the book is written. It is not conventional but a lot of space between
the lines helped me to understand the story better.
From the very beginning there is a mystery that
the author reveals to me step by step. It is his longing for something, desire
for something. I don’t know it yet, I have to guess what it is. This mystery
absorbs me, forces me to unravel it. I appreciate the fact that the author
treats it with subtlety.
What I also liked about the book is its ambiguity.
Everything said isn’t clearly stated, it gives me free space that I can fill
with my own images, which makes me feel more committed to the book.
All in
all, I think ‘The Colour of Dreams’ is really worth reading. It was a pleasure
for me to get acquainted to it. At the end, I still wanted more. I can
thoroughly recommend this book.
Justyna Bechta
“The Colour of Dreams” written by Robert
Strzałko is an outstanding and extraordinary book. It seems to be the 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 to reflection on our life, on the rules of
our world. It is highly entertaining as well as educating book.
By Rafał 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 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.
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 is 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 let’s you
to 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.
Katarzyna
Jezierska
"The color of Dreams" by Robert Strzalko is a beautifully written
book with poetic
descriptions of human feelings and emotions. The most
important
aspects it deals with are love and human existence. Reading it can be a
kind of travel inside one's soul.
First of all, the poet tell us a lot about love lost, but still present.
He
describes a mysterious woman who plays a very important role in his
life.
Although she escapes him, he is still in love with her. She gives
him a
chance to change his viewpoint, to see the world in different
colors. The
poet suffers because he loves her, but he realizes they can
not be
together any longer.
The second aspect of the book is human existence which is described in
a very
ironic way. Everything is connected with nature. We are all an
inseparable
part of it. Nobody can change it but there are still some
people who
believe it is possible. One of the examples given by the poet are
cities that
we have built in order to became more civilized.
Unfortunately,
we are now running back to the nature. We have probably
realized
that we became slaves of ourselves, slaves of our lust for
power. We
pretend to be strong, but in fact we are impotent. We keep in
prison our
animals in order to feel that we can take control over
somebody or
something.
I would like to recommend this book to those who are willing to
contemplate
each line, even each word, very carefully since 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.
Although,
it is not easy to follow, I think it is worth reading it even
more than
once because each time you read it you discover something new.
Ewelina Moskal
The Colour of
Dreams by Robert Strzalko is one of the most intriguing and thought-provoking
pieces of poetry that I have recently read.
I have gone
through the book several times so far and each time I found in it something
different, something that attracted my attention to a completely new thing. It
gave me an opportunity to think about the power of Nature and all the unnamed
things that control our Universe. I particularly like a passage which says: ”What
do we know of love? It seems that we only know of lust, love seems yet to come
on our planet further from the sun”.
The book is written with no punctuation but a question mark.
The author has many questions concerning all sorts of metaphysical problems and
as I am a person who is constantly looking for the answers, I enjoyed delving
into my consciousness to guess the meaning which is hidden beyond the letters,
in between the sentences written on a sheet of paper.
I find the book really refreshing, I like its dreamy
atmosphere and the choice of topics. Sometimes the conclusion of the author is
witty and touches the heart of the matter, e.g. “If you believe in nothing, if
you stand for nothing, then in essence you are nothing”.
To conclude, I
am glad that I have found, or rather that this poetry found me. Surely, I will
return to it often for the author’s way of perceiving many phenomena is close
to mine.
"The color of dreams", review, Renata KaraĹ
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 a 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 an 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 centre is a story about love. The
poet brings back memories connected with his beloved woman. Although they are
not together any more, 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 the 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 the personal fulfillment.
Katarzyna Mazur
Review
‘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.
