The Unveiling - by Quan Barry (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

"A novel that's equal parts 'White Lotus' and 'Get Out'"--New York Times

From the award-winning author of We Ride Upon Sticks and When I'm Gone, Look for Me in the East, a genre-bending novel of literary horror set in Antarctica that explores abandonment, guilt, and survival in the shadow of America's racial legacy

Striker isn't entirely sure she should be on this luxury Antarctic cruise. A Black film scout, her mission is to photograph potential locations for a big-budget movie about Ernest Shackleton's doomed expedition. Along the way, she finds private if cautious amusement in the behavior of both the native wildlife and the group of wealthy, mostly white tourists who have chosen to spend Christmas on the Weddell Sea.

But when a kayaking excursion goes horribly wrong, Striker and a group of survivors become stranded on a remote island along the Antarctic Peninsula, a desolate setting complete with boiling geothermal vents and vicious birds. Soon the hostile environment will show each survivor their true face, and as the polar ice thaws in the unseasonable warmth, the group's secrets, prejudices, and inner demons will also emerge, including revelations from Striker's past that could irrevocably shatter her world.

With her signature lyricism and humor, Quan Barry offers neither comfort nor closure as she questions the limits of the human bonds that connect us to one another, affirming there are no such things as haunted places, only haunted people. Gripping, lucid, and imaginative, The Unveiling is an astonishing ghost story about the masks we wear and the truths we hide even from ourselves.

Review Quotes

Praise for The Unveiling:

People's #1 Must-Read Book of Fall
A Los Angeles Times Most Anticipated Book of Fall 2025
A Literary Hub Most Anticipated Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Horror Book of 2025
A Book Riot Fall 2025 Most Anticipated Book
A Town & Country Best Book of Fall 2025
A Time Most Anticipated Book of Fall 2025
A Women.com Most Anticipated Book of Fall 2025
A Wisconsin Public Radio Book Club Selection

"A tense thriller of a novel . . . There are plenty of ways to die in Antarctica and Quan Barry seems to have found them all . . . Delightfully macabre . . . If you want a tight thriller with a compelling protagonist or a tense novel that has you wondering what's real and what isn't, you can't go wrong with this one."--Katie Gill, Mississippi Clarion Ledger

"A novel that's equal parts 'White Lotus' and 'Get Out' . . . blends White's penchant for delicious, violent satire of the uber-privileged and Peele's skill at using humor, psychological collapse and flat-out horror to reveal racism afresh . . . The Unveiling is an ambitious work of literary horror marked by bold storytelling moves . . . it's exhilarating to follow these terrified, terribly behaved characters as they try to survive with and against one another, while out there in the Antarctic dark, other presences lurk. Whether you reckon with it or avoid it, a supernatural present, like a traumatic past, will hunt and haunt you."--Randy Boyagoda, New York Times

"Gripping and terrifying."--People, #1 Must-Read Book of Fall

"Crystalline . . . A scary 'Gilligan's Island' in Antarctica."--Ayesha Rascoe, NPR

"Virtuosic . . . has a sharp, sophisticated point of view, and a double consciousness, toggling between her perceptions of her fellow travelers and their attitudes about people of color, and the inner self who is slowly emerging into her awareness . . . The Unveiling, with its icy twists and deep blue horrors, is a blend of wrought historic layers and contemporary anxieties."--Jane Ciabattari, Literary Hub

"In Quan Barry's ominous, beautifully written psychological horror . . . [Striker is] perceptive and sharp-witted, funny even, but she's carrying baggage along with her Leica camera . . . As the passengers battle demented seals, mad penguins and each other, Striker, like the iceberg, is fracturing. Is she in another dimension? Is she detoxing from clozapine? Or are the souls of past explorers haunting them? Maybe all of the above."--Carole Barrowman, Minnesota Star Tribune

"If you're a seasonal reader and you're in the mood for a genre-bender set at the end of the world, The Unveiling by the award-winning author of We Ride Upon Sticks just came out . . . Striker's story turns into one of survival, and let's just say that the true nature of the mostly wealthy and white tourists comes out."--Book Riot, Best New Book Releases

"Here's Striker, hero of Barry's latest novel, aboard one of these waterbound Hindenburgs on her way to Antarctica, with the idea of scouting film locations. Of course neither she nor her cruisemates should count on an uneventful ride right to their destination, in this peculiar skein of race, psychological horror and social satire."--Colin Dwyer, NPR

"Inventive intense and darkly funny until it's deadly serious. Barry unflinchingly takes on race, gender, belonging and longing in this beautifully written, messy, disturbing . . . novel."--Sarah Rachel Egelman, Bookreporter

"Honestly all I needed to hear was 'Quan Barry' . . . Seasonally appropriate, in that it is creepy and weird and cold. Very cold . . . Yes. Yes please."--Reactor Magazine

