The Master Puppeteer takes place in relatively violent times. Jiro stumbles over dead bodies on the street; poverty and hunger break families apart; masters kick and whip apprentices. But Paterson handles all such grim realities with intelligence and taste. She does not shy away from the truth of the world she depicts, nor does she gratuitously include violence. There are few women in the book because the story is set in a male-dominated environment, but the importance of women in several of the puppet plays helps redress the balance.

The Master Puppeteer is a particularly fine piece of work in that it opens up a world unfamiliar to most readers and raises moral issues that remain relevant.