Tarot in Fiction

Shade

vee

I adore Calvino. I think Castle of Crossed Destinies is not one of his -best- but it's certainly very interesting, as is all his work. And if you're a tarot fan, it's at least worth checking out!
 

RexMalaki

Oh how serendipitous! I was about to do a search or ask if any member/writers had ebooks or kindle books on Amazon. Today I was browsing free kindle books and found a novel, "Destined, a novel of the Tarot" by Gail Cleare... each chapter is one of the Majors and the character in each chapter embodies the essence of the card.

I am not going to do a critique of the book, it is entertaining and going to be a quick read I think. It's not bad, not great, but can't complain for the price.

2/26/12 Edited to add: I finished it this morning. This book, as I said, isn't bad at all. It's sort of lite tarot, lite new age philosophy and slightly like a lite Harlequin romance novel. Good food for thought, not too preachy and a nice little story, but 'lite'. In the back she has a bibliography and Aeclectic Tarot Forum is one of them... so it's time for true confessions. Which member here is it?

I just finished "Destined, A Novel of the Tarot", and I really enjoyed it. It was like a story that was an instruction on tarot and living in a positive way!

e.t.a more here: http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=169327
 

Yann

Huysmans tarot

For a subtle literary approach to tarot, I recommend a book from Huysmans (french author from the XIXthe century) who wrote The Damned (La-Bas). A quest for spirituality which starts with an obscure fascination for evil. Through esoteric research, black mass, studies around Gilles de Rais & alchemy, the narrator tries to revive the mystical exaltation of his ancestors which ends in boredom and solitude. The following book En Route deals with his conversion to Christianism. The Damned (La-Bas) has 22 chapters...
 

tarotbear

"Lammas Night" - has three actual tarot readings performed in it. Historic fiction about thwarting Hilter's invasion of Britain.

'The Tarot Murders' - really sophmoric book - this reader can solve the murder faster than Jessica Fletcher and never has to speak to anyone twice...no one is THAT good!

'Tarot Fantastic' - a collection of 16 short stories by 16 writers all based on a tarot card - some good, some meh.
 

gregory

It's not quite tarot, but The Stockholm Octavo is entirely based around a (well illustrated deck's) playing card spread, and it's a great read :).
 

Laura Borealis

Ooo, that one sounds excellent, gregory. Wish listed!

Has anyone mentioned The Greater Trumps by Charles Williams? Williams was a member of the Inklings along with C.S. Lewis and Tolkien. I found it a little hard to get into, personally, but once I did it was a pretty good story. The original pack of tarot cards is discovered, they have magical powers and naturally there are those who want to obtain them for their own ends.

It's not tarot, but in Greer Gilman's Moonwise the two protagonists use a handmade tarot-ish deck to inspire stories, and later there is a witch character who tells fortunes using fallen leaves - a concept I find very appealing in that I feel a true reader can read with anything :) Her writing style puts off a lot of readers, as it's dense and full of archaic words, and allusions to folklore and ancient tale. Personally I find it fascinating. It's one of those books I re-read about once a year.
 

Laura Borealis

Thanks gregory :) Definitely getting it... cards too, I think.