This book is incredibly difficult to rate and review, because I truly have no idea what happened. I can't begin to guess what was real and what wasn't. We get a hundred explanations, and none. There are some strong horror elements, including violence and gore, but then again... maybe not?

Needless to say, unreliable narrators and the whole 'insanity or the supernatural?' is not really my cup of tea. I prefer things to be a bit more concrete.

However, the writing is good and the descriptions of the landscape were fantastic. Even the characters were interesting and well created.

Thanks to Grove Atlantic/Grove and NetGalley for this ARC of 'The Unveiling' by Quan Barry.

This is an intriguing and unsettling novel where you're never quite sure what's going on but at the same time is rooted very firmly in contemporary social, cultural, political, and racial realities.

A group of mostly wealthy, mostly white individuals are on a Russian-led tourist adventure trip to the Antarctic. The main character is Striker, a Black location scout, who's out of place now in the same way she's felt out of place her entire life, as a Black woman adopted into a white upper-class American family. The others include a doctor and her gender-fluid and precocious teenaged child, a female tech-titan and her husband on a trip to save their marriage, a family of three gay men (one of color) and their otherworldly young child, as well as some interesting crew members.

On their first kayaking outing, something (unexplained) occurs and they find themselves on a deserted island which, they discover, was once the abode of a shipwrecked expedition crew a hundred years previously and the trip turns into an unveiling of each character's history and present and a haunting of the island, the people, and possibly the planet. While all of the characters are developed to some extent, we learn more and more about Striker and her sister as the novel progresses and, as you'd imagine, all is not what it might seem.

It's a horror story, a haunted 'house' story, and it's very good in those aspects and reminds me of Margaret Atwood's 'MaddAddam' series and Jeff Vandermeer 'Southern Reach' novels in that you're never quite sure where or when this is taking place but it's also - as mentioned above - a deep dive into the 2oth and 21st century racism and the post-George Floyd and post- and intra-Trump presidency.

Excellent.

I usually love horror stories that take place in cold settings, but The Unveiling didn’t quite work for me sadly! We follow film scout Striker on an excursion to the Antarctic alongside some travelers with very deep pockets. I was really enjoying the story and setting and was looking forward to the horror kicking off, which happens when the kayaking expedition goes wrong and the group end up stranded. But unfortunately that’s where the story started to lose me.

Many of the characters decisions in this deadly situation were baffling to me and I started struggling to even understand what exactly was going on. I know Striker was an unreliable narrator, but I just felt confused. I think this story will absolutely work for anyone who’s happy to be lost inside the main character’s head; I was just hoping for a more straightforward survival story.

Very eeiry but slightly lost it in the middle.

Loved the parallel between the awareness of being the only black person in the room and the feeling of being watched by something spectral,

I really enjoyed the writing so though this may not have been the book for me, I will read more by the author.

Started off intriguing and the setting was top notch. Then things just became confusing and didn't make much sense and I didn't enjoy the book.

The Unveiling is about a film scout, named Striker, who goes on a kayaking tour in the Antarctic to photograph potential spots for an upcoming movie. Out of nowhere she and a few others get separated from the rest of the group, and things go terribly wrong.

I’ll admit this was a little confusing to read due to the main character losing consciousness quite a bit throughout the book, as well as the fact that the story bounces around a lot from past to present. However, I do love a good unreliable narrator and told myself to trust the process. I really liked the visual of the thick black lines to symbolize when Striker lost consciousness, and sometimes there would be bits of blackout poetry which was a lot of fun.

The story was well-written and had some good social commentary. I felt a constant state of dread the entire time while reading, and the characters feel so realistic.

Word of advice, be fully prepared to read this in one sitting.

The Unveiling comes out in October 14, and a big thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the copy!

I think the author broke my brain.

I was with this in the beginning, 110%. I loved the setting and, since I was reading this while Black (this is a thing, trust me), I totally understood Striker's discomfort of being the only one in the room...or in this case, the only one in a kayak stranded in the Antarctic waters while bad things go boo at you.

Eventually, though, the story got weirder and weirder and I think I found myself lost in the various characters' madness and despair and I had no clue what was happening.

Reader, I was confused.

If you ask me how this book ended, I think I'd just mumble something about revelations and trauma and acknowledgement of truth and I would give you absolutely nothing concrete. I didn't know who was alive or dead, just that they were all talking and I have no clue what happened to our MC.

