Magpie

A collection of thirteen stories with settings from the now-vanished hutongs of 1980’s Beijing to the ruins of present-day Syria; from suburban Britain to a clinic in Kenya. In these stories men and women reveal their hidden desires – and their humanity – in their longing to escape, and yearning to connect. Set in a range of deftly realised locations, these compelling stories take the reader from the hutongs of Beijing, on the cusp of change in 1980, to present-day Syria. We meet Mahmoud, confronting his son in the ruins of a museum; Jill, searching for clues to her son’s life in Kenya. Stranded on a nightmarish holiday island, Steve is sure his dark secret can remain hidden, despite an unsettling encounter with a stranger who seems to know everything about him. In suburban Britain, Madeleine faces the loneliness of an empty nest and grapples with the echoes of a past affair. In a small town in the heart of Spain, William discovers that his plans for his dream holiday home – and the fate of his family – are more entwined with the life of his elderly neighbour than he could ever have imagined. Close relationships are stretched to breaking point; past secrets are revealed to haunt the present. In stories that surprise and entertain – yet leave the reader with room to think – Sarah Hegarty’s sharp-eyed prose examines the complexities of human relationships, and our enduring longing to connect. 'A powerful, unsettling, glittering collection from a writer of huge talent’ – Liz Jensen, author of Your Wild and Precious Life