"Fata Morgana" is a curious mingling of genres: detective story and fairy tale. It manages to pull the reader in, because William Kotzwinkle, who has written for both children and adults, is able to move from the mundane to the grotesque, from magic to hard-nosed fact, without bruising his story….

Toys form a constant motif in the novel. They are "much finer than men, and much worse." The men and women in the book have all the appearances of animated dolls, with a system of "springs and balances."…

The novel itself reads like a small, relentless engine, fueled by whimsy and a powerful froth. The intentions are narrow; the realities are nearer to cardboard than to flesh, but the book does entertain all the way through.

Jerome Charyn, "Conjuring Tricks," in The New York Times Book Review (© 1977 by The New York Times Company; reprinted by permission), May 1, 1977, p...