Fata Morgana by William Kotzwinkle
Fata Morgana is a novel by William Kotzwinkle that intertwines elements of detective fiction with an exploration of the unconscious mind, set in Paris during the 1860s. The story follows Paul Picard, a seasoned police inspector who is deeply embedded in the city's criminal underworld and accustomed to the logical framework of law enforcement. However, his routine is upended by the enigmatic Ric Lazare, a charismatic figure who may be orchestrating a complex conspiracy that hints at supernatural influences and ancient secret societies. As Picard delves deeper into the investigation, he travels across various European cities, including Vienna, Nuremberg, and Budapest, seeking clues that blur the lines between reality and the fantastical.
Throughout the narrative, Picard grapples with his own psyche, revisiting a childlike perspective that allows for a blend of magic and the mundane. His pursuit of Lazare leads him to explore esoteric practices, which challenge his rational understanding of the world. The story reaches a climax when Picard confronts Lazare, resulting in a symbolic defeat that serves as a catalyst for self-reflection. Ultimately, the novel invites readers to contemplate the interplay of dreams, destiny, and the mysteries that lie beyond conventional comprehension. Fata Morgana presents a thought-provoking journey where the boundaries between the real and the surreal are intricately woven together.
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Fata Morgana
First published: 1977
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Fantasy—magical world
Time of work: 1861
Locale: Central Europe
The Plot
From the beginning of his career as a writer, the extremely versatile William Kotzwinkle (who was chosen by director Steven Spielberg to write the novelization of the 1982 film E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial) has been interested in the region where realism and fantasy merge and fuse. In Fata Morgana, he explores this mysterious area by combining a conventional detective story with an examination of the unconscious mind of a middle-aged police inspector in Paris in the 1860s.
Paul Picard is an experienced professional, familiar with police procedure and the urban underground of criminals and dropouts. He is a traditional and essentially conservative man, but his desire to enforce justice and unravel the threads of a complicated criminal scheme lead him into a realm where his experience is not sufficient. The world of laws and rational expectations Picard knows is disrupted by the appearance of Ric Lazare, who is witty, socially adept, and possibly the mastermind of an extraordinary conspiracy that may reach into the chambers of the leaders of France, or even beyond, to centuries-old, shadowy organizations that seem to deal in the supernatural.
Picard is intrigued by the challenge and energized by the dangers a pursuit of Lazare would involve, and he begins to search for clues and answers in Vienna, Nuremberg, and Budapest, as well as in the darker, time-worn locations of an older world. During the course of his investigation, he is drawn into the recesses of his own mind, back toward the prerational childs perspective that permits magic and the exceptional to mingle with the realistic and the familiar.
Picard begins to suspect that Lazare has been operating in forbidden, arcane phenomena, possibly mastering a method of continuous reincarnation that promises immortality. Picards skills in deductive procedures are augmented by his own fascination with semimystic techniques, such as consultation with seers, faith in amulets, and the commissioning of spells formulated by conjurers. In spite of this, he is overcome in a confrontation with Lazare in which shellfire from toy soldiers seems to wound him mortally. In a device common to the genre, he discovers that he has known defeat in a dream-vision. Restored to waking consciousness, he recognizes that he has been given a glimpse of one among several possible futures. He resolves, prudently, to put aside the pursuit of Lazare but to apply some of the lessons of his experience to his continuing effort to overcome his old adversary, Baron Mantes.