WEAVEWORLD By Clive Barker Discussed October 2000 Buy Weaveworld

Discussion Questions

1. Excerpt from an interview with Vi Hilbert, Salish elder/storyteller (Parabola, Fall 2000):

   • Interviewer: Are stories ever forgotten?
     VH: In our culture, a thread of the story will always remain alive, and each person has the capacity to take that thread and reweave that story because it contains all of the information and the truth of what had been important. The memory of that existence remains alive because there are threads in each of us and we can weave them together through story.

   How does Clive Barker treat the themes of "storytelling" and "memory" and "reality" in Weaveworld?

2. Another motif running throughout Weaveworld is the concept of "desire". In what various ways does Barker depict that emotion/impulse? What does he say about "desire"?
3. The Seerkind refer to Humankind (aka the "Adamaticals") as "Cuckoos". What are some possible reasons for using this term? How do Seerkind and Humankind differ?
4. It's been said that there's a way to tell which are the "bad aliens" in Star Wars -- they're the ones that drool. Is there a way to identify the "bad guys" in Weaveworld?
5. Barker seems to delight in playing with words, using words in new and slightly skewed ways. Consider his use of the following:

   • Fugue
   • Menstruum
   • Shadwell
   • the Prophet of Capra

   Did you run across any others?

6. Weaveworld is absolutely crammed full of Biblical, religious, and mythological imagery and references. Which of them did you find particularly powerful or interesting?

This page maintained by Rob Gates. Last updated March 10, 2001.