Vladimir Nabokov conjures a nightmarish world in his novel "The Bastard Sign." A bloody revolution has brought the "Toad" to power, as the populace calls the dictator Paduk, along with the "Party of the Average Man," a group as banal as it is brutal. With all the precision of his style, Nabokov depicts the totalitarian world for what it is: a "bestial farce," a mixture of absurdity and horror. Even in this, his darkest book, Nabokov proves himself to be a master of the grotesque.