1. Alvin Miller, Jr. learns several lessons that lead toward his realizing his potential as a "maker." What does he learn from "the shining man?" What does he learn from Taleswapper? What important things does he learn from others?

2. How would you explain Alvin's father's impulse to kill his beloved seventh son?

3. Does the author finally want the reader to feel sorry for Reverend Thrower, or is the minister just a villain?

4. What does Taleswapper really mean when he talks about "the unmaker?" He says, for example, that "the great enemy remains invisible, so that no one guesses that they unwittingly serve him." How can one unwittingly serve unmaking?

5. Alvin's mother, for much of the story, seems torn between her attraction to the Christianity represented by Reverend Thrower and the "superstitious" way of life practiced by her family. How would you explain this conflict? Which...