Book Look: The Unveiling by Quan Barry

This novel turned my brain upside down!

The Unveiling by Quan Barry

(Note: Antarctic photo sources cited on bottom of post.)

I'm drawn to Antarctica. It's the closest thing we have to visiting an alien planet. I'm fascinated with the ancient"moss forests," the eerie dry valleys, and the isolated culture within research stations, to name but a few delightful details. And, of course, penguins!

While the early explorers left a legacy of epic survival (and death) stories, little fiction is set on the icy landmass. Even the movie Eight Below is inspired by a true story (I prefer the Japanese original, Antarctica, with its synthesizer soundtrack and quality direction). The novel, Where'd You Go, Bernadette, uses the setting to good effect, with fan favorite locales: Port Lockroy (southernmost post office, red door!), and the bustling McMurdo Station (it's like a city, almost!). The locations tie organically into the characters and plot.

The bluer the ice, the older it is. Like, millions of years old. Quan Barry uses these many blue hues to create an otherworldly setting.

My thirst for polar tales led to The Unveiling. I discovered that, while utilizing Antarctica's setting, history, and climate crisis, this novel is less about the continent and more about identity, ethics, and perspective. Due to the protagonist's unreliable and literally redacted narration (presented as static in the audio book), it took me awhile to realize what kind of book this really is: a psychological-survival-horror-thriller on the exposed tip of the iceberg, with the bulk underneath largely a conceptual and at times satirical work. The Unveiling is the kind of novel suited to college classrooms, where students learn to unpack layers and ask questions. Not surprising, given that Quan Barry is a professor of English. Of course, you don't have to take a college course to enjoy this book.

So what the hell happens already? Striker, a film scout, is sent to photograph locations for a movie about Shackleton's amazing Endurance expedition (I would watch that!). On a luxury cruise with wealthy tourists, Striker is conscious of her presence as the only Black woman, and often aware of how the others may perceive her. As a child, Striker and her sister were adopted and raised in a predominately white small town, and this plays heavily into her perception: she never quite belongs, always balanced on the edge of identities. Striker's sarcastic and observant inner dialogue provides humor.

The "moss forests" of Antarctica, found primarily on the peninsula and islands, can grow (slowly) for hundreds of years. Researchers have resurrected 1,500-year-old Antarctic moss!

So, again, what happens?  A kayaking disaster abandons Striker and a handful of others on an island off the peninsula. Beyond that, it's not always clear what happens. What caused the kayak mishap? A wave, a whale, a submarine? Did Striker hear the others say something racist, or imagine it? Did the tech bro's wife fall and hit her head, or was she murdered, and on that note, is she maybe still alive? This constant uncertainty raises the tension alongside the constant demands of the killer environment.

Striker's alter-ego, "Dark Striker," ties the knots in the thread of uncertainty. Dark Striker's actions are redacted, as Striker "blacks out" and cannot remember what happened (missing her medication, left on the ship, plays a role here . . . or were the pills just for headaches?). As a result, the reader is thrown into new situations with no knowledge of what happened in between, innocent or grisly. This destabilizing technique uses the "unreliable narrator" to good effect. Who do we trust, here? Who can we trust? While we're given some clarity and surprise revelations by the end (an unveiling), The Unveiling is largely a story of questions, not answers. The title, I believe, refers to the unveiling of our true selves, versus the masks we wear, especially when all that matters is survival. This is clear in the actions of the others, but in Striker's case, her true self is unclear, even to herself.

Striker also succumbs to visions and/or hallucinations. When she explores an old shack, for instance, she can see and hear the people who lived there, which reveals their macabre secrets. One "ghost" in particular mirrors Striker's internal conflict. Ironically, the trippy visions read like the most reliable narrative truth.

The circular rim of an ancient volcano forms Deception Island. Geothermal activity heats the water enough for tourists to plunge in. Barry takes fun, sometimes morbid, liberty with this fact.

As far as Antarctica is represented, Barry uses blue ice, sick seabirds, and the never-setting sun to create a surreal world without time. This leads to musings that perhaps they all died in the kayaking incident, and this timeless alien landscape is actually a kind of hell. Uncertainty! Also, it's Christmas!

And, oh yeah, Striker has a friend who talks to her, in her head. You'll see. Seriously, this book pokes my perception in countless ways. I won't mention the other large events, and whether or not they actually happened, but take my word. There's a lot going on here.

Barry plays freely with the logistics of geothermal vents, and the geography of their island in relation to others, and, um, some other gruesome stuff. In other words, even the historical and scientific facts are uncertain. For example, I can find no evidence that whalers once boiled alive in a geothermal surge, or that Shackleton's men rage-slaughtered heaps of penguins and seals upon reaching South Georgia. That's what fiction is for, right? Hell, yes!

In The Unveiling, the characters are stranded on Paulet Island. They discover a hut stocked with supplies (and secrets!). In reality, only some stone walls and wooden boards remain on the island.

I won't go into the characters in detail, only to say that we get a cast worthy of turmoil and commentary. Striker's one-on-one discussions often result in psychological-philosophical revelations, or the "unveiling" of character motivations. If some of the wealthy tourists appear as exaggerations or cliches, give them some time to, well, unveil (or not!). Many things in this book are not as they seem. Things happen. The plot and pacing move forward rather quickly, each event and/or redaction leading to new interactions. Expect deaths. Expect a lot of things, but don't expect to believe all of it.

I recommend The Unveiling to anyone who enjoys a literary conceptual novel that explores themes of identity, with some morbid survival horror. Also, to anyone who is as obsessed with Antarctica as myself.

The Dry Valleys are one of the only places on Earth where soil samples contain no trace of life. NASA tested equipment in these eerie valleys, in preparation for Martian exploration. It certainly looks like Mars!

Photo Sources:

Blue Ice, Deception Island, Paulet Island:

Monteath, Colin. Antarctica: Beyond the Southern Ocean. Barron's Educational Services, Inc., 1997.

Moss Forest, Dry Valley:

Porter, Eliot. Antarctica. Arch Cape Press, 1988.