Join us for an evening with Mahesh Rao to celebrate the publication of his new novel Half Light.
In the misty mountains of Darjeeling, a landslide entraps the guests and staff of a dilapidated hotel. Cooped up inside, two men exchange lingering glances. For carefree Neville, this is one of many exhilarating encounters, stolen kisses in stairways and parked cars. But for Pavan, an employee desperate to avoid detection, their entanglement prises open his carefully contained and solitary existence with unforgettable consequences.
Four years later, their paths cross again amidst the towering skyscrapers and ghostly smog of Mumbai. Pavan has fled the hills, burying all memories of their encounter, while Neville is now a flailing graduate, craving something more than the naked torsos blowing up his phone. When he glimpses Pavan working behind the reception of a luxurious hotel, he demands a meeting, pursuing him with mischief and menace as the secrets of their time together threaten to tumble into the light.
Set on the brink of India's ruling to decriminalise homosexuality, this is a tender, richly atmospheric and elegantly wry story of outlawed desire and the hope of a life beyond concealment.
A stunning novel, gorgeously written. Rao deeply understands the human heart in all its frailty, cruelty and abundant promise - Kamila Shamsie, author of Best of Friends
An incredible dual coming of age story, set during a (not so distant) time when homosexuality was illegal in India. Half Light is a searing tour de force of shame, sex, love and identity. I was enchanted - Thomas Stewart, author of Real Boys
Meaning shimmers between the lines . . . His language has a hard-polished gleam and great economy . . .. Witty, moving and powerful - Guardian on One Point Two Billion
Rao zooms in on forgotten lives - ordinary, extraordinary, absurd, tragic. His writing is subtle, delightfully wry - Mirza Waheed on One Point Two Billion
An auspicious debut - its comedy is dry and biting, its perceptiveness acute, and its picture of India ringingly truthful - Neel Mukherjee on The Smoke Is Rising
In this remarkable novel, Mahesh Rao gives voice to the forgotten and the ignored, and my lord, what a voice it is. Half Light is steeped to a sublime perfection, an astonishing literary achievement - Rabih Alameddine, author of The Wrong End of the Telescope
Tender and timeless. A quiet story of hope and survival with an ending that took my breath away - Soula Emmanuel, author of Wild Geese