Magda Wielgosz
‘The Color of Dreams’ by Robert
Strzałko is a thought-provoking book. It takes the reader on a journey towards
self-discovery. The format is unique and rather surprising. It looks like
separate poems which should be read as a one story. The reader can go back to
his favorite passage without reading the whole book. I find myself re-reading
some sentences, which I rarely do. I like the passage “Just live, just breathe,
just feel, every moment is perfect, every moment is new”. It may appeal to
everybody because we can all identify with the author. We all have dreams and
we are dying for somebody to tell us that they may come true.
The book is excellent with descriptions
of people’s feelings, emotions, desires, etc. which are both moving and
heart-warming. It retains the reader’s interest throughout and gives a
fascinating insight into our life.
The author skillfully
combines words of philosophy and simplicity of meaning and language which makes
it readable and engaging. The author uses rhetorical questions “Why do we
dream?” to encourage the reader to think about life and produce an impressive
effect.
‘The Color of Dreams’ is a great book
that bursts with optimism. It’s the kind of prose that tells the reader that
everything is possible as long as you really want it to happen. That may sound
like an oversimplified version of new-age philosophy but as the author states “If
you believe in nothing, if you stand for nothing then in essence you are
nothing”. This book’s fascinating and sensitively written format is guaranteed
to keep the reader absorbed from beginning to end. Don’t miss your chance to
read it. Once you have read it, you will never forget it.
THE COLOR OF DREAMS – REVIEW
KoniecznyAdrian
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 book 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 that 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
book is very short because it does not have to be long. Its content is so rich
that I spend far more time thinking about it than reading it - and that is the
point.
‘The Color Of Dreams’- book review
Katarzyna Podkalicka
First
and foremost, ‘The Color of Dreams’ by Robert Strzałko is poetry. For those who
do not like poetry it can be a great pain to understand ‘what the author really
wanted to say’. I like poetry and I can say that Robert Strzałko’s work is a
great collection of thoughts arranged smoothly into one little book. We may
think for a while and ask ourselves if the book is very clever and deals with
sophisticated matters or the author was clever enough to put something simple
into sophisticated structure. The answer comes just after reading it.
Talking
about the language, the author simply plays with ‘words’. And here ‘simply’
means ‘just’ not ‘in easy way’, because the book is not easy to follow. To
understand it we have to make our minds open for new concepts, new ideas which
in fact describe totally old thing –life.
The very first page shows how
Robert Strzałko smoothly chooses words and their connotations to create
something original : “Do we say
elementary because our bodies are comprised of the elements? Do we say holy
because our spirits belong to The whole?” Sophisticated thought hidden behind simple
structure mingles with simplicity of meaningful expression.
The
author’s thoughts circle around life: what it is? What should be? What could
be? Etc. He expresses his own dreams, which in fact, are our dreams too. He
asks questions that can be asked by all of us who think about life, who miss
something which could fill its emptiness. “Why
do we live on a planet that orbits a star?”, he asks. “Just live, just breathe, just feel.”, he answers.
The
book also deals with love, as almost all of them do. Poet describes woman of
his heart. He shows her image and her values by using sophisticated language:
by presenting greatly chosen adjectives or meaningful metaphors. We may ask: is
it something really extra ordinary? All of the poets do it. It is nothing new,
nothing original. But still while reading we feel sympathy towards him, we
understand his tragedy, his loss, his pain. “And
as I withdrew from her nectar Her yin was all over my yang”. (…) “Time, time,
time passes by me the pain of what used to be but is no longer.”
The
atmosphere of this poetry is rather melancholic. Sadness because of the loss of
someone important, longing for understanding, both: from other people, and for
his own understanding of world. ‘Stranger
killing stranger, Both in the name of God. Brother fighting brother, not by
choice it’s rather job. What does God think about people killing in His
name?(’…) ‘You created my enemy to fill the void. Why is that we need someone
to hate? Someone to destroyed?’.
At the end I can say that this book is a small piece of
something very big. I believe there is
much more behind these words as we usually cannot express everything that we
want to say. And if this ‘piece’ is so amazing, the rest must be really ingenious.
