Customer Reviews

December 22, 1991-1992 (Dreamlog)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Each entry harbors a desire, a need, an obsession which the weak should turn away from. Romano's Dec 22 is a trigger for bitter and pleasurable memories, both acutely American and fantastically personal.

It's a peek into Romano's subconscious. The entries are short and sweet and defy analysis. Some of them don't have a beginning. Keeping track of the real-world analogues to Romano's dream-characters is like watching a soap opera in twenty second snippets. People come and go in a chaotic storm, puppets of Romano's unconscious... and since this is a genuine collection of the author's dreams one can't help but wonder what his friends thought of the dreams they were in.

Normally, there's nothing more boring than someone trying to describe to you a particularly vivid dream they had last night. Chris Romano, however, has managed to record a year's worth of dreams in good form. The entries are engaging, often funny, and he has a crisp delivery that makes this book an enjoyable read. They're short too, making it ideal bathroom reading.

Like most of the residents of Planet E, Romano's obsessed with two things- fecal matter and chicks. With this chronicle of a year's worth of his dreams, the reader is invited into a murky subconcious and is welcome to explore. We get to travel with Dreamboy deep into worlds of humiliation, self-deprecation, and embarrassment, as we find out more than we wanted to know about his pathetic existence. We meet re-occuring characters, and witness endless repetition of certain themes. Though it's tempting to psychologize Romano, who really cares? The book is an enjoyable read, well-written, and filled with the compelling minutia of everyday life.

Imagine spending a year writing down some of your most outrageous and disjointed dreams. Then imagine making them available for others to read. Dreamboy, a voyeuristic look into one man's dreamworld. Odd, grotesque and ultimately funny, the passages are like potato chips, you can't just do one and set it aside. I have also been fortunate enough to catch some animated Dreamboy shorts on MTV's Video Sushi and if you like the book you'll love the video.

December 22 takes a look inside a mind that at times is hilarious and at times disturbing. Either way, the journey through Mr. Romanos' psyche is compelling throughout.

Although not one picture was found in this book; I could gather some visuals of my own.

For those of us who don't seem to be able to remember our dreams, "December 22" is like the User's Manual for twitching in the night. It's a Disney ride through The Great Dumpster in which young men deposit their cerebral refuse. In other words, it's a riot! To appear in one of his dreams must rank as one of the night's unspeakably funny humiliations. Especially if you are his grandmother.

I highly recommend reading this before going to sleep. In fact next time I will read it WHILE I am asleep. After all how many of us have dreams that are this much fun?

Great book! Well written and highly entertaining, Romano journals a year's worth of his dreams and we learn that he, like all of us, has recurring themes running through them....representing sexual frustration, obsessive fears, and scary places. Though his are sometimes WAY OUT THERE and a bit disturbed, we learn to know him and like him and feel sorry for him.