Pavan works in a crumbling hotel in the hills of Darjeeling. Far from home he hides his true nature from everyone, although he isn't always successful. When Neville arrives with his mother and her companion, he makes a beeline for Pavan and when a landslide stops the guests from checking out he decides to amuse himself by seducing Pavan. Disaster follows and Pavan's life unravels in ways that spoiled, narcissist Neville cannot and will not comprehend. This is the catalyst for the second half of the book which takes place four years later when Pavan and Neville run into each other again on Neville's home turf. This time, when Neville attempts to assert domination, things take a very different turn. A book of quiet drama and increasing tension, beautifully handled by the author, this is a splendid read.

Acclaimed writer Mahesh Rao returns with ‘Half Light,’ a fictional look at the devastating effects of section 377 on the lives of two gay men, Pavan and Neville. Pavan works in hotels and he does his best to scrape by without being noticed. Neville is aimless and has been sheltered for most of his life. Both men are secretive about their affections and hide their sexual identities from friends, family and society because they fear imprisonment and rejection. When they encounter each other at a run-down hotel, their relationship will have long-lasting effects.

Rao shows what happens when someone's identity is criminalised. Under section 377, a gay man has to watch every movement, every gesture, and every word. He can rarely inhabit the world around him because he fears being discovered. Pavan and Neville are in a constant state of emotional and psychological duress. As a result, they do not form lasting connections with people because they never know if others will reject them or turn them into the police as long as section 377 is enforced.

Rao has created a sympathetic portrait of two men struggling to understand their place in a world that is often antagonistic to their very existence. Yet Rao highlights how Pavan and Neville have shut themselves off from those around them as a means of self-protection. Neville never gives his mother a chance to know the real him because he lives in a constant state of fear. He acts out because he has never been allowed to develop emotionally because doing so would require him to be truthful about his sexuality. Pavan has one moment towards the end where he is forced to reveal his sexuality to someone, and Rao writes this scene in a humanistic and character-based way.

The book is not a romance, but a melancholy and sobering look at what cruel and archaic laws do to people like Pavan and Neville. Rao writes with a researcher's understanding of what happens to gay men when they are turned into criminals for wanting to exist and be loved. Heartbreaking and beautiful.

This book is elegant and atmospheric, set against India’s impending decriminalisation of homosexuality. It’s a moving exploration of two lives changed by a fleeting encounter that refuses to fade, that starts in the misty mountains of Darjeeling.

A landslide cuts off a remote inn for days, stranding a handful of guests and the inn's staff. What is simply an inconvenience for most turns into an opportunity for Pavan, one of the inn's staff, to explore his sexuality with the assistance of a guest, a younger more sexually confident man named Neville. For those few days of stolen moments and secret dates, it is fun, but then stuff happens, and it is not fun anymore.
This is a well written novel that explores different ways of experiencing human relationships, sexual or not, and follows both men as the Indian Supreme Court hands down their decision decriminalizing homosexuality.

In Half Light, Mahesh Rao tells the story of Neville, a restless young man, and Pavan, a reserved hotel worker, whose brief meeting in a fading Darjeeling hotel leaves a lasting mark. As India edges toward decriminalizing homosexuality, their connection—shaped by secrecy, longing, and shifting freedoms—unfolds across years and cities.

Rao writes with elegance and restraint, using lyrical precision to capture both the beauty of fleeting moments and the ache of what remains unsaid. The result is a tender, atmospheric novel that lingers long after the final page.