Books: Mosquitoes

MOSQUITOES—William Faulkner—Boni & Liveright ($2.50). A dozen mosquitoes gather on a yacht in southern waters. The mosquitoes are: unctuous Mrs. Maurier, queen mosquito, owner of the yacht, collector of eccentric celebrities; over-mannered Mr. Talliaferro, who carries a malaria germ of artistic small talk; Jennie and Pete, lower order of flies-by-night invited on the party by Patricia, a young mosquito who, none the less, administers the most powerful sting. Other insects—an author, a smalltime poet with a dull buzz, a sculptor—swarm drowsily in the lethargic air. Love affairs, talk, small business, occupy their...