favorite tarot novels?

dianekay

Though l wouldn't exactly call this one new. Sorry

**banbha**

An anthology of stories: Tarot Tales edited by Rachel Pollack and Caitlin Matthews. Also by Pollack, The Tarot of Perfection: A Book of Tarot Tales.

I have them on my shelf but have not read them yet. They are the only fiction books about tarot that I know of that are not already in this thread.

EmpyreanKnight

Quote:

Originally Posted by _R_

Là-bas by J.-K. Huysmans, a nineteenth-century French novelist.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Là-bas_(novel)

A handful of English translations, including one available to read here:

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/14323...-h/14323-h.htm

The table of contents gives the game away...

As well as being structured around the Major Arcana, we are given an insight into the fin de siècle French occultist scene, of which the author was a participant; characters Papus, de Guaita, Péladan, et al...

Note that there are only a couple of explicit references to Tarot in the novel itself, but the perceptive reader will note the parallels between the Tarot sequence and the chapter contents.

I don't necropost, but in this case I just had to thank _R_ who recommended this book. I first encountered Huysmans when I learned that he was the author of one of the books that influenced Wilde in The Picture of Dorian Gray, which is one of my favorite novels. Because of that, I read his lush, hyper-sensual À Rebours, which so delighted and influenced me that I even went through a Decadent books phase.

For some reason Huysmans' Là-bas escaped my notice. But now knowing its Tarot parallels, I am going to order it forthwith (from overseas sigh). Once it gets to our shores I shall feast on this rich, dark devil torte until I have my fill.

_R_

Quote:

Originally Posted by EmpyreanKnight

I don't necropost, but in this case I just had to thank _R_ who recommended this book.

You're very welcome, let us know what you make of the book.

I don't think we need to be too uptight about so-called "necro-posting", after all there is no need to reinvent the wheel each time we come across a book (or a piece of music or whatever) that could just as easily be posted into an older thread for the sake of convenience.

Incidentally, a very interesting article on Huysmans' book appeared on the blog of the author Dennis Cooper: http://denniscooperblog.com/sypha-pr...ysmans-la-bas/

EmpyreanKnight

Quote:

Originally Posted by _R_

Incidentally, a very interesting article on Huysmans' book appeared on the blog of the author Dennis Cooper: http://denniscooperblog.com/sypha-pr...ysmans-la-bas/

This is kinda OT but Lawd awmighty the very first quote in that article is from Dedalus Books whose International Decadence series is just phenomenal. One of the best anthologies I've ever read(and believe me I've read a ton) still remains The Dedalus Book of Femmes Fatales, which was nothing sort of glorious.

And whut - Dennis Cooper has a blog?!? I've read his book Guide and it slayed like a reaper. Yup I entered a Transgressive Lit period reading authors like Mirbeau, Bataille, and especially De Sade, and Cooper was quite close to my heart. I swore that when I enter that phase again I would read Cooper's Frisk and The Sl*ts.

It seems like you have very interesting tastes, _R_. I never really thought I'd meet someone here with similar predilections. Would there be other Tarot-related books you would like to recommend?

_R_

Quote:

Originally Posted by EmpyreanKnight

Would there be other Tarot-related books you would like to recommend?

Since you're obviously working through the thread and enjoy decadent/symbolist works, I suggest you take a look at Rodenbach's work - not explicitly tarotic, but the article linked to would suggest otherwise.

I note that I haven't gotten round to writing up some brief remarks on William Gresham's "Nightmare Alley", which is both structured on and involves the Tarot itself. This very noir novel is all the more poignant when one considers the life and untimely death of its author.

EmpyreanKnight

I shall order Nightmare Alley, and if it isn't available here I'd just have it shipped tho that would take a month or so. Already downloaded your links to Bruges-la-Morte and since it's quite short, I'd get to it soon.

Thanks a lot _R_!

**Barleywine**

Aleister Crowley's Moonchild inhabits a kind of "parallel universe" to most tarot-themed novels (it's more about magic), but is notable for its delicious send-up of A.E. Waite: "Edwin Arthwait" indeed.