All Of It – “An Antarctic Disaster in Quan Berry's 'The Unveiling'”

Podcast: All Of It
Host: Alison Stewart (WNYC)
Guest: Quan Berry, author, poet, and professor
Release Date: October 23, 2025
Episode Theme: A wide-ranging conversation with Quan Berry about her new literary horror novel, The Unveiling, set on an Antarctic luxury cruise gone disastrously wrong. The episode delves into themes of isolation, race, group dynamics in crisis, the craft of literary horror, and Berry's creative process.

Episode Overview

In this episode, Alison Stewart sits down with Quan Berry to discuss her ambitious new novel, The Unveiling. The story follows Stryker, a Black film professional, who finds herself among a diverse group of wealthy tourists stranded on an Antarctic island after a cruise ship accident. The conversation explores how Berry uses the Antarctic setting as both a literal and metaphorical landscape, her handling of horror and humor, and deeper questions of identity, perception, and group survival.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Setting Antarctica as the Stage for Horror

• Pristine Isolation and Psychological Depth:
  “Antarctica is the only landmass that was ever actually discovered by man... there’s no civilization, whatever you bring, it's because you brought that with you. Your demons, your ghosts, your whatever you’re carrying inside yourself. So that's why I knew that would be the perfect backdrop for this book.” — Quan Berry [03:09]

• Personal Experience Influencing Fiction:
  Berry visited Antarctica herself in 2004, giving her unique insight into the setting’s alien qualities.

Main Character – Stryker

• "The Ass of the Earth":
  Stryker calls Antarctica “the ass of the Earth,” reflecting her sense of displacement and detachment. Her feelings about the trip are colored by her role as the only Black person and her work-first mentality.
  “So the fact that she describes it as the ass of the world sort of tells you a little bit about… the kind of mindset she’s taking into this place.” — Berry [04:00]

• Work-Life Balance and Identity:
  Stryker is described as a classic work-driven loner, someone who is always tasked with difficult jobs.
  “I would say no [to decent work-life balance]... there’s enough there that readers can sort of infer that, yes, that work is her life.” — Berry [04:55]

• Name Origin and Characterization:
  “Even the fact that she goes by Stryker, I think, also signifies that [she’s a bit of a loner].” — Berry [05:06]
  The name was “stolen” from a friend of a friend.

• Skill at Reading People and Double Consciousness:
  Drawing from W.E.B. Du Bois’s concept of “the veil,” Berry comments, “A lot of Black people, a lot of people of color, a lot of LGBTQ people… have had to learn how to read people and to know, can I be my true self around you or do I have to keep a little of me back? ...She definitely has that.” [05:50]

Group Dynamics and Literary Structure

• Absence of Chapters – Sense of Disorientation:
  "The book, interestingly, I think, doesn't have any chapter breaks... pacing was very important to me and I didn't want there to be chapter breaks because... once the accident starts, it's go, go, go. And then hopefully by the end, the question is... how much time has passed?" — Berry [07:12]

• Gilligan’s Island Structure and Archetypes:
  The early pages introduce characters via archetypes, akin to “Gilligan’s Island,” to establish initial perceptions and underlying tensions. [08:10]

• Redacted Pages – Psychological Blackouts:
  The novel contains pages with redacted text, visually representing memory blackouts or trauma. Berry intentionally leaves these moments ambiguous for readers' interpretation.
  “In some ways I'm very cagey about, like, actually, like, this is supposed to represent X, Y or Z, because I think there's all different kinds of ways in which people can make sense of it.” — Berry [09:52]

Exploring Group Survival and Social Dynamics

• Realistic Reactions to Disaster:
  “Surprisingly people don't react the way you think they would ... in these kinds of situations, especially when you realize they're going to be going on for a while ... wanted to show the full range of how people react … dark humor, textbook fear, resilience.” — Berry [10:10]

• Berry and Stewart Share Personal Coping Stories:
  Berry: “I was the one who powered us through... And then once on the plane, it was like, oh, okay.” [11:05]
  Stewart: “After 9/11...I cleaned the bathroom. I wasn't needed...and I remember afterward I was just shaking doing it. That was my response.” [11:27]

Diversity, Privilege, and Race

• Crafting Distinct Characters:
  The cast—a little girl with a pet rat, a Texas couple with a nonbinary teen, an out-of-touch wealthy couple—was designed to facilitate conflict, secrets, and shifting alliances. Berry chose 13 as the key group size for optimal narrative tension. [12:10]

• Preconceptions and Social Barriers:
  Stryker’s initial judgments about her privileged fellow passengers inform (and limit) her early interactions, but are challenged as events unfold. [13:08]

• Survival and Social Commentary:
  Berry’s original inspiration came in part from Lord of the Flies and the desire to update this story with modern social commentary, especially following the murder of George Floyd. “[It] could do a lot more work than just being entertaining. And so I really leaned into that fact.” — Berry [13:56]

Literary Influences and Genre Talk

• Cited Influences:
  Berry draws from Shirley Jackson’s Hangsaman, Stephen King’s The Shining, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and particularly Lord of the Flies as key touchstones. She’s drawn more to “interior, psychological kind of stuff” than direct violence or “stabby horror.” [14:33–15:36]

• Humor in Horror:
  The blend of humor and horror is crucial for Berry. “If it was all horror, we would have to look away...the humor helps temper the horror. It's like a green smoothie.” [16:00]

• Poetry and Prose:
  Berry’s background as a poet shapes her fiction, especially her attention to the “inner life” and language. Interestingly, her poetry tends to be dark, but prose has allowed her to express humor. [16:37]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Antarctic as a space for personal confrontation:
  “Whatever you bring, it’s because you brought it with you. Your demons, your ghosts, your whatever you’re carrying inside yourself.” — Quan Berry [03:09]

• On humor and horror:
  “If it was all horror, we’d have to look away… the humor tempers the horror. It’s like a green smoothie... as long as you also have an apple.” — Quan Berry [16:00]

• On memory blackout/redacted pages:
  “There’s so many interpretations out there that are really rich… aren’t necessarily what I envisioned, but aren’t necessarily that far off.” — Quan Berry [09:42]

• On survival reactions:
  “Surprisingly people don’t react the way you think they would… some react with humor, some actually are the more textbook, you know, scared… Others become much more resilient.” — Quan Berry [10:10]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Antarctica as a Literary Setting: [03:09]
• Stryker’s Mindset and Identity: [03:42–04:23]
• Double Consciousness and Reading Others: [05:50]
• Pacing/Lack of Chapters: [07:12]
• Gilligan’s Island Archetypes: [08:10]
• Redacted Pages/Blackouts: [09:12–09:52]
• Depicting Disaster Responses: [10:10]
• Group Size and Composition: [12:10]
• Diversity and Social Commentary: [13:08–13:56]
• Literary Influences: [14:17–15:36]
• Humor and Horror: [16:00]
• Poetry vs. Prose: [16:37]
• What to Look for in Final Chapters: [17:17]

Final Thoughts

This conversation gives listeners a multidimensional sense of Berry’s inspirations and intentions, as well as an understanding of her techniques in blending horror, humor, psychological realism, and timely social themes. The Unveiling stands as both a tense survival narrative and a platform for nuanced cultural and personal interrogation.

"Quan Berry’s new novel is titled The Unveiling. It's on shelves now. Thanks for being with us." — Alison Stewart [17:29]