A event on Tuesday 7th October. The event starts at 19:00.
An evening with award-winning author Mahesh Rao presenting *Half Light* (Pushkin One), a new novel navigating the decriminalisation of homosexuality in India. Mahesh will be in conversation with Bristol-based artist Tom Marshman, author of *Section 28 and Me*.
Set on the brink of India's ruling to decriminalise homosexuality, *Half Light* is a tender, richly atmospheric and elegantly wry story of outlawed desire and the hope of a life beyond concealment. 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.
Press:
Telegraph
'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'
TLS review by Tash Aw
'Mahesh 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'
Irish Times
'Half Light is 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'
Bios:
Mahesh Rao grew up in Nairobi, Kenya. He has worked as a lawyer, academic researcher and bookseller. His debut novel, The Smoke Is Rising, won the Tata First Book Award for fiction and was shortlisted for the Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize, the Crossword Book Award and the Guardian's Not the Booker Prize. His short fiction has been shortlisted for numerous awards, including the Commonwealth Short Story Prize and the Bridport Prize. Mahesh has written for the New York Times, The Baffler, Prospect and Elle. He lives most of the year in Mysore, India.
Tom Marshman has been a practicing artist for 21 years, and produced over 60 projects, across many mediums, including - museum audio-tours, theatre & cabaret. An overarching theme of his work is that of the outsider & their story, particularly regarding the LGBTQ+ experience, stories that been omitted through archival silence. Tom has shown work in a variety of venues including Bristol Old Vic, Arnolfini (Bristol), Oval House, Chapter Arts Centre, Battersea Arts Centre, Basement Brighton, Colchester Arts Centre Exeter Phoenix and within Festivals including National Review of Live Art, Inbetween Time, National Trust and White Nights.
Entry requirements: no age restrictions (under 18s to be accompanied by an adult over 21yrs, 1:1 ratio)
Set on the brink of India's ruling to decriminalise homosexuality, *Half Light* is a tender, richly atmospheric and elegantly wry story of outlawed desire and the hope of a life beyond concealment. 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.
Press:
Telegraph
'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'
TLS review by Tash Aw
'Mahesh 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'
Irish Times
'Half Light is 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'
Bios:
Mahesh Rao grew up in Nairobi, Kenya. He has worked as a lawyer, academic researcher and bookseller. His debut novel, The Smoke Is Rising, won the Tata First Book Award for fiction and was shortlisted for the Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize, the Crossword Book Award and the Guardian's Not the Booker Prize. His short fiction has been shortlisted for numerous awards, including the Commonwealth Short Story Prize and the Bridport Prize. Mahesh has written for the New York Times, The Baffler, Prospect and Elle. He lives most of the year in Mysore, India.
Tom Marshman has been a practicing artist for 21 years, and produced over 60 projects, across many mediums, including - museum audio-tours, theatre & cabaret. An overarching theme of his work is that of the outsider & their story, particularly regarding the LGBTQ+ experience, stories that been omitted through archival silence. Tom has shown work in a variety of venues including Bristol Old Vic, Arnolfini (Bristol), Oval House, Chapter Arts Centre, Battersea Arts Centre, Basement Brighton, Colchester Arts Centre Exeter Phoenix and within Festivals including National Review of Live Art, Inbetween Time, National Trust and White Nights.
Entry requirements: no age restrictions (under 18s to be accompanied by an adult over 21yrs, 1:1 ratio)