EBOOK

Half Light

Mahesh Rao
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Year
2025
Language
English

About

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.

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Reviews

"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

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