In my personal view this book is worth not only reading but
also understanding as it provides great nourishing medium for our souls.
Wojciech Trelka
If
you are looking for a book providing insight and reflection on various elements
of life, about deep feelings and emotions, you should definitely read ‘The
Colour of Dreams’ by Robert Strzalko.
In
the book, the author shows his reflections about existence and analyzes what is
around us. He describes his thoughts and tries to guide the reader through
human feelings held deep inside of everyone of us. Interaction with nature is
also a very important aspect of the book. The author opens our eyes and gives a
new point of view into the world around us. Although this book deals with
extremely hard problems, we can see here the story of love and physical desire.
The
book has an interesting design and seems to be comprised solely of short poems.
It is a huge portion of reflections in a
small pill. The writer has created intellectual atmosphere in every page of his
book.
I’m
not a professional critic but in my opinion this book is aimed for adult
people. However, I think that this book is worth reading, especially if you
have an open mind and soul.
“The
colour of dreams” a poem written by
Robert Strzałko is distinct and unique in mood, style, and form. It takes the
reader on a thought provoking poetic journey.
From the very beginning the author asks many questions to the
reader : “What is consciousness? “,“Why do we dream?”, which makes the
impression of dialogue between the writer and the reader making the book more
interesting. The plot concerns thoughts about the universe, humanity, and the
inseparable connection between them, as “ Everything is relative”. I agree with
author, that human existence is based on Chinese philosophy “Yin and Yang” that
are descriptions of two mutually correlated opposites. Every creature can
communicate with each other “When I look at the moon, I feel like it saying
something to me”.
What I like about the book is the statements about human
nature, that people should believe in something: God, Love, Freedom because if
we believe in nothing, we are nothing. Life is a short but beautiful journey
“People die to be born, again and again”, every moment is different and nothing
stays the same.
My view is that the book is an instruction on how to live in a
good way, because according to author’s opinion, nowadays, the world consists
of many people who are afraid of themselves, they are smiling but they are
unhappy. They feel strong desire to posses everything, but at the same time
they loose freedom, stop believing in miracles and feeling that the seasons
change. I support the author’s opinion that the only things that people should
do to be happy are: live, breathe, feel and respect others.
The plot of book is believable and interesting. I can
thoroughly recommend this book because it will change the way you think about
the hierarchy of values in life.
The Color
Of Dreams review
Approaching
the first pages of the book, you are under the delusion that
everything
you are going to read will be undoubtedly be poetry. Soon you
realize it
resembles poetry perhaps in choice of the topic only, since
its layout
is like no other poetry you have ever read. The format reads
more like a
series of short stories. In a way it surprises a reader.
After all it’s
not often that you see pages left almost entirely blank. Its design
allows a
busy reader to finish it in one setting.
However,
the book surely demands multiple readings. The topic seems to be
so vast
and, what is most important, it makes you wonder about
everything
that concerns you. It provides insight and reflection on
various
elements of the human condition. I felt this book to be related
to a deeper
understanding of our true emotions. The book compiles
reflections
on many various aspects of our life being sometimes funny
and at the
same time providing nice uplifting. I recommend this book to
anyone with
a mind open to new revelations about the world around them
and willing
to take a trip inside your own mind.
Dorota Kurasz
Review of book
“The Color of Dreams” Robert Strzalko
Poetry is such a wonderful tool for
self-expression, emotional release, and creative art. The written word can
evoke the deepest feelings, bring a smile, or tear, and reach out to the reader
in many ways. Robert Strzalko has published a unique in style and form poem-
“The Color of Dreams”. It takes the reader on a poetic journey among separate
poems which are merged into one captivating story.
Its design allows a booklover to read
it progressively, in stages, and at the same time makes it possible to
contemplate various elements of the human mentality. The plot focuses on
spiritual and mental aspects of life. There are the deliberations of crude and
natural emotions, that by the end of the book makes you more aware of reality.
