(4 of 4)
THE FUTILE LIFE OF PITO PEREZ, by José Rubén Romero. A great Mexican classic gets its first English translation. Pito Perez is a south-of-the-border Everyman, and his story illumines the national character of Mexico.
THE LAST ONE LEFT, by John D. MacDonald. Murder at sea, mayhem on land, and skulduggery everywhere in this tautly told story by one of America's masters of suspense.
PAPER LION, by George Plimpton. The author makes his personal dream come true for the reader too; his account of playing as a temporary member of the Detroit Lions pro football club puts every fan on the bench right behind the coaches.
DEATH ON THE INSTALLMENT PLAN, by Louis-Ferdinand Céline. The founding father of black humor in a new and splendidly gutty translation of his classic about the bitter, unbreakable orphan whose horrid childhood and nonage were a lugubrious epic of squalor, filth, misery and hatred.
THE MAN WHO KNEW KENNEDY, by Vance Bourjaily. A civilized and affecting fictional account of how the generation closest to J.F.K. in age and aspirations took his death.
Best Sellers
FICTION
1. The Secret of Santa Vittoria, Crichton (1 last week)
2. Capable of Honor, Drury (2)
3. The Birds Fall Down, West (3)
4. The Mask of Apollo, Renault (4)
5. The Captain, De Hartog (9)
6. Valley of the Dolls, Susann (5)
7. Tai-Pan, Clavell (7)
8. All in the Family, O'Connor (6)
9. The Fixer, Malamud (8)
10. Five Smooth Stones, Fairbairn
NONFICTION
1. Everything But Money, Levenson (1)
2. Madame Sarah, Skinner (3)
3. Paper Lion, Plimpton (2)
4. The Jury Returns, Nizer (4)
5. Games People Play, Berne (6)
6. Rush to Judgment, Lane (5)
7. The Boston Strangler, Frank (8)
8. Random House Dictionary of the English Language (7)
9. Winston S. Churchill, Churchill (9)
10. How to Avoid Probate, Dacey (10)
*All times E.S.T.