"Blends delicious satire of the uber-privileged with humor, psychological collapse and flat-out horror to reveal racism afresh."--New York Times, Editors' Choice

"An unsettling ghost story with elements of social satire, historical fiction and climate fiction, this ambitious book explores themes of guilt, memory and racial identity . . . Barry certainly knows how to evoke disorienting physical and mental states."--Emily McClanathan, NewCity Lit

"The Unveiling isn't a story of a traditional haunting. Although the island itself remembers the trauma that the members of a previous excursion enacted on it and one another, the novel's primary pulse is one of racial and social tension . . . Barry turns an unflinching and darkly funny gaze on actions and their repercussions in a novel that asks, 'How much of our personal narratives are even true?' And moreover, who are humans at their core--particularly when they're fighting for survival at the ends of the Earth? . . . an unflinching and darkly funny psychological horror novel."--Kristen Coates, Shelf Awareness

"Part ghost story, part survivor's tale, The Unveiling is both humorous and unsettling as hell . . . This particular kind of horror simmers and seethes, as dread outlasts fear."--Michael Popke, Isthmus

"In this literary horror novel, a Black film scout who takes a luxury cruise (for some, that's horror enough) to find locations for a coming big-budget movie about Shackleton's failed expedition ends up stranded with some of her privileged fellow passengers on a remote Antarctic island, where she confronts inner demons and outer unpleasantness (the remains of stranded explorers, violent birds)."--Globe and Mail

"A mashup of Agatha Christie and H.P. Lovecraft . . . the castaways hide terrible secrets, including Striker, and the unveiling of these secrets could destroy them. Even the ice itself has ghastly history buried within it. You won't soon forget the unsettling and compelling work that is The Unveiling."--Arlene McKanic, BookPage

"I think, actually, that Quan Barry can do anything."--Emily Temple, Literary Hub

"A chilling work of literary horror . . . A fitting read for spooky season."--Town and Country

"[Striker] not only has to contend with her privileged shipmates, but the ghosts of shipwrecks past in this supernatural hair-raiser about identity, guilt, and survival."--Shannon Carlin, Time

"Quan Barry takes readers on a nightmarish voyage to the ends of the earth in her unsettling latest novel . . . This incorporation of issues of race and privilege ratchet up the narrative's heft--but it's worth noting that the novel also has moments of both broad and satirical humor . . . as well as of great beauty . . . Once again, Quan Barry has demonstrated her range and adeptness at an unexpected new genre--readers will be eager to see what she tackles next."--Norah Piehl, BookBrowse

"Irresistible . . . The Unveiling should be a Hulu series before you finish reading this sentence -- a Black film scout is marooned on an island in the Antarctic with white, rich tourists. Part dark satire, part ghost story."--Christopher Borrelli, Chicago Tribune

"How has no one written this story before and thank goodness it's Barry (We Ride Upon Sticks) who has, with her signature blend of ironic humor, supernatural whispers and historical context, created a horror story worthy of 21st-century concerns."--Bethanne Patrick, Los Angeles Times

"Barry, a poet as well as a novelist, captures what happens to people when they are forced to survive at the literal ends of the world."--Washington Post

"The Unveiling is a literary survival horror novel that takes place on a luxury Antarctic cruise. Striker is a Black film scout who has joined the cruise in the hopes of capturing locations for a big-budget movie. But nothing about the cruise goes according to plan, and when an excursion goes terribly wrong, Striker and a small group of survivors find themselves stranded in the middle of the Antarctic. As things grow more dire, hostilities and people's true nature come to the surface."--Emily Martin, Book Riot

"A sharp, hypnotic literary horror novel . . . The novel shines with the nuance, rich imagery, and social commentary that her previous three novels and five poetry collections are known for."--Mel Hammond, Tone Madison

"A luxury trip to Antarctica goes horribly wrong in Barry's triumph of literary horror . . . A terrifying must-read set at the ends of the Earth."--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"A Black film scout's Antarctic cruise transforms into cinematic horror when she finds herself marooned, staring down horrors that may or may not be real. An inventive novel and disquieting meditation on race."--Hamilton Caine, Boston Globe

"Rife with sardonic humor and social commentary . . . a thought-provoking exploration of the limitations of survival."--Booklist

"Barry is an accomplished wordsmith . . . [Her prose] is often spare and sharply controlled, interrupted by visual ruptures . . . The effect is deeply disquieting, steeped in atmospheric dread and a slow-building sense of existential drift. Just when you think you've found your footing, the ice cracks."--Clementine Doyle, Women.com

"A combination of 'The Shining' and 'Get Out' with eldritch vibes, and what's not to love about that?"--Julianne Bell, The Stranger

