Abarat: Book One (2002) by Clive Barker is the first installment in the Abarat Quartet, a darkly fantastical saga that immerses readers in a surreal archipelago where each island represents a different hour of the day—and beyond. The story follows Candy Quackenbush, a restless teenager from the dull, flat plains of Chickentown, Minnesota, who stumbles into the magical world of Abarat after encountering a mysterious man made of stitched-then skin and a tide of blood-red water.
In Abarat, Candy discovers a realm of wonders and horrors: islands like Nonce (3 o’clock), frozen in perpetual afternoon, and Gorgossium (midnight), ruled by the diabolical Mater Motley, who seeks to drown all of Abarat in eternal darkness. Accompanied by allies like John Mischief (a man with seven talking brothers on his antlers) and Malingo (a gentle geshrat demon), Candy begins to unravel her own mysterious connection to this world—one that hints at a destiny entwined with its survival.
Barker’s signature grotesque beauty shines in his vivid, painterly descriptions (he also illustrated the book), blending whimsy with nightmarish intensity. Themes of identity, rebellion, and the fluidity of time pulse beneath the adventure, making Abarat a coming-of-age tale like no other.
For fans of: Coraline (Gaiman), The Neverending Story (Ende), or The Books of Abarat’s own sequels.
