Half Light

<b>An affair between 2 men in India changes the course of both their lives forever in this searing queer love story about shame, hope, and identity.<br> <br>“Rao sheds light without judgement…Thoughtful, tender storytelling at its finest.” —<i>Marie Claire</i></b><br><br>High up in the misty mountains of Darjeeling, a landslide cuts off a crumbling hillside hotel from the outside world. Trapped together with other guests and staff, 2 men begin to exchange lingering glances. For Neville, a charismatic student, such encounters are nothing new—urgent kisses in stairwells, fleeting encounters in parked cars. But for Pavan, a shy hotel employee accustomed to hiding in plain sight, their growing connection threatens to upend the careful life he has built in secrecy.<br><br>Years later, the men meet again by chance, this time surrounded by the towering skyscrapers and ghostly smog of Mumbai. Neville is now a restless graduate, trying to find his footing in the city. Pavan has long since fled the hills and begun a new life for himself working in a luxurious city hotel.  As their renewed flirtation quickly turns fraught, long-buried secrets from their shared past threaten to tumble into the light.<br><br>Set on the cusp of India's landmark ruling to decriminalize homosexuality, <i>Half Light</i> is an atmospheric, elegantly wry story of outlawed desire and the fragile hope for a life beyond concealment. From literary powerhouse Mahesh Rao, this tender exploration of the struggle for acceptance and understanding will appeal to readers of Douglas Stuart and Tom Crewe.