RECENT & READABLE

The Holy Sinner, by Thomas Mann. A medieval version of the Oedipus legend with a happy ending; retold with affectionate irony and a new twist or two (TIME, Sept. 10).

Lie Down in Darkness, by William Styron. Decay and aimlessness in country-club Virginia; a first novel by a 26-year-old Southerner who writes well if not refreshingly (TIME, Sept. 10).

Truth in the Night, by Michael McLaverty. A quietly fine story about a corrosive nagger in an island community off the Irish coast (TIME, Sept. 3).

Dizzy, by Hesketh Pearson. A lively, short biography of Disraeli, by an enthusiastic admirer (TIME, Sept. 3).

Mr. Smith, by Louis Bromfield. Author Bromfield borrows Sinclair Lewis' old gloves and goes to work on the bruised midsection of the U.S. middle class; a fairly brisk exhibition, even though a lot of the punches land soft (TIME, Aug. 27).

Moonfleet, by J. Meade Falkner. First U.S. publication, of a turn-of-the-century English classic about smugglers, diamonds and growing boys, for people who reread Treasure Island (TIME, Aug. 13).

The Cruel Sea, by Nicholas Monsarrat. A moving novel of life & death on the Atlantic convoy lanes in World War II (TIME, Aug. 6).

The Catcher in the Rye, by J. D. Salinger. A tender-tough story about a 16-year-old who tries on a man-about-town role several sizes too large for him (TIME, July 16).

The Sea Around Us, by Rachel Carson. The life & times of the sea; a first-class popular summary of what scientists have managed to learn about the subject (TIME, July 16).

This Is War! by David Douglas Duncan. Superb photographs that give an unrivaled sense of what Korea has been like for the foot soldiers who slugged it out (TIME, June 25).

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