1. What differences are implied in The Tidewater Tales between written and spoken stories? Between those who invent stories and those who merely tell them? Do these differences have any bearing on the novel's themes?

2. Is the quarrel between Peter and Katherine believable? How important is it that the reader feel that a serious rupture — perhaps even a breakup of the marriage — is possible?

3. How is the relationship of the Sagamores similar to and different from that of the Talbotts? Why does Barth create such similarities and differences?

4. Is Doug Townshend a force for good or for evil in the other characters' lives? To what extent can we determine the truth of his statements to Peter?

What is the significance of Frank Talbott's Kubark, his nonfiction expose of the CIA?

5. How are we to take the convenient helicopter crash that eliminates Pooney Baldwin and Willy...