Klara and the Sun: The Times and Sunday Times Book of the Year

The lost novel from the author of The Second SexWhen Andrée joins her school, Sylvie is immediately fascinated. Andrée is small for her age, but walks with the confidence of an adult. The girls become close. They talk for hours about equality, justice, war and religion: they lose respect for their teachers: they build a world of their own. But as the girls grow into young women, the pressures of society mount, threatening everything.This novel was never published in Simone de Beauvoir's lifetime. It tells the story of the real-life friendship that shaped one of the most important thinkers and feminists of the twentieth century.'Slim, elegant, achingly tragic and unaffectedly lovely in its evocation of the closeness between girls - and the pressures that sunder them' SpectatorVINTAGE FRENCH CLASSICS - five masterpieces of French fiction in gorgeous new gift editions.TRANSLATED BY LAUREN ELKIN - INTRODUCED BY DEBORAH LEVY

A Novel of High Fantasy and Low Stakes.After a lifetime of bounties and bloodshed, Viv is hanging up her sword for the last time.The battle-weary orc aims to start fresh, opening the first ever coffee shop in the city of Thune. But old and new rivals stand in the way of success—not to mention the fact that no one has the faintest idea what coffee actually is.If Viv wants to put the blade behind her and make her plans a reality, she won't be able to go it alone.But the true rewards of the uncharted path are the travelers you meet along the way. And whether drawn together by ancient magic, flaky pastry, or a freshly brewed cup, they may become partners, family, and something deeper than she ever could have dreamed.