Reviews with content warning for Abortion - Age of Vice

I know it’s still early in the year, but this is one of the best books I’ve read so far in 2023.

It takes place in India and features the main characters of Ajay, Sunny and Neda. They all have their own stories but are all intrinsically linked and it follows their lives as they all navigate the social and political tensions stemming from Sunny’s family and their dealings with organized crime.

This book reminded me of Succession in some ways, in regards to Sunny being the heir to his fathers wealth and not always being worthy of that from the viewpoint of his father.

I heard that this is the first book of a trilogy and I will absolutely be waiting for the next two books because I am dying to see what happens next with these characters.

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okiecozyreader's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

I loved this book so much until the last couple of hours. I was completely engrossed in the lives of Ajay, Sunny and Neda, I felt like I wouldn’t want it to end. It kind of took a dark and brutal turn (heavy on drug use and violence, not to say there wasn’t violence before). But the bulk of the book I truly loved. Such great storytelling; it kind of reminded me of the worlds Kristin Hannah creates, in which you miss the worlds and characters when they are gone.

From the first page, the story is gripping. They find Ajay in an expensive car, wrecked, which killed people. He is sent to prison, when he beats up some gang members who attack him, the warden tells him:

“ There’s been a mistake. I wasn’t told,” he says. “If I’d been told, this would never have happened. Really, no one knew, not even your friends. But things will be different. You’ll be taken to your friends here now. You’ll be free, within reason. And this unfortunate business with those other men, this will be forgotten…. You should have said something. You should have made it clear. You should have let us know. Why didn’t you let us know?”
Ajay stares at the food, at the cigarette pack. “Know what?”
The warden smiles. “That you’re a Wadia man.”

So then, we go back in time, to learn what it means that he’s a Wadia man. Later, we meet the infamous and wealthy Sunny Wadia, and Neda, the reporter; and how their lives all intersect. I loved each of these characters (until the end).

Part One

“…no one abuses him or threatens to kill him. It’s a better life than any he’s ever hoped for or known.” New Delhi 2004 / 4

“And he discovers something else: It gives him pleasure to please, it gives him pleasure to anticipate every possible need, not just Mummy’s and Daddy’s but everyone’s, the farm workers’, the animals’, the shopkeepers’ pleasure. Not just pleasure, not really, more like the stanching of a wound, more like the holding of a tide, a sacrifice, negating the trauma of his birth.” Maharajganj 1991 / 5

“The girls often ask about him. But he’s too shy; he recoils. He cannot conceive of it, his own body terrifies him, his own needs. He likes to set himself within limits; those limits keep him strong.” Maharajganj 1991 / 6

“Madam,” he replies. “Don’t tell us about our culture. We’re not zoo animals for your pleasure, not the smiling native to accessorize your enlightenment. The simplicity and honesty you think you know is simply your eyes deceiving your brain. …If you knew our culture, you’d know respect is one currency, but at the end of the day, money talks. Finally, understand this one thing. India is our country, not yours. You are guests here. We are great hosts, but don’t disrespect us in our own home.” Ch 7

“I’m tired. I’m stuck between the shit my father does and the things I can’t do.” Ch 15

“…she understood in that moment how the sources of strength are illusory.” Ch 15

“The chains of existence … have to be weak enough to break.” Ch 15

“Remember, nothing will change, this is Kali Yuga, the losing age, the age of vice.” Ch 16

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hilaryreadsbooks's review

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4.0

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briij's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

4.75

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elizabeth_lepore's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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

4.0

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cc_shelflove's review

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Oh, Ajay. Sweet, complacent Ajay. What have you done?

Can we just talk about the fact that I finished this beast in 36 hours? Who am I? Kapoor’s writing makes it so easy for the reader to picture everything in his or her head so vividly. I was flying through pages because I felt like I was literally watching everything unfold before my eyes. You can imagine my excitement, then, when I heard this was already selected by FX to be a television series. There will also be two more books in the saga… sign me up! In short, Age of Vice is like Sons of Anarchy without the motorcycles (but maybe there are just a few motorcycles sprinkled in…).

I started getting serious Anakin vibes about a quarter of the way through the novel. If you’re a Star Wars fan, you know what I mean. The reader faces a man who will go to any means to get his revenge. Actually, several of these men. These people are pretty fucked up.

If I had to pick one thing that made this book stand out to me, it would be the multiple points of view. Instead of alternating chapters between characters as is typical of this writing style, Kapoor writes the same events through different eyes. Very interesting!

Another book I likely never would have read if not for Book of the Month. A juicy delight.

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annreadsabook's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional 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

4.25

Money, corruption, deceit, intrigue, family drama—Deepti Kapoor’s upcoming novel set in contemporary India has it all. AGE OF VICE is a real page turner, and don’t be fooled by its length (almost 600 pages)!

We’re introduced to Ajay, a young man uprooted from his rural childhood village to serve in the homes of the wealthy; Sunny, a young heir in a constant struggle with his powerful father; and Neda, a journalist attempting to break into the story of an infamous and violent family. Leading up to and after a deadly accident, these three characters’ lives are entangled across time, socioeconomic status, and space. This novel is a riveting drama that I think literary fiction and crime thriller fans alike can enjoy.

This book is not a light read by any means, and it is full of antiheroes and villains, but there’s something to be said about the deep complexity with which Kapoor crafts each of the main characters. There is evil, there is corruption, but there is also pain and longing.

Anyway, I think this is one book you’ll absolutely want to have on your radar when it comes out January 2023, especially if you’re looking for a The Godfather-esque read.

Thanks so much to Riverhead Books for the gifted copy!

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deedireads's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

4.5

All my reviews live at https://deedispeaking.com/reads/.

TL;DR REVIEW:

Age of Vice is a super-readable literary crime novel set in India. While I didn’t love it as much as some others (crime isn’t my genre), I definitely read it quickly and enjoyed it.

For you if: You like gangster movies like The Sopranos or The Godfather (but this time, make the story written by a woman!).

FULL REVIEW:

First, big thanks to Riverhead for sending me an advanced copy of this book — it comes out in January, and the amount of early hype that’s being built around it tells you just how successful they think it’s going to be. I’m inclined to agree with them — Age of Vice is a super-bingeable, decadent, brutal read.

This book is set mostly in Delhi, India in the early 2000s. The story revolves around the Wadias, a powerful gangster family who run pretty much everything. We have three main characters: Ajay, who ends up working for them; Sunny, son of the patriarch; and Neda, a journalist who gets herself very personally involved. There’s a deadly car crash at the beginning, and we flash back and forth to not only learn what happened but also see how it shaped what will come next for these characters.

A couple things to know about this book: First, it’s book one of a planned trilogy, which I didn't know until later, but was very glad to hear after I finished it. Second, this kind of crime novel set in India and written a woman is a rare thing, and the kind of attention this book is getting is an excellent, boundary-pushing thing. We love to see it, and it’s well-deserved.

While I don’t think I fell quite as head over heels for this one as much as some other early reviewers — simply because this kind of antihero crime fiction is not my genre; I don’t really like things like The Sopranos or The Godfather — I did really like it, and I did read it very quickly. To me, the three main characters make the book especially notable; they are beautifully, exceptionally morally gray. Some of them are better people than others, and their degree of goodness changes wonderfully over the course of the novel, but Kapoor has made sure that we always at least nugget of sympathy for all three of them.

I’m eager for more readers to get their hands on this book and to see what they think, and I’m definitely looking forward to book two!

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