Yes, Dr. J.B. Haldane had rightly proposed when he said, “Not only is the universe stranger than we suppose, but stranger than we can suppose.” The strangeness of life from an account of a true story many have seen eye to eye with, was the focal point of Whitley Strieber’s Communion. In the nonfictional prose, we saw life from a distinctive view that inspires worthwhile questioning of the nature of the Universe.
I believe this book is for every receptive reader.
First published in 1987, Communion is a collection of true stories including the author’s that give an impression that there may be another aspect of life, —or say world (if not worlds) yet to be understood fully in our world.
Read Also: Are We Real?
The author, from the time he was a child, has been experiencing some kind of strange events including what he described as ‘‘the visitor’s abduction’’, where his consciousness (or maybe himself—still unclear) will be taken from the immediate premise to an unknown setting for some kind of experiments, occasionally.
The story is one full of mysteries that even the author cannot fully explain. Who the visitors are, is the first question to ask, where did they take him, why was he abducted, what do the visitors want, are some other questions to follow. Well, Strieber tried as much as he could to attend to all these questions as much as he himself needed to get them clear, he described clearly the image of these visitors (which was drawn and made the book cover).
In Communion, Whitley tried hard to give a detailed account of the visitors and how they operate, to the best of his might. It appeared to him at first he may not be sane, but as time went on, he got hypnotised and underwent some psychological tests—including one with Director of Research Donald F. Klein—only to realize he is not acting under some kind of disorder or mental paralysis. This action didn’t assure Whitley as much as getting to meet others who reported similar cases did to him.
What’s more, he hadn’t told his experiences with the visitors to his wife and children when he was privy to gather that they have also somewhat had similar experiences alongside him. His wife was hypnotized while he noticed his son’s knowledge of the strange events in an essay the boy had written for his school.
He understood he wasn’t alone in the abduction and researched widely to get a broader view of the experience. He found a way to acquaint himself with the event and live just fine because no therapy will stop the scenes; it wasn’t a problem of the brain or so.
Perhaps the dead had been having their own technological revolution, and were learning to break through the limits of their bourne.
~ Whitley Strieber on page 96
Whitley also expresses his contemplations on whether the United States government may know more than it is saying about this event. He provided certain plausible accounts for this reason.
***
I kind of feel obliged to clarify something in this post. I’ve come to notice some people cannot see the congruent nexus between Strieber’s account of some mysterious visitors and what he turned out to be saying towards the end of the book. One reviewer, discussing the last 20 pages of the book, particularly thought Strieber might have been high on a great deal of marijuana to accentuate his opinion of ‘duality’ and ‘trinity’ using the obsolete Hindu, Sumerian, and Aztec’s poetry.
If I’m asked, I’d say Whitley used these poems to ease the decryptification of his notion that we’re probably supposed to believe in duality and trinity…, the same way he used Alexander Pope’s An Essay on Man (on page 248) to underscore the point that man may not be the most advanced creature on the planet Earth. He quoted that Pope wrote:
“So man, who here seems principal alone
Perhaps acts second to some sphere unknown..”
Had he simply said he thinks of man’s duality and trinity in connection with the abduction phenomenon, these critics would have been more critical, confused of where the hell Strieber’s mind has travelled.
The direct-to-point fact about this thing Strieber did is that he has read a lot, especially unscientific works related to this topic, and since science is still standing largely aloof in the subject, he wrote out his instincts, clarifying them as presuppositions. You necessarily don’t have to buy those ideas. He only thought of them and alleged!
Nevertheless, a lot, enough to make us think twice, have been written on fairies, aliens, succubus, and other seemingly fictitious beings sharing life with man, since years as far back as possible —we turn blind eyes to this things or just simply didn’t believe they exist because of the culture of the modern world.
Most of us are raised to believe that anything we cannot see does not exist, but you’ll have to reflect on and question your knowledge by the time you get to read nonfiction books like Strieber’s ‘Communion’. Rare and unique books I think they are.
If you enjoy reading the book as much as I did, you probably would be induced to write another book like, “The review of Whitley Strieber’s ‘Communion’”. OMG! I mean there is a lot to tell others about the book if you read it.
My Rating of The Book: 4.5/5
Who is Whitley Strieber?
1984 Warday co-author Louis Whitley Strieber was born in San Antonio, Texas, United States on June 13, 1945. He is a prominent American writer known for Communion and a number other famous books including 1981 The Hunger and 1978 The Wolfen.
Strieber studied at the London School of Film Technique and the University of Texas at Austin where he graduated in 1968. Shortly after his graduation, Whitley worked with some advertising companies but he soon quit to pursue his writing career exclusively. He has been active in his profession since 1978 to the present time (2023).
The successful American writer is a father of one and a spouse to Anne Strieber.
Disclaimer: Book reviews are not a summary of any book in question. They may also be subjective. It is the perspective of a reader…
Final Thought
For me, I basically learnt from this book that our world is still vaguely understood, consequent upon which we should expect the things we do not expect. Anything shouldn’t catch us unaware in life again. Whitley Strieber’s Communion is a good book you should get, at least to widen your horizon.
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