The Castle of Crossed Destinies

I really can not say that I enjoyed The Castle of Crossed Destinies but the structure of the narrative is very interesting and is in some ways a commentary on all narration and also on the underlying archetypes of narration. Thus for readers of fiction, this short book, a collection of stories, offers food for thought about how a story is created or re-created as the case may be. The book is written in two sections. In both, a traveler comes to a castle or tavern where no one can speak and each person at the table tells their story or tale using the Tarot cards. There are many stories related here but the curiosity is that one person's series of cards can then be criss-crossed with another traveler's cards to form a grid which can be read backward and forward, up and down. Thus the elements of the narrative can be used and reused in creating narration in an infinite number of patterns with the cards having different meanings depending on the sequence in which they are read. This strongly hints at the psychology of Carl Jung and the universal archetypes that play a role in each person's psychological makeup. However a story requires that the actors show action and thus the series of cards in and of themselves do not relate very much action, which must be interpreted by the mute teller to the listeners. The randomness of this is certainly a protection against cliché but some of the stories generated with this methodology left me a bit unsatisfied. There are many magical characters and yet the stories, for all their strangeness, seemed to end up abruptly. Throughout the book are illustrations of the cards mentioned on that particular page, a nice touch. Also at then end of the book is a diagram mapping Calvino's interpretation of Shakespeare's great tragedies. In summary, this book appears to be an experiment with narration which is very interesting as a concept but the stories left me a bit cold.

This book my all time favorite tarot book (so far!) Refreshingly original in theme and plot. Beautiful to read. It left me wanting a sequel (as he alludes he could have done next with more modern deck imagery, moving from a castle to a motel.While not a beginners book per say, if you want to orient your reading style to reading cards as a story, then this is your book. An essential must read for readers who favor the "open" tarot reading style.

Students of the tarot can hardly put time to better use than to study this little book. It is entertaining; it is often profound and startling; but most usefully it details a novel method of reading the tarots which the reader can practice.The stories are based on two decks, treated separately: the ancient Visconti deck and the also-old Tarot of Marseille. Illustrations line most pages, both in color and as page edgings illustrating his stories. Calvino does not, as a true Italian, try to replace the missing Devil and Tower from the older Florentine deck with the unsatisfactory modern replacements, but simply omits their illustrations. Any deck can be used with his method, and in fact the author toyed with the idea of making a third story-telling deck from modern comic strips.Italo Calvino is a writer of "magical realism," and this is the technique he uses: the magical elements are simply taken for granted. He mixes his own tarot stories with graceful pastiches stirred together from many classics, and often says quite interesting things about these classics. You can lay out the cards and make stories, too; this is a good book to fit with the modern interest in tarots.

I'm giving this book a 5 star rating purely for its ingenuity, this book would be a must read for those interested in the tarot, it's fascinating how the author has weaved the stories around the tarot cards but I do however now understand why he nearly went mad writing it. A worthwhile read for students and practitioners of tarot.

This isn't my favorite Calvino book but it's notable for its construction and the thought that went into putting the tarot stories together. Each tarot card has a story and a history, but what if they were woven together? What if the cards told the stories of travelers trapped in a hotel that has taken their voices away? I found the second half of this book to be more enjoyable and readable than the first. If you are a lover of the Tarot, this is a must-read. If you are a lover of Calvino, or just getting started with his works, I would recommend his other books over this. If you are interested in purchasing a similar deck to what he used, the Sforza Visconti deck is what you should look for. It's the oldest surviving tarot deck and was created for the wedding of the daughter of a prince of Milan. Those are the cards that Calvino uses to illustrate his story.

Wonderfully told tales linked by the theme of storytelling and impossibility of perfect understanding.

having read tarot cards for 20 years i was rather excited, when i seen this made reference to in another book that i wanted to read it. however it's hard to follow and presumptuous. the book starts off with a traveler falling into a castle but lost the power to speak. only to notice that everyone else there is the same way. it's set up in short stories using different tarot cards to tell their story, each one building off of another. unless you know tarot or have an ability to follow it has a small realm of readers that will get it. the writing is confusing.

Fantastic book! I'd highly recommend this as much as any of Calvino's work.

I read this book long ago, and found that the pictures added a lot. I absolutely would not have bought the kindle edition had I known it did not contain the pictures.

Calvino is a magician and wordsmith who is not well enough appreciated. This typically imaginative work combines tarot cards with story telling and, whilst it's a one-sitting read will stay in your thoughts for a long time. And make you want to read another offering. Try Invisible Cities!

Amazing book!!!

Calvino is like a craftsman. I've never read a book which has an underlying logical structure as playful as Calvino's work. Like other works by him, Castle of Crossed Destinies challenge the very structure of a novel. Reading this book one fairly gets a difference between a story and a book (in terms of content and composition) which makes this more like a piece of art.

Pick up any of Calvino's prose work, it has to be awesome. This one is not bad either. The Tarrot touch makes it more enjoyable.