Tarot Fiction

balenciaga

Cormac McCarthy's "Blod Meridian" (1985)

OOPS! I just posted a new thread on "Talking Tarot" about tarot references in Cormac McCarthy's "Blood Meridian" (1985).
I will check out the other forums listed here. (Sorry for the misplaced post).:!:
 

RufusJ

Charles Williams, a contemporary of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, wrote a book called "The Greater Trumps", which of course has tarot at its very heart. I've read it several times now and thoroughly enjoy it. The writing is somewhat old fashioned but it's great for a winter's afternoon.

rufusj
 

MareSaturni

Joanne Harris, who wrote the book 'Chocolate' that recently became a movie starring Johnny Depp and Juliette Binoche, has a book named 'Holy Fools', in which the main character reads tarot cards! This book is really, really great, i do recommend to anyone interested in a nice story, with great characters and a bit of tarot ;)
 

Glass Owl

Accidentally Engaged by Mary Carter
The main character is a psychic and she also reads Tarot cards. The Prologue's main focus is about the Fool card and the story kicks off with a woman wanting a Tarot reading.

The Psychic Eye series by Victoria Laurie is really fun and the second book in the series is titled "Better Read Than Dead." In this book the psychic (who doesn't read cards) gets a crash course in reading them when her friend convinces her to help give readings for a wedding party.
 

Lleminawc

The FInger and the Moon by Geoffrey Ashe is not explicitly about Tarot but all the images from the Major Trumps turn up in some form or other. Also the Magus by John Fowles is supposed to be partly inspired by Tarot.
 

Teheuti

Check out my review of _The Devil, the Lovers, & Me: My Life in Tarot_ at:
http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/book...-lovers-and-me/

This book is a memoir written in the style of humorous chick-lit fiction. I think it's a significant work that shows how Tarot can be used for personal insight.

I've also started a thread about the book and just today asked the author if she'd be willing to visit the forum and answer some questions. She said she'd love to.

Mary
 

Glass Owl

miss_yuko said:
Joanne Harris, who wrote the book 'Chocolate' that recently became a movie starring Johnny Depp and Juliette Binoche, has a book named 'Holy Fools', in which the main character reads tarot cards!
After reading your post I pulled down a book that is one of my BTBR (Books To Be Read) and its by Joanne Harris too. It is titled "Sleep, Pale Sister." On the back cover is says it is "a gothic tour-de-force that recalls the powerfully dark sensibility of her novel 'Holy Fools.'" It goes on to say that it "combines the ethereal beauty of a Pre-Raphaelite painting with a chilling high gothic tale, and is as testament of Harris's briming cornucopia of talents."

What drew my attention to the book in the store was that the story is broken up with pages that state the name of a Tarot card. I don't know if Tarot cards are mentioned in the story or not.
The Hermit
The Star
The Nine of Swords
The Knave of Coins
The High Priestess
The Moon
Change
The Ace of Swords
The Two of Cups
The Hanged Man
Death

Doing a bit of online research on Joanne Harris I haven't seen any mention of her saying that she uses Tarot cards. However, her book "Runemarks" (to be published Sept. 2007), is about runes. On her pesonal website http://www.joanne-harris.co.uk
she talks about the book and runes.
 

Troubadour

The major arcana is the classical journey of the fool, and it has inspired many fiction writers. I think you could make the argument that everything from The Iliad to the Lord of the Rings is inspired by the Fool's journey in the cards.
Here comes the self-plug... including two of my own, The Last Troubadour... reviewed so kindly and wonderfully by Bonnie Cehovet in Aeclectic's book reviews here http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/books/last-troubadour/ ... and the sequel The Last Quest due next year with the tie-in Troubadour deck... plug over. There's a very famous novel where strangers get together somewhere in Europe -- famous, but I can't remember the name! -- and because they don't speak each other's language they end up telling their stories with the cards...

That's how I view the cards. The entire human experience is summed up in those visual metaphors and they inspire the imagination. It's no wonder they fascinate anyone creative!
 

Teheuti

Troubadour said:
There's a very famous novel where strangers get together somewhere in Europe -- famous, but I can't remember the name! -- and because they don't speak each other's language they end up telling their stories with the cards...
The book you're referring to is _The Castle of Crossed Destinies_ by Italo Calvino, translated from the Italian.