Radhika Maira Tabrez

‘In the Light of Darkness’ is a cut above most Indian writing in English these days. A well-written story that sensitively explores relationships and friendships in some detail - Radhika Tabrez goes beyond the norm in terms of exploring layers underneath the visible surface. Susan, Meera and Matt each have a past (with decisions made and not made to live with), deal with conflicts in the present, and prepare to face uncertain futures. The story of how they come to terms with varied emotions of guilt, understanding, acceptance and love is one well worth reading.

The novel is set in the fictional island of Bydore, which is India in a microcosm. The setting itself is interesting - the island could be an idyllic tropical paradise, except that it is subject to the same pressures, pulls and fissures that are evident to us on a much larger scale in India as a whole.

The protagonists are well drawn, their motivations and actions feel real, and some of the side characters have ‘body.’ Midway through, I felt that the pacing could have been a bit quicker (at places I felt that the back-story motivations had already been well explained, so perhaps didn’t need more embellishment), but apart from that no major quibbles. All in all, a wonderful debut novel from a talented author!