Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

Age of Vice by Deepti Kapoor

50 reviews

cstewart88's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Sexual assault, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Abortion, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Abandonment, and Rape

courto875's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Animal death, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Alcohol, Car accident, Lesbophobia, Slavery, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Alcoholism, Death, Death of parent, Homophobia, Rape, Drug use, Sexual assault, and Violence

juliatfowler's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.0

There is a lot of gratuitous violence in this book. Good to read own voices but this book was too long. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Torture, Rape, Murder, Abortion, Blood, Classism, Drug abuse, Suicide, Sexual violence, Death of parent, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Violence, Addiction, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Colonisation, Sexual assault, Self harm, Gore, and Trafficking

tfarfan's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Drug use, Sexual violence, Death, Emotional abuse, Classism, Drug abuse, and Gun violence

Moderate: Abortion, Rape, Suicide, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

bookmarkedbybecky's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Age of Vice’s length intimidates me. I actively shy away from books that exceed 400 pages, and this one totals 546 pages. 😳 Yet, the tagline “where money, pleasure, and power are everything, and the family ties that bind can also kill” intrigued me enough to start reading.  

This book will not be for everyone in its Godfather or Sapranos-esque tone and style. Drugs, sex, violence, and greed unabashedly play a pivotal role in political corruption, family dynasty, and never-ending quest for power without regard for the consequences towards the greater Indian community. Kapoor’s magic with words creates characters you hate yet sympathize with simultaneously, and her setting descriptions feel movie-esque. (BTW - I hear FX/Fox Studio purchase the TV rights?!?)  She’s a remarkable storyteller!

I both read and listened to Age of Vice. Vidish Athavale perfectly narrates this organized crime story. His voice captures all the betrayal, the anguish of lost love, submission under power, and lackadaisical attitudes towards ethics and morality. Hopefully, he continues the series! 🤞

The more I sit with this novel, the more I love it. My only remaining question/debate lies with who Hummatgiri is.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Trafficking, Murder, Violence, Drug use, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

bethanneguc's review against another edition

dark emotional tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Addiction, Bullying, Death, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, and Violence

softacademia's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I loved the premise and the setting and time period of the book but I didn't feel connected to most of the characters and there were too many description of what alcohol they were drinking (boring)

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death of parent, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Drug abuse, Violence, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Death, Car accident, Classism, Colonisation, Sexual violence, and Alcoholism

lindsayerin's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Abortion, Addiction, Classism, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Drug abuse, Medical trauma, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Torture, Alcoholism, Blood, Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Grief, Gun violence, Rape, Violence, Alcohol, Gore, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Sexual violence, and Death

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

maregred's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Vomit, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Gun violence, Car accident, Rape, Forced institutionalization, Drug abuse, Abandonment, Abortion, Addiction, Trafficking, Sexual content, Alcoholism, Blood, Body shaming, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Cursing, Violence, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Infidelity, Grief, Toxic friendship, Panic attacks/disorders, Drug use, Death of parent, Colonisation, Classism, Pregnancy, and Death

savvyrosereads's review

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Rating: 4/5 stars

A Mercedes runs over five people on the streets of New Delhi, setting in motion an epic family saga involving three characters from very different backgrounds and families.

Everyone in the world seems to be reading this book recently, and it’s easy to see why—it’s unique and captivating, with beautifully written prose and insightful commentary on class and colonialism. And as literary fiction and a family saga but with a crime fiction edge, Age of Vice has something to offer fans of many different genres.

Still, while I absolutely understand the appeal, I also felt that the book was a bit over-long: it’s nearly 600 pages, but most of that is dedicated to providing a level of deep background into the characters that I didn’t always find necessary. The story is clearly meant to be a slow burn, but I occasionally found it a bit *too* slow, and wanted more plot and action, especially after such an explosive beginning.

All of that said, this book has a lot of positives that outweigh the negatives. The writing is incredibly cinematic and I know that it will make for an incredible miniseries or movie (rights were sold in a bidding war years before publication!) And, the payoff of the ending was big enough that I’ll definitely pick up the second book in the planned trilogy when it releases.

Recommended to anyone, but especially if you like: epic family sagas; The Godfather but set in India; cinematic novels

CW: Sexual assault/rape; child abuse; murder/death/death of parent; drug abuse/use; torture; classism; violence generally

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Murder, Self harm, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death of parent, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Death, Drug use, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Rape, Trafficking, Violence, and Confinement