Readers of a certain background may find themselves a bit overwhelmed with talk of racism and how even well meaning people 'of a certain background' may come across as hella racist. If that bothers you, you probably don't want to read this. Our main character's background (and present) make this a theme.

I liked a lot of this. The rest was certainly an experience that I'm not sure I totally enjoyed.

* ARC via Publisher

This book is a very thought-provoking read dealing with spirituality, race, and the human condition in general. I really enjoyed Striker's character.

1.4 stars

Striker is enjoying her first class work trip to the Antarctic region, scouting locations for an upcoming film, other events Han the usual complications of being the only Black woman stuck with a bunch of white people. However, when a kayaking expedition goes horribly wrong she and a group of survivors are stranded on an island with plenty of environmental and other horrors to face…some of which Striker brought with her.

There is something very off about Striker so it’s hard to empathize. Plus these people are stranded on an island near Antarctica with all the, I don’t know, millions of problems that creates and they still manage to keep getting into fights about race? Look, if it’s me, I’m willing to declare anyone Queen of All They Survey and will make them a lovely crown out of penguin guano, but I will fight to my last breath for that package of Slim Jims someone stuck in the first aid kit and I could give two shits what color anybody is. Are these people (meaning the author) insane?

There’s more stuff, but yo go into it would be spoilerish. I’m not going to come out and say it was a BAD book, because it’s not poorly written, but I guess I’ll just say it might be and I didn’t get it if there’s some sort of deeper meaning to it all.

I went into this book hoping for isolation vibes and it gives those for sure, but also so much more. This books is a hypnotic look at morality, class, race, and just the human condition in general when people find themselves in a desperate situation. All of the characters are very well drawn, but Striker is an especially wonderful and fascinating character. This is just a bleak, fascinating gem.

If you want to read a book that sounds good in theory but alternates between being incredibly obvious and making absolutely no sense, this is the book for you.

I just finished The Unveiling by Quan Barry, and it was an incredibly thought-provoking read. The novel follows a group of women in a cloistered convent as they struggle with the limitations and expectations placed on them by both society and their faith. When one of the nuns begins to experience strange visions and unsettling events, the entire community is thrown into turmoil, and they must confront their deepest fears and secrets.

What struck me most about this book was how it blended psychological suspense with elements of spirituality and self-discovery. The atmosphere was tense and immersive, and Barry’s writing really made me feel the weight of the isolation and inner turmoil the characters were experiencing. The pacing was excellent, and I found myself eager to see how each character would evolve as the story progressed.

The characters themselves were fascinating. Each woman had her own unique journey, filled with personal conflict, and I appreciated how Barry took the time to delve into their complex emotions and backgrounds. The story’s exploration of faith, doubt, and the struggle for personal freedom resonated deeply, and I found myself reflecting on it long after I’d finished the book.

This book is a love letter to everyone who spent their childhood voluntarily terrifying themselves by inviting the masters of horror into their imaginations. Quan Barry overtly references Lovecraft, Stephen King, Shirley Jackson, and the Twilight Zone in the very beginning of the story, which gives a good inkling of what to expect: suspense, mystery, and some real gore. And it’s all overlayed with a race analysis that propels the story forward and backward in zigs and zags.

I have recommended “She Weeps Each Time You’re Born,” to countless people since it read it many years ago, but I haven’t clicked yet with her other novels. For fans of Barry, be prepared to read a true horror novel—she goes in hard and fast to the tropes of the genre. You have a kayak expedition gone terribly wrong, a motley crew of survivors, creepy kids saying creepy things, and enough bending of perspective and reality to give a hell of a horror story.

Very excited for horror fans to get their hands on this one.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book will haunt you. For a very long time.

Striker is a location scout, and her job has given her the rare opportunity—and a hefty paycheck—to experience Antarctica firsthand, capturing images for a proposed film about Shackleton. As the only Black person on the boat, she is keenly aware of both her race and her vulnerabilities.

It’s almost Christmas when a small group of tourists—mostly wealthy and white—embarks on a seemingly routine kayaking excursion to a remote island. But something goes horribly wrong. The survivors are left stranded, forced to confront a truth so unimaginable, so terrifying, that it threatens to consume them.

Immersed in themes of Blackness, race, and contemporary societal tensions, The Unveiling is a chilling, thought-provoking read. It evokes the creeping dread of VanderMeer’s work, leaving you shivering in broad daylight yet craving more.

#TheUnveiling #QuanBarry #GroveBooks