Age of Vice by Deepti Kapor
(Format used for this read: Print–hardback)
This is the age of vice, where money, pleasure, and power are everything,
and the family ties that bind can also kill.
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.
Have you ever read a book and felt like it took you eleventy bagillion FOREVERS to finish it?
YALL. That was THIS BOOK.
It took me WEEKS to get thru the 560 pages…..WEEKS I tell ya.
I can’t even remember how long ago I started it.
I just could not get into it.
When I read the summary, I was hella intrigued…all the reviews I saw for it were OUTSTANDING and made it seem to be this epic, interesting and exciting super thriller.
And it just was NOT that for me.
The story is written with multi perspective narrators and in various styles, formats and sections…I will say that the writing is incredibly creative and informative….the author is super talented, no doubt in my mind about that.
Some parts of the book were more intriguing and gripping than others but mostly, I felt stressed out and sad while reading.
There was lots of violence…some of it pretty detailed and graphic, which I am NEVER into…which should be unsurprising to me as a lot of the book is about corruption and organized crime.
Crime and violence isn’t the sole focus of the book—although there is plenty to speak of. It is also about family, expectations, types of love, idealism vs dillusionism, complicity, and self doubt mixed with layered social commentary.
The story directly and indirectly speaks about the caste system and the huge societal discrepancies and inequities between the people in India, mostly in Delhi.
Side note: if you want to learn more about caste, I definitely recommend checking out the book Caste: The Origins of our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson…my thoughts on it here:
Anyway….
I found pieces of the story compelling and intriguing, but for the most part it just was not my thing.
And honestly, I’m glad I am FINALLY done reading it.
In the words of Ariana Grande…
Thank you, next.