Never before have I read a book that
gives so many answers to the complexity of existence. The
author wonders what is consciousness and why do we dream. By making
references to universe and planets, he obtains general and ubiquitous rightness of life. Moreover,
using names of parts of space and nature causes mysterious atmosphere. There
are shown diverse features of emotions and pleasures.
In my opinion, “The Color of Dreams” has deep
meaning and if you would like to find it, you should re-read passages and go
back to these parts which are most challenging to understand. It is clear that Robert Strzalko has a passion
for his craft. It is worth reading because it will change the way you see your
experience of life.
Marcin Aftanas
‘The Colors of Dreams’
written by Robert Strzalko is a very interesting and captivating book. I
recently read it, and I must say I was impressed, because it was much more
enjoyable than I had expected. Never before have I read a book that gave me so
much reflection on various elements of the human life.
The book consist of short
stories which provide deep understanding of human life, nature and interaction
with it, and society:
“Societies commit war,
individuals commit murder. Is there any difference? Two men started war, two
million finish it”
The book really stands out.
‘The Color of Dreams’ opens our eyes to many aspects of our lives and provides
reflection on it. Not every question is answered in the book, but maybe that is
the time for us to think about it.
‘The Color of Dreams’ is
certainly a wonderful book, and was a pleasure to read it. I can thoroughly recommend
this book, and I am sure you would enjoy it too.
Agnieszka Pankowicz
Recently I have read an interesting book
written by an American writer Robert Strzalko. The book is entitled “The Color
Of Dreams” and it is poetry. In general the book is about love, but is not the
clichéd one. The form of writing is also original.
The author is lost in meditation about the
world, the truth, about his love. At the beginning of his book, he comes to the
conclusion that dreams have a colour only when the person who we love is near,
close to us. His love passed away. But the reader may ask in what way she
passed away? From the real world, or from his heart? Maybe both? However, he still remembers her face, her hair,
shapes of her body. The author paints somehow her portrait, he comes back to
the moment when he saw her for the first time. Without his love it is darkness.
But he still feels her presence all the time, as if she was with him. That is
why his dreams are probably coloured.
I would recommend “The Color Of Dreams”
because, in an excellent way, it presents an essential part of our life- love and
it’s absence. Full of 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.
AGNIESZKA
STOPYRA
The Colour
of Dreams – review
‘The Colour of Dreams’ by Robert Strzalko is a series
of short poems. They, however, run through each other so smoothly that you read
them almost like a book. A book with a
deep personal background that you try to discover on every next page.
The book provides us with an insight into the themes
well known to us but very often ignored. They are: war, nature, love, even
lust. The author, though, does not impose on us his own opinions on these
subjects, but puts them in different light, which makes the reader contemplate
them and form his or her own opinion.
Personally, I do not enjoy poetry. There are very few
poems I really admire and that was the reason for my scepticism before reading
it, but I happened to read ‘The Colour of Dreams’ while listening to Hans
Zimmer’s music and that made an overwhelming impression on me. Not only did they
fit together well, but also the music made me feel what I was reading.
Sometimes ironic, sometimes a bit pathetic, the book
still wakes our imagination and senses and that makes it well worth reading. Read it either listening to a good piece of
music or in absolute silence. This book will convince you that ‘dreams have a
colour’.
MAGDA GŁÓD
“The color of Dreams” is a well-written
book by Robert Strzalko. The author of this book comes from Poland but lives in USA
The major plot focuses on author’s love of
a woman who has just died. He is nervously broken down because he loves her so
much and can’t stand the fact that she just isn’t on earth. The author remembers
the time when he was with her. Her appearance, way of walking, smell. He also
tells about her beautiful eyes. He makes a lot of comparisons. The stars are
the most important for the author as well as the bird’s flight!!!
This excellent book is full of affection
and tells that the love is stronger than death and full of hope to meet
afterlife. I fully recommend this book for those who are romantic and sensible.
