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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
“This is the age of vice, where money, pleasure, and power are everything, and the family ties that bind can also kill.”
I’m going to dive right in.
I had so many expectations with this book. I’m disappointed that it did not live up to them. The plot was perfect. The story starts with a bang but…
So, the story is told from multiple perspectives. Ajay, the servant, whose whole life has been a struggle, Sunny Wadia, the rich, charismatic, powerful heir to a multi millionaire business tycoon and the middle class journalist Neda. There are also some narratives from a Gautam Rathore (rags to riches drug dealer) and Dinesh Singh (son of an influential politician). The author gives you detailed accounts from three different social classes. You get a feel of what life is like for the underprivileged living in a third world country. The story revolves around these 3 characters and the level of corruption in such countries where the rich get richer and poor get poorer- the lawlessness and how the wealthy get away with anything.
The main character, Ajay, was my favorite. His struggles are depicted in such great detail. But despite the whopping 544 pages in this book, the story feels incomplete. The ending left alot to be desired. This book could have been so much more. Is it worth a read? Definitely. The 3 stars are because I loved some aspects of the story but it just didn’t come together as well as it should have.
I’m going to dive right in.
I had so many expectations with this book. I’m disappointed that it did not live up to them. The plot was perfect. The story starts with a bang but…
So, the story is told from multiple perspectives. Ajay, the servant, whose whole life has been a struggle, Sunny Wadia, the rich, charismatic, powerful heir to a multi millionaire business tycoon and the middle class journalist Neda. There are also some narratives from a Gautam Rathore (rags to riches drug dealer) and Dinesh Singh (son of an influential politician). The author gives you detailed accounts from three different social classes. You get a feel of what life is like for the underprivileged living in a third world country. The story revolves around these 3 characters and the level of corruption in such countries where the rich get richer and poor get poorer- the lawlessness and how the wealthy get away with anything.
The main character, Ajay, was my favorite. His struggles are depicted in such great detail. But despite the whopping 544 pages in this book, the story feels incomplete. The ending left alot to be desired. This book could have been so much more. Is it worth a read? Definitely. The 3 stars are because I loved some aspects of the story but it just didn’t come together as well as it should have.
I'm really stuck between a 3 and a 4 here. I was pretty engrossed the first 2/3 of the book, but it started to fall apart for me in the last third. I couldn't keep up and was just confused by the character switching and backstabbing and I couldn't delineate what was real, who was good, who was bad. I also felt like it could have been 150 pages shorter.
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A multi-layered novel that combines social critique with atmospheric storytelling and an intense plot, perfect for readers seeking something dark yet meaningful.
this was fantastic but lost momentum once the narrative circled back around to the car crash. i found that moment anticlimactic (considering the journey it took to get there) but more importantly, felt that the characters were practically synonymous from that point - perhaps that was the point. immensely keen for the sequel nonetheless!
The first half of this book was amazing, but Sunny’s story wasn’t compelling enough to carry the second half. The motivator for him at the end unfortunately wasn’t developed enough for me to really understand his feelings. If this book was only about Ajay, it would easily be one of the best books I’ve read.
adventurous
challenging
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
fast-paced
3.5 I’m so frustrated because this book started out so strong. It starts out telling Ajay’s story and it’s great, then mix in Sunny and Neda and it starts getting repetitive, not to mention a little confusing.
At 3 a.m. in New Delhi, a speeding Mercedes jumps the curb, killing five people. It seems to be an open-and-shut case. The driver Ajay is drunk, except Ajay is not merely a driver but a servant for the most influential family in India, and the car is registered to a powerful politician.
AGE OF VICE is part crime thriller and part family saga that follows three characters from different socioeconomic statuses yet whose lives are tightly intertwined. From the start, Kapoor's fast-paced and gripping style captivated my attention, and I was compelled to finish this book in two days! While it can be read purely as a mystery, the lustrous writing about the lives of the three main characters struggling in their own ways to find meaning and belonging in modern India is a rare gem not often seen in the thriller genre.
Additionally, Kapoor's observations of the westernization of India during the Millenium are profoundly insightful and encourage me to think about the balance between modernizing for economic advancements and preserving one's rich cultural heritage.
Through alternating POVs, Kapoor brilliantly depicts what it means to be free, how we fall prey to our vices, and the means we have to survive an ever-changing world. AGE OF VICE is the first in a trilogy, and I can't wait for the sequels!
Thank you to Riverhead Books for the free gifted copy.
AGE OF VICE is part crime thriller and part family saga that follows three characters from different socioeconomic statuses yet whose lives are tightly intertwined. From the start, Kapoor's fast-paced and gripping style captivated my attention, and I was compelled to finish this book in two days! While it can be read purely as a mystery, the lustrous writing about the lives of the three main characters struggling in their own ways to find meaning and belonging in modern India is a rare gem not often seen in the thriller genre.
Additionally, Kapoor's observations of the westernization of India during the Millenium are profoundly insightful and encourage me to think about the balance between modernizing for economic advancements and preserving one's rich cultural heritage.
Through alternating POVs, Kapoor brilliantly depicts what it means to be free, how we fall prey to our vices, and the means we have to survive an ever-changing world. AGE OF VICE is the first in a trilogy, and I can't wait for the sequels!
Thank you to Riverhead Books for the free gifted copy.