THE FINAL HOURS (273 pp.)—José Suárez Carreño—Knopf ($3.50).
This book is the second novel to reach the U.S. from Franco Spain in the past three months, and the second to show that thoughtful and compassionate Spanish writers take a grim view of life. In The Hive (TIME, Oct. 5), Camilo José Cela highlighted the plight of poverty-stricken Madrileños. In The Final Hours, José Suárez Carreño, 39, portrays the night life of Madrid and offers a world where love is impossible and the human condition hopeless.
Author Suárez' soberly bitter story centers on three...