Tournament of Books discussion

Space to discuss the 2026 TOB contender The Unveiling by Quan Barry.

I've hit the half-way point.

Let me just say how much I really enjoyed =We Ride Upon Sticks=, because I did, and I would have voted =The Unveiling= into the shortlist (presuming I hadn't read it) on the strength of my goodwill toward that earlier book.

But...I would have been wrong. This book doesn't strike me as Tournament ready. Not bad in the sense that I'm going to stop reading it. But bad in the sense that when I'm done, I suspect I will wish I had read a different book instead.

I'm going to save the details of my critique for March (or at least for after I'm done with the whole book, depending on how disappointed I am when I reach the end) but it doesn't feel like literary fiction to me.

Oh good, thanks for reaffirming my decision to skip this. I thought Sticks was okay, but it annoyed me after a bit, and I couldn’t get through the only other Barry I’ve tried (She Weeps Each Time You're Born), much as I wanted to like it.

Tim wrote: "This book doesn't strike me as Tournament ready. Not bad in the sense that I'm going to stop reading it. But bad in the sense that when I'm done, I suspect I will wish I had read a different book instead..."

I had much the same reaction to this book as you did. I loved WRUS and my joy in this book slowly dissipated as I read and the last few chapters involved some unhappy effort to get through.

I am not a fan of horror so this is not really my cup of tea, but I can see why others appreciate it. It's a 3-star read for me, and I think other stronger books would have been better choices for the shortlist.

It's wild! Every time I go look at the Goodreads page for The Unveiling, the rating is lowr than before. Now it's at 2.96. I wonder what the lowest rated book to make the Long and Short lists have been...

Oh man, I loved this book. I get why it doesn't work for everyone, and there are times when I might have hated this, but it was just the wild ride that I needed right now. I think it helped that I went in not knowing what to expect (thinking it might be like We Ride Sticks, HA). I'll go post my rating and help bump up the 2.96 rating a smidge, ha.

Reading this kind of reminded me of reading The Trees and Fever Dream, where you're trying to figure out what's going on, and there's a lot of unanswered questions, but it also makes you FEEL something while you're reading it. Even if that feeling is unsettling and uncomfortable.

Almost halfway through and I’m really enjoying so far! That’s a pleasant surprise given the reviews! Will report back when I’m done.

I mostly loved this one! A few hiccups from being a 5-star read for me: some of the hamfisted conversations on race and identity felt overwrought; the ending was a really wtf moment. And I haven’t been so upset by an ending since Wisdom, the 1986 Emilio Estevez movie.

Erica wrote: "It's wild! Every time I go look at the Goodreads page for The Unveiling, the rating is lowr than before. Now it's at 2.96. I wonder what the lowest rated book to make the Long and Short lists have ..."

I think Call Me Zebra with it's 2.84 rating is the lowest. That's a deserved rating. The Unveiling, while not great, is better than a 2.95 (the current rating as I'm typing this comment). Not much, but it was at least readable. Call Me Zebra was just awful.

Tristan wrote: "I think Call Me Zebra with it's 2.84 rating is the lowest. That's a deserved rating." Ooooh now I'm intrigued. Off to check out Call me Zebra!

Tim wrote: "But bad in the sense that when I'm done, I suspect I will wish I had read a different book instead."

Spot on description of how I felt after I read it.

Tim wrote: "I've hit the half-way point.

Let me just say how much I really enjoyed =We Ride Upon Sticks=, because I did, and I would have voted =The Unveiling= into the shortlist (presuming I hadn't read it)..."

It was bad, bad. Truly.

I'm puzzled by the book. I gave it 4 stars rounded up from 3 because the writing was good and it kept me reading, but I have no idea what it was really about or what really happened. I have a friend who was reading it simulataneously with me so we have a date to discuss it and maybe she'll be able to clarify it for me. Or not.

I’m planning to read this one as an audiobook. Does anyone have thoughts on whether that’s a good idea for this one? Do you need to be able to flip back and forth in the book to figure out what’s going on? Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

Gwendolyn, I read this as a physical book, but I think it would work well in audio form. There is a single narrator throughout, and it proceeds largely chronologically.

I appreciated the audiobook. There’s some sound effects that help evoke a mood that I’m not sure how they were handled in the text. I enjoyed the audiobook.

Thank you both for the feedback on the audiobook! Off to purchase now…

Did the audiobook and DNF’d it with about 3 hours to go. Maybe I’ll go back as I own it now, but I was getting frustrated and bored—a deadly combo.

Surprised this didn’t connect with more people. I loved it! I was totally locked in for Spooky Antarctica!

Theresa wrote: "Surprised this didn’t connect with more people. I loved it! I was totally locked in for Spooky Antarctica!"

You and I will be rooting for it Theresa, dodging the tomatoes! :)

I also loved The Unveiling. Hated the ending though!

I gave The Unveiling 4 stars
I gave Call Me Zebra 4 stars

The Unveiling is a roller coaster ride from page one.
Erica, I hope you DO get a chance to read 'Call Me Zebra'. I was always one of the rare supporters of that one... I bet there are some ToB books that rank lower than that...

I decided two things can be true. I really enjoyed this book. And most of the time I had no idea what was going on 😆. That seems to be becoming a theme for me in this year’s TOB.

Barry's books always seem like something I should like. And then I kinda don't. I just felt like this was a directionless mess, which can be fine, but just didn't work for me. I am glad she acknowledged The Shining cause that was all over this story.