tarot fiction

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 28 Apr 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

truthsayer	28 Apr 2002
anyone interested in putting together a reading list of fiction books that heavily involve tarot? reading books that use tarot puts an interesting slant to my interest in tarot b/c it's like a look inside another person who does tarot's head. 1. chronicles of amber by roger zelazny. this series is out of print but i loved it. the card decks aren't tarot but it's close enough. the ppl travel places via use of their cards. 2. the tarot series by piers antony. i have one book in the series but want to find the first one before i read it. i found these treasures in book reviews at passages. http://www.artoftarot.com i bought: the castle of crossed destinies by italo calvino. think the canterbury tales crossed w/ reading tarot w/ the visconti deck. the stories are also short and sweet if you don't have much time to read. little, big by john crowley. it won the world fantasy award when it came out some years ago. i don't understand the plot yet but it's a work of fantasy that involves tarot cards and fairies. that'll hook some of you! LOL this one is around 500 pages long so think about the time you have to invest. the wishing well. author? this one's on order. i'll add to this post when i get it. anyone else have one to add?

lunalafey	28 Apr 2002
The Amber series was recomended to me, being out of print I could not just go out and get it. One day while in the used book store, I happened to come across the whole series in nard cover. It is fast reading for those interested. I just love the way the Trump cards are used !!! I have the first Tarot by P.A. have not had the chance to read it yet. Maybe I should, then send it to you and then I can read your second and send it back... I think that there is another book that uses cards, but it's not coming to me right now..

truthsayer	28 Apr 2002
that's an idea, luna! i'll check which one in the tarot series i have and get back to you. i'm always scavenging used book stores. glad to hear you enjoyed the amber series, too. there's not many books i'll reread but i would the amber series. it's too bad roger zelazny's dead. i've tried to get into his other books but that the only one i could really get into.

faunabay	28 Apr 2002
I read the Amber series many many years ago (before I got into tarot) and LOVED them!!! But the book truthsayer mentioned The Wishing Garden (not well, I think it is) was the book that made me go out and buy my first deck about 2 years ago. But I need to reread it now that I know more about tarot. And I'm on the lookout for the Castle of Crossed Destinies. It sounds so cool and interesting.

Zhritza	28 Apr 2002
Today I just finished reading "The House on Mango Street" by Sandra Cisneros, which is a very short, very lyrical novel about growing up female in a Latino neighborhood and the people there. I actually was given the book many years ago but hadn't read it before. It is told in a series of first-person vignettes. One of them is about the protagonist, Esperanza, getting her fortune told -- the lady who does it for her reads her palms and some cards, and looks into a glass of water. The brief description Esperanza gives of the cards is nifty because I have no clue what deck she could be referring to. She mentions roses that cry and big thorny club-shaped Wands. Anyone? :)

HudsonGray	29 Apr 2002
There's 2 more I can add--both science fiction-- The Labyrinth Gate by A. Rassmusen The Ivory Gate (can't remember the author) Both had tarot readers as main characters & relied on readings for major plot shifts.

Kiama	29 Apr 2002
Alternatively, we could write our own! ;) I started about 6 months ago, but it has been left on hold... I was trying to write a Fantasy novel, taking the main character through the Fool's Journey, but in a more novel kind of way... Not like Tarot text books do... More like a Fantasy novel than a treatise on Tarot in fact! I've got it all planed out, and its pretty good so far, but I'm still on the High Priest, and will be leaving it until the Summer, when my exams are over! I believe the story so far is on Bec's website.... Anyone else tried something like this? Kiama

catlin	29 Apr 2002
Hmmm, I am working on a kind of novel which links facts about tarot history together with the legend of the Holy Grail, Rosecruzian stuff and some more esoterical. The idea came to me this morning in my bathroom (I always get my best ideas there, pl don't ask why and when).

Persha	29 Apr 2002
'Chocolat' by Joanne Harris I believe, has a protagonist who reads tarot - it's kind of the basis for a psychological plot point

catlin	29 Apr 2002
Oh, that is Vianne's mother but only in the book, not in the movie if I do recall it correctly.

kayne	29 Apr 2002
I've got one I've got one!!! It is part of my collection of Brian Froud illustrated books and it was such a bonus that it is written by Charles DeLint because I love his stuff... It is called The Dreaming Place and has some original illustrations of some really unusual american indian influenced tarot cards (with reversed pictures too) inside it. It is kinda' written for teenagers but is a great book too...

amyel	29 Apr 2002
Wow folk! YOu've described some books that I will be on the lookout for. And even though it is not a book (well, there might be one, but I haven't seen/read it) is the movie "The Red Violin". I haven't seen it for awhile, but I recall part of it's underlying theme was a young woman who was having her fortune read with Tarot. Beautiful old cards they were, too.

