Age of Vice
Books | Fiction / Crime
3.5
(127)
Deepti Kapoor
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERA GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICKNamed a Best Book of the Year by Publishers Weekly, Oprah Daily and NPR!“Dazzling...Finally free from the book’s grip, now all I want to do is get others hooked.”— The Washington Post“A page-turning social novel…It stirs the pulse while digging into the entrenched and evolving structures and contradictions of modern India.” —NPR“Cinematic…As a storyteller, Kapoor is a natural.”—The New York Times New Delhi, 3 a.m. A speeding Mercedes jumps the curb and in the blink of an eye, five people are dead. It’s a rich man’s car, but when the dust settles there is no rich man at all, just a shell-shocked servant who cannot explain the strange series of events that led to this crime. Nor can he foresee the dark drama that is about to unfold. Deftly shifting through time and perspective in contemporary India, Age of Vice is an epic, action-packed story propelled by the seductive wealth, startling corruption, and bloodthirsty violence of the Wadia family -- loved by some, loathed by others, feared by all. In the shadow of lavish estates, extravagant parties, predatory business deals and calculated political influence, three lives become dangerously intertwined: Ajay is the watchful servant, born into poverty, who rises through the family’s ranks. Sunny is the playboy heir who dreams of outshining his father, whatever the cost. And Neda is the curious journalist caught between morality and desire. Against a sweeping plot fueled by loss, pleasure, greed, yearning, violence and revenge, will these characters’ connections become a path to escape, or a trigger of further destruction? Equal parts crime thriller and family saga, transporting readers from the dusty villages of Uttar Pradesh to the urban energy of New Delhi, Age of Vice is an intoxicating novel of gangsters and lovers, false friendships, forbidden romance, and the consequences of corruption. It is binge-worthy entertainment at its literary best.
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More Details:
Author
Deepti Kapoor
Pages
560
Publisher
Penguin
Published Date
2023-01-03
ISBN
0593328817 9780593328811
Community ReviewsSee all
"This book is a good, but difficult read and not for the reasons you might think. 1. It’s heavy. There were a few moments where such terrible things happened that I just had to put the book down to give myself a breather. 2. As the book focuses on a mafia family in India, it is completely submerged in Indian culture and geography. I read this book more slowly than I normally would just so I could absorb everything. 3. The book is constantly shifting POV and that kind of gave me whiplash. As soon as I got into the storyline of one character, it shifted. On that note, one thing you must know about this book before attempting to read it is that this is not a plot-driven book. It’s more of a character study. It’s all about how the corrupt Wadia family culture (specifically zeroing in on one night of tragedy explained in the prologue) shaped the lives of people connected to it, focusing primarily on Ajay, Neda and Sunny Wadia. There’s no true ending as the main theme of the novel is how giving into one’s vices is a never ending cycle and how the noxious, destructive thirst for power will never satiate. It’s brilliant but also unsatisfying. This novel is extremely well written, but it’s left me feeling kind of hollow afterwards. I’ll probably be thinking about it for a bit."
"This was an epic book about a crime family in India. The characterizations were very good, but I didn't like some of the explicit violence. "
B s
Brian strong
"Beautiful writing that transports you to early 2000’s Delhi"
L S
Lauren Straub
"Excellent book! Very well written."
A P
Angela Penrod
"I had mixed feelings about this book. I liked the first half where it told Ajays story from his POV, but the second half of the book feel flat for me. I couldn’t get into Sunny’s or Neda’s storylines and felt the story rushed and incomplete at the end. I did hear this was going to be the 1st out of a trilogy so maybe the other books will help tie the story together. "
"The publisher offered me this book twice on NetGalley and I declined because it didn't sound like a book I would be interested in. And I was wrong. When the book was released everyone was singing its praises and comparing it to the Godfather so I thought, maybe I made a mistake. Maybe the publisher (who as access to all of my NetGalley reviews) really does know what type of book I like. Note: they do know what I like. This book was engaging and well thought out and was entertaining while being informative and a tad-bit horrific. I haven't read the godfather yet so I don't know how well the comparison works, but as it is, it felt unique and fresh. The book opens with Ajay's story, and its a moving one, that makes you wish for good things to happen for him even thought it doesn't look like it will from the start. Ajay's life story intersects with the next narrator, Nadia, several times which gives the reader a new perspective on events they had already experienced. The book ends in a cacophony of events that highlight the brutality of systemic inequality and the violence of wealth. You want to feel sorry for all of the characters, but at the same time I acknowledge that they do not deserve that pity (maybe Ajay does). This was a long and deep book that maybe could have done with a few less pages and still have gotten the message across. I feel like this book is close to being perfect, but it is still a book that will stay with me long after finishing it. If you are on the fence about this book like I was, stop second guessing and go for it. You can stop reading anytime you like, but if you never start you will never know."
"Would have been five but the ending….."
K D
Karen DeBellis