‘A stunning novel, gorgeously written’ Kamila Shamsie, author of Best of Friends
‘Intelligent, keenly observed’ Tash Aw, TLS
‘A poignant study of loneliness, and a perceptive examination of the struggle for acceptance and understanding’ Telegraph
‘A tender yet piercing exploration of what it means to live in the shadows’ Service95
High in the mountains of Darjeeling, a landslide traps the guests and staff of a crumbling hotel. Cooped up inside, two men exchange lingering glances. For Neville, this is one of many thrilling encounters – urgent kisses in stairwells and parked cars. But for hotel employee Pavan, their connection threatens to unravel everything he has kept hidden.
Years later, their paths collide once more, surrounded by the towering skyscrapers and ghostly smog of Mumbai. Neville is now a restless graduate, adrift in the city, while Pavan has started a new life, away from the hills. When Neville strides into his workplace demanding a meeting, their flirtation turns fraught, and long-buried secrets threaten to tumble into the light.
Set on the cusp of India’s landmark ruling to decriminalise homosexuality, this is a tender, richly atmospheric and elegantly wry story of outlawed desire – and the fragile hope for a life beyond concealment.
Praise for Half Light:
‘A thoughtful, moving novel that takes its time to explore its characters’ inner lives and invites the reader into the dual heritage of a country in an unusual and rewarding way’ Irish Times
‘Thoughtful, tender storytelling at its finest’ Marie Claire
‘A quietly lovely exploration of desire and self loathing in India in the years leading up to the decriminalization of homosexuality’ Daily Mail
‘Highly enjoyable. . . offer[s] a glimmer of hope for a new world that could come into being’ Guardian
‘Half Light is a novel steeped to a sublime perfection, and an astonishing literary achievement’ Rabih Alameddine, author of The Wrong End of the Telescope
‘A searing tour de force of shame, sex, love and identity. I was enchanted’ Thomas Stewart, author of Real Boys
‘Tender and timeless. A quiet story of hope and survival that took my breath away’ Soula Emmanuel, author of Wild Geese
‘More than meets the expectations aroused by his debut’ Patrick Gale, author of Mother’s Boy
Reviews
A stunning novel, gorgeously written. Rao deeply understands the human heart in all its frailty, cruelty and abundant promise
A deceptively simple yet touching tale of two people from contrasting backgrounds coming to terms with their sexuality. . . Half Light is a poignant study of loneliness, and a perceptive examination of the struggle for acceptance and understanding, as well as the emotional disconnect wrought by the denial of one’s identity
Telegraph
Rao writes with great sensitivity. . . A thoughtful, moving novel that takes its time to explore its characters’ inner lives and invites the reader into the dual heritage of a country in an unusual and rewarding way
Irish Times
Rao sheds light without judgement, creating enormous sympathy in his tale of two very different gay men constrained by India’s rigid social mores at a pivotal point in India’s history (same-sex relationships were finally legalised in the country in 2019). Thoughtful, tender storytelling at its finest
Marie Claire
The feeling of being at odds with the world hangs heavy over the characters in Half Light, Mahesh Rao’s intelligent, keenly observed fourth novel, set in India in the years leading up to the decriminalization of homosexuality in 2018. . . Rao’s greatest skill as a novelist lies not so much in his extravagant plotting, which marks particularly the second half of the novel, but in his fine observations of the contradictions the characters struggle with
TLS
A quietly lovely exploration of desire and self loathing in India in the years leading up to the decriminalization of homosexuality. . . Rao resists obvious storylines in a gentle exquisite portrait of lives lived in half light
Daily Mail
Highly enjoyable. . . there is much to enjoy and much to admire here. . . offer[s] a glimmer of hope for a new world that could come into being
Guardian
A tender yet piercing exploration of what it means to live in the shadows of concealment. Through Pavan and Neville – two men whose paths cross at different moments in their lives – Mahesh captures the suffocating weight of secrecy, shame and longing. This isn’t a romance, but a portrait of survival in a world that criminalises your existence. I felt the ache of Pavan and Neville’s lives held back by fear, the enduring desire for connection, and the fragile hope that intimacy can still break through
Service95
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
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
Tender and timeless. A quiet story of hope and survival with an ending that took my breath away
Meaning shimmers between the lines . . . His language has a hard-polished gleam and great economy . . .. Witty, moving and powerful
Rao zooms in on forgotten lives – ordinary, extraordinary, absurd, tragic. His writing is subtle, delightfully wry
An auspicious debut – its comedy is dry and biting, its perceptiveness acute, and its picture of India ringingly truthful