Thanks to this book people can associate their feelings if they lost somebody
whom they loved. It is full of truth and it’s a perfect description of
feelings, especially those sad and psychologically suffering. Makes an unforgettable mood.
Patrycja Zubrzycka
“The Color of Dreams” by Robert Strzalko is a
poetic book, which gives the reader insight into the author’s personal thoughts
and feelings. It presents the world seen
by his eyes and tells the story of love to a woman, which is lost.
The book is well-written and it’s a pleasure
to read it. I appreciate the selection of words – subtle, but expressing
emotions and moods. The atmosphere is dreamy, a little surreal, but on the
other hand, the book deals with very serious matters. There is war mentioned,
reflections of people killing in the name of God or mothers sending their sons
to war. Author contemplates on human nature and on nature itself. I especially
like the passage about water, which says that there’s no life on our planet
without it.
Other subjects covered in “The Color of
Dreams” are outer space and time. From traveling through time and trips around
the sun to Venus, the planet of love. Eventually, love is the main point of the
whole story. “I’ve burnt all your letters, but I would like to have them” –
author recalls a relationship with a woman. He shares with the reader his deep
feelings and memories. However it’s sometimes pessimistic, for example in the
passage about God (“Is there God on Earth or in the Sky?”), and I don’t agree
with every statement.
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.
Dorota Słabicka
“The Color of Dreams” is the first public appearance
of Robert Strzalko. The form of his book resembles a couple of brief stories
rather than typical poetry. However, we can observe some links and similarities
between them.
The plot of the book focuses on
describing and presenting various feelings and emotions such as love and hurt.
What is more, each page gave me enormous opportunity to think deeply not only
about people, but also about nature which is mentioned as well. I like the page
that asks the question “what is consciousness?” Such a statement led me to contemplating and
dreaming about everything. The Color of Dreams is a great and clever book to
read. Its form which is more like short stories allows even a busy reader to
finish reading the whole story. I find it to be more fascinating and original.
Never before have I read a book that gave me so much to consider and reflect
about on almost every page. This book gave me the satisfaction of using my
senses because it fulfilled my expectation and helped me to understand the
text. Apart from these, it served me a positive attitude and optimism.
I absolutely enjoyed The Color of
Dreams. It is worth reading. I recommend it to anyone. Read the book and find out.
Sebastian Bana
The Color of dreams is a poetry book which considers many problems of human nature,
psychology and today's world. Although this book is not long and you can read
it in half an hour, it is better to stop after each part and think it over.
The book deals
with abstract notions like dreams or consciousness as well as with more
down-to-earth topics such as war, civilization, etc. The writer often asks
questions, however, he does not answer them in a clear, simple way (if he does
it at all). He wants us to think about those issues and not only in the context
of this book but in the context of our life. Questions are of great importance
as they are the only punctuation marks in the book. What has struck me the most
are the fragments about the mindlessness of some aspects of humanity. The
author writes that people evoke wars which do not make sense and build big
cities only to escapes from them to nature.
After reading
this book I realized that there are so many curious things in the world which I
had not thought about. So I recommend this book to anybody who would like to
look at their lives from a slightly different perspective.
Slawomir Kulacz
This book’s intriguing! Kind of rebellious (or rather modern) due to
the lack of punctuation as such. But the form doesn’t matter when somebody’s
got something important to say to himself (or even share with a close person).
I’m not sure if I’m getting it right but it seems to me that it’s kind of a
philosophical diary rather than lyrical poetry. But on the other hand it’s
largely reader-oriented.
Obviously a “passive” person
couldn’t write those things. It seems to me that the person is very observant
and feeling-conscious. The author touches upon fundamental issues, mentions
values, notions and asks essential questions. They cover the whole world,
different points of view, situations, and outer space.
The text(s) are deeply
emotional and those emotions can easily transfer to the reader due to the slow
pace that the form imposes. I think the sentence “My soul is on fire / Burning with
love / Burning for you” can’t pass unnoticed.