Butterfly	29 Apr 2002
Chocolate ( the book, not the food, LOL) is interspersed with tarot. The main character reads tarot, having learnt it from her mother throughout her lifetime (she uses her mothers cards). Tarot shapes her opinions and her life decisions. I think, from memory her mother was haunted by a particular card in a reading, and it shapes the whole book. It's a surprisingly pagan book, that just makes me drool at the same time.

Red Emma	29 Apr 2002
I'm a dedicated mystery reader, and two of my favorite authors, Kate Green and Annette Meyers have done excellent books in this respect. Kate Green did two about a young woman psychic who gets sudden psychic messages about people in trouble. The first is also an examination of people, who are gifted in this area, and their trouble being accepted in society. Because her first husband was in deep legal trouble and she kept getting psychic insights about it, he had her committed to a psychiatric hospital. As the medics there believed that her "messages" were the product of a deranged mind, she had serious trouble getting out of the place. In the second she helps to find a kidnapped child. And by the end of the second book, she's training a formerly skeptical, unbelieving police lieutenant to use his own psychic powers -- which he had formerly considered "gut instinct." She's an outstanding writer, skillful at plotting and creating vivid, original characters (not a stereotype in either book.) At the moment I can't remember the name of either book, so I'll look them up tonight and repost tomorrow.

Major Tom	30 Apr 2002
Three books by Tim Powers with tarot featuring: Last Call, Expiration Date and Earthquake Weather Read them in order - very entertaining. :D

Ophiel	06 May 2002
I'm stunned...nobody mentioned "The Greater Trump" by Charles Williams! It is often listed in occult books 'suggested reading' sectdion. Williams was involved in a little group called the Inklings, with writers Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. Though he's often referred to as a Xian writer, it's clear that Williams had deep knowledge of occult matters, and I do recall hearing/reading he was involved in magick. In any event, his books are a bit tough to come by new in America as they are out of print at the moment. I recently picked up a few others at a local used book store and the owner said he has regular fans. "The Greater Trump" is definitely about Tarot, but in a different light than you might be expecting. It's more about the quinessential, original cards, and the Majors are more about a living, moving energy than flat cards laying on the table. Warning: Williams writes with a high moralistic point of view, which I think is mistaken for X-ian, when in fact, is very occult.

catlin	06 May 2002
Guess I found a copy of this inkling guy ages ago and it didn't click with me. Ok, I was a newby to tarot then and not very involved in it. Unfortunaltely, I did not keep this book. Maybe I'd get better alongh with it today :confused:

jema	06 May 2002
Fransisca Lia Block - the hanged man about incest and anorexia but rather much about tarot as well. i wasn't too fond of the book myself though. and then there is t.s. eliot - the waste land

truthsayer	06 May 2002
i've been reading the wishing garden, castle of crossed destinies(just got visconti tarot to help me read this book) and little, big simultaneously. LOL i know! i can be crazy like that! all 3 are excellent. the wishing garden has a faster plot and easier to read. the use of tarot is wonderful and the psychology insights into the characters are some of the best i've ever read. little, big takes longer to read but taking the time to understand the plot makes this book so magical!!!!!!!! i've reread some places i was too tired to understand b/c i was reading to put me to sleep. the text just came to life! it's all about seeing fairies and a magical family. there's a lot of character development but so well written. those of you who love brian froud will love this one. castle of crossed destinies isn't written as well as the other 2 but still i want to lay out the spreads he uses in the stories b/c i think it would give me further insight into the stories. anyhow all 3 are wonderful! when i finish these, i want to get the fig eater--a murder mystery using tarot. i think i'm going to slack off on little, big b/c i can see wishing garden is going to be a fast read and immediately exciting one.

VGimlet	06 May 2002
Hey Hudsongrey, I love the Ivory Series, and they've just been reprinted in one volume after being oop for a long time. "Gates of Ivory", "Guilt-Edged Ivory", and "Two-Bit Heroes". By Doris Egan. Don't remember the name of the re-print, but I bet it's something like Chronicles of Ivory. Very fun fantasy/sci-fi.

HudsonGray	06 May 2002
YOU'RE KIDDING! I completely missed out on the Guilt-Edged book! I wonder if it's over on www.half.com, I should check that out! So few people know about that author, I really enjoyed the books I do have. They are funny, even have references to reiki in them, and have good people interactions. THANKS for the heads up!

The tarot fiction thread was originally posted on 28 Apr 2002 in the Talking Tarot board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Talking Tarot, or read more archived threads.