Madame du Deffand and the Idiots By Javier Marías

Madame du Deffand and the Idiots By Javier MaríasShe was bored and fought against her boredom, which only bored her still more.'Five sparkling, irreverent brief portraits of famous literary figures (including libertines, eccentrics and rogues) from Spain's greatest living writer. Penguin Modern: fifty new books celebrating the pioneering spirit of the iconic Penguin Modern Classics series, with each one offering a concentrated hit of its contemporary, international flavour. Here are authors ranging

Tom Robbins’s shorter work has appeared in publications ranging from Esquire to Harper’s

immigration

Richard Dawkins was catapulted from mere intellectual stardom into a circle of celebrity thinkers dubbed

In Murakami’s world

and a very special underwire bra

Before it does

Ken Blanchard

In the bizarre world of Franz Kafka

The subway

humour or empathy

In a language both fluid and graceful

Don’t wait