He writes about his love in a
light and romantic way, using sophisticated and unusual metaphors.
All in all it makes
fascinating reading. Provided of course, the reader wants to think of something
more than his current day-to-day needs!
‘The Colour
of Dreams’ – review
Joanna
Kasperska
The book entitled ‘The
Colour of Dreams’ written by Robert Strzałko is a collection of poems
expressing feelings and thoughts of the author.
In the book, there are two
motives which intertwine together: the first concerning the sense of life and
the second about love.
The author describes a
woman who he loves but who he has lost. He tries to forget about her: ‘I burned
your letters to get you out of my heart’. However, it is impossible. He can not
stop thinking about her and still reminisces about the woman and the past when
she was with him.
The author also asks a
lot of questions concerning people’s lives: ‘What is time? What is love? When is
morning? What will it bring?’ Moreover,
he refers to the Bible and to the creation of man as well as nature. The book
includes many thoughts on people’s way of life and helps people realize how it
really is.
The book is really worth
reading. It makes the reader think about many difficult things about which we
do not think every day. It is a kind of stimulus for us. People can stop for a
moment and contemplate the contents of the book as well as the excellent
language used by the author. I think that everyone will be moved by the book…
Elżbieta
Czycz
The book I have recently read is entitled "The Colour of Dreams".
It is written by Robert Strzałko - an American of Polish ancestry.
"The Colour of Dreams" is a book of verse. This work of literature
is the request for knowledge. The author wishes he could have an opportunity
to deepen his understanding of the world. He also describes his pursuit of
happiness and search for the meaning of life.
There are some confusing instances in the plot, when Strzałko mentions
the mysterious woman he has lost. The reader can be a little bit confused
whether
she has left him or died. But what is obvious, he misses her very much.
The book is clever, well-written and full of metaphors. Its sophistication
makes the reader wonder what is the sense of life and what is the way love
goes.
In my opinion, "The Colour of Dreams" is worth recommending to quell
one's
emotions and delve deeply into reading and at the same time thinking. It kept
me absorbed
from beginning to end.
Review of a book, “The Color of Dreams”
BARTEK
When I first heard about R.Strzalko’s “The Color of Dreams” I
had some premonition about it. I thought it will be another book concerning
everything and nothing at the same time. Though, I was positively surprised
when I read it.
As the title suggests, the
book is about something that every human has, about something that gives people
hope, gives them power to struggle with everyday problems - dreams. The reader
can stop for a while, have a rest and prepare for another “battle”. “The Color of Dreams” provides the audience
with a lot of thoughts and reflections about the surrounding world. Their
senses are awakened and intellect challenged.
The book offers quite an unusual layout. There are some pages
in which just one or two lines are printed. It seems to me that the author
wanted to underline some of his thoughts more than the other. “The Color of Dreams”
has the form of a series of short poems, however there is not any visible
division or chapters.
I recommend this book to anyone that enjoys poetry. Although
the book may cause some trouble to readers and force them to put some mental
effort into it, it will give them a lot of satisfaction and make their life
“brighter”.
SABINA BUSZTA
Lately I have read “The color of dreams” by
Mr. Robert Strzałko. This book left me with numerous questions, not only about
its content but also about its layout.
In my opinion, “The color of dreams” focuses
on nature, its interaction with a human, particularly with an author. Mr.
Strzałko tries to deal with some burning questions which for me aren’t so
disturbing to broach. Furthermore, it was a little difficult for me to follow
fragments in which his considerations are. However, there is also a “tale of
love” which, in my point of view, is very moving and I loved it from the very
beginning. The author reminiscing about unforgettable moments with the woman he
loves. While reading those parts I felt this energy, joy and happiness.
Nevertheless, love is also shown as a feeling which may hurt. The man attempts
to cope with the fact that the woman is no longer with him, but he still can’t
stop thinking about her.
