The Vertical Smile

The Vertical Smile is a political satire novel by Richard Condon, published in 1971. It deals with politics, sex and greed, centering on the 68-year-old mother of a political candidate falling in love with a 70-year-old man with a very outrageous and scandalous history.

Reception

The novel was panned by Kirkus in 1971. The reviewer wrote that "those who remember Mr. Condon as a staggering storyteller will have to look elsewhere" and "very readable it's not".