(3 of 3)
Laughter in the Dark, by Vladimir Nabokov. This revival of a prehumous (1938) novel, although a mere Pninprick compared to the author's subsequent slash, foreshadows the maturer talent in describing a middle-aged Berlin art dealer of The Blue Angel epoch, whose life and dignity are degraded by a woman.
The Metamorphosis of the Gods, by Andre Malraux. To Malraux, art is religion, and to support this view, he produces flights of brilliant speculation that course throughout all of art history; if he does not persuade the reader to worship, at least he helps him to see.
The Go-Away Bird, by Muriel Spark. In the title novella and in ten accompanying short stories—mostly semi-supernatural suspense tales—the talented Scottish novelist displays her deft style and consummate con-woman skill in unmasking the hoaxing face of the world.
Rabbit, Run, by John Updike. A powerful and relentlessly depressing story about the crackup of an unspeakable Hollow Man whom the author perhaps mistakes for Everyman.
Best Sellers
FICTION
1. Advise and Consent, Drury (1)*
2. Hawaii, Michener (2)
3. To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee (6)
4. The Lovely Ambition, Chase (4)
5. The Leopard, Di Lampedusa (3)
6. Mistress of Mellyn, Holt (5)
7. The Nylon Pirates, Monsarrat
8. The Dean's Watch, Goudge (7)
9. The Last of the Just, Schwarz-Bart (9)
10. The Child Buyer, Hersey (8)
NONFICTION
1. The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, Shirer (2)
2. The Waste Makers, Packard (1)
3. Baruch: The Public Years (4)
4. Born Free, Adamson (3)
5. The Politics of Upheaval, Schlesinger (5)
6. Folk Medicine, Jarvis (6)
7. How I Made $2,000,000 in the Stock Market, Darvas (9)
8. Taken at the Flood, Gunther (7)
9. The Snake Has All the Lines, Kerr
10 The Worlds of Chippy Patterson, Lewis
*All times E.S.T.
*Position on last week's list.