Praise for Quan Barry:

"Mesmerizing and delicate . . . A dazzling achievement . . . The rhythms are more like prayer than prose, and the puzzlelike plot yields revelations in unassuming sentences that a skimming eye could easily miss . . . The unlikeliness of the novel is exactly its magic."--New York Times, on When I'm Gone, Look for Me in the East

"Engrossing . . . At its heart, When I'm Gone, Look for Me in the East asks questions fundamental to the human experience that will resonate regardless of the reader's familiarity with Mongolia, and it's bound to be beloved by book clubs."--Boston Globe

"A wholly original, enlightening read."--Time, on When I'm Gone, Look for Me in the East

"Spiritual and emotional . . . A journey worth taking . . . A peaceful and edifying story that can be endlessly mined for deeper meaning."--The Rumpus, on When I'm Gone, Look for Me in the East

"A dreamlike and lyrical journey steeped in the tenets of Tibetan Buddhism."--Kirkus Reviews (starred review), on When I'm Gone, Look for Me in the East

"An imaginative tour de force . . . Evincing the same dazzling talents that won high critical praise for We Ride Upon Sticks, Barry vastly expands readers' horizons, both geographical and metaphysical."--Booklist (starred review), on When I'm Gone, Look for Me in the East

"The expansive imagination of Massachusetts-raised Quan Barry knows no bounds."--WBUR, on When I'm Gone, Look for Me in the East

"Quirky, comic, and painstakingly detailed . . . Barry writes with a sustained, manic energy."--New York Times Book Review, on We Ride Upon Sticks

"Spellbinding, wickedly fun . . . Each sentence fizzes like a just-opened bottle of New Coke." --O, The Oprah Magazine, on We Ride Upon Sticks

"A perfect blend of aesthetic and narrative pleasure . . . Very funny and a little angry and a lot of fun."--Maris Kreizman, on We Ride Upon Sticks

"You may come for the sizzle of genre elements here, but you'll stay for the rich bond forged by friendships on the field, the memories of misguided youth and the power of belief."--Variety, on We Ride Upon Sticks

"A delightful, hilarious ode to the '80s." --Ms. Magazine, on We Ride Upon Sticks

"The prose style is neon and the laughs do not stop. I feel like the author wrote the entire book with an evil grin on her face."--Vulture, on We Ride Upon Sticks

"Surprising and ultimately delightful . . . The narration is playful, making the emotional crescendos even more satisfying . . . Barry is a skilled storyteller and sentence artist who embraces irreverence where irreverence is due."--Minneapolis Star-Tribune, on We Ride Upon Sticks

"Almost too much fun to be allowed . . . Truly a delight in every way."--Literary Hub, on We Ride Upon Sticks

"Charming . . . [Barry is] careful not to let nostalgia paper over the real ways in which things were worse in the 1980s, particularly for queer people and people of color."--NPR, on We Ride Upon Sticks

"Touching, hilarious, and deeply satisfying."--Kirkus Reviews (starred review), on We Ride Upon Sticks

"Haunting and beautiful . . . A deft mix of folklore, magical realism and stories of struggle."--Los Angeles Times, on She Weeps Every Time You're Born

"Fascinating. . . . Deeply affecting novel."--New York Times Book Review, on She Weeps Every Time You're Born

"The great beauty of Quan Barry's novel is in its transcendence . . . Its attention to all the stories, whose sum is not darkness but light, not death but life."--Minneapolis Star Tribune, on She Weeps Every Time You're Born

"Lyrical, luminous, and suspenseful . . . Rendered with shocking clarity and pathos on the page . . . This is a Vietnam of myriad faces, myriad aspects, beautiful and terrible all at once."--Jesmyn Ward, on She Weeps Every Time You're Born

"Barry's absorbing debut paints a vivid, complex portrait of a land and an era that often elude American understanding."--Marie Claire, on She Weeps Every Time You're Born

"Mesmerizing . . . [Barry] writes with stunning language, which carries the novel and elevates moments of heartbreak, despair, and perseverance."--Publishers Weekly, on She Weeps Every Time You're Born

"Fierce, stunning, and devastating. Readers haunted by . . . Chang-rae Lee's A Gesture Life, and Tan Twan Eng's The Gift of Rain will revel in it."--Library Journal (starred review), on She Weeps Every Time You're Born

About the Author

QUAN BARRY is the author of eight books of fiction and poetry including When I'm Gone, Look for Me in the East; We Ride Upon Sticks, winner of the 2020 ALA Alex Award; and She Weeps Each Time You're Born. Her most recent poetry collection, Auction, was named one of the five best collections of 2023 by the New York Times. Her first play, The Mytilenean Debate, premiered in 2022. She is the Lorraine Hansberry Professor of English at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.