KING, QUEEN, KNAVE <i> by Vladimir Nabokov (Vintage: $8.95)</i>

Nabokov’s second novel, a sardonic tale of adultery and attempted murder, lacks the shimmering, multilayered reality and interlingual wordplay of “Ada” and “Pale Fire.” The three central characters--an unscrupulous, opportunistic young man; his sensual, scheming aunt and her wealthy, expansive husband--suggest rough drafts for the complex personalities who inhabit Nabokov’s later works. Although more conventional in language and structure than the author’s acknowledged masterpieces, “King, Queen, Knave” is far more entertaining than many contemporary novels and retains the witty charm that led Nabokov to describe it as “this bright brute.”