The Beautiful Indifference, By Sarah Hall

The young couples that feature in Hall's latest short story collection are in for a hellish time, particularly if they decide to go on holiday together.

Whether they're bickering on a remote African shore or lolling by a Finnish lake, forces bigger than themselves are about to swamp them. A writer of sensual and striking prose, Hall is at her best capturing wild landscapes. In "The Nightlong River", a band of farmers brave the cold winter nights to hunt mink while back in the village a young girl lies dying.