The design of the book is original. Never
before have I seen something which seems to be a kind of story but is written
in this way. Honesty, I like it due to the fact that it is easier to read.
Personally, it took me about an hour or two to finish it.
“The Color of dreams” is a book worth
reading. I don’t like a few things in Mr. Strzałko’s work. Frankly, maybe I’m
too young to understand some of his thoughts. Nonetheless, love fragments
convinced me.
Agata
Andruszczyszyn
“The
Color of Dreams” by Robert Strzałko is a book unique in style. At first it
seems that it consists of different poems, but in fact it is rather one story.
The book is full of questions and possible answers. It’s packed with thoughts,
emotions, love. It is definitely a book which provokes deeper thinking.
The
book is riveting, owing to the fact that it’s quite short the reader may finish
it at once. One of the best aspects of the book is its originality and thought
provoking plot. It is not just a book to be read because of boredom or only for
fun. It is entertaining, the kind which lives with questions and afterthoughts.
On
the contrary this intriguing plot may be overcomplicated for the readers. It is
hard to understand what is the main point of and the message of the story.
There are too many of threads, too many questions to think of. It is a book for
determined readers.
The
story which is presented in “The Color of Dreams” is compelling and interesting.
I recommend it to everyone who wants something more from a book, for those
readers who want to spend some of their time on deep thinking.
Kamil Malinowski
Imagine you start to think
about various things for some time. Nothing specific, just the normal stuff
people think about: how you hate your job, the meaning of life, what to eat for
dinner, how the universe started, and all these little things. And now,
imagine, that there is a transcendental way to put your thoughts on paper,
creating a kind of map of your mind.
Can't do it? Well, fear not,
as there is someone who can, so you can witness the outcome of this process
yourself.
'The Color of Dreams' by
Robert Strzalko is a product of a man being disturbed by his own thoughts. At
least that's the impression I got after reading his 'map of thoughts'. He is
moving from serious topics (the process of creation) to more personal matters,
and the form of the book makes it very swift, so you can't really say where
something starts and where it ends. This resembles a blank verse, but has some
differences, thanks to which the author created his own style.
There is one thing I like in
particular. There are some pages where there is only a small piece of text -
two lines or so. If I could name them, the name would be 'Reflection Pages'.
When you reach one of these pages, you just read the passage, and can't help
but reflect about what you just read. I don't know if this was a deliberate
ploy or not, but the effect is interesting.
The only problem with 'The
Color of Dreams' is that for many, it's just a 'one-shot' book, which will be
forgotten after the last page. However, I think it should be treated as a good
ambient album. And good ambient must be as ignorable as it is interesting.
BOOK REVIEW
"The Color Of Dreams" by
Robert Strzalko is one of the most excellent
books I have ever read. At first I
was not sure if the book convinced me
because of its quite unprecedented
design. The book is written rather than in
rhyme, and we can find only one word
written in each line, but I have to
admit that it provides good insight
and reflection on various elements
of the human condition.
What is really amazing for me, is
the fact that "The Color Of
Dreams" seems to be very
private for the author, but while reading it, it
becomes very close to the reader’s
feelings and emotions. It gives so much to
contemplate on each and every page,
and also asks very simple and at the
same time difficult questions:
"Why do we dream?", "What is consciousness?"...
There is connection between every
aspect of life, love, nature, our
greatest emotions and our
interaction with our surroundings described in
passage such as : "It's funny
how we build our cities to escape the
untamed wild. But now the city is a
jungle, as we run back to nature
like lost child."
The plot is involving, but such a
book may be interesting for a
limited range of readers, because
not everyone is into someone's private
thoughts and feelings or just the
style of writing. The book contains
some unwritten pages with only one
verse, but I found it captivating.
I recommend this book as a good
"cure" to have at home and read
whenever we feel bad, sad or when we
are simply fed up with everything.
I am sure that I will read this book again.
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