Age of Vice is an epic novel. Once I got into it I was so engrossed in the story and characters that I could not stop listening. The amount of detail that the author put into everything from what a character was like to the descriptions of the places we visit in the novel are amazing. This is a story of money, power, and betrayals. It’s about family and how a corrupt one can destroy lives. Its about a man who struggles his whole life to he accepted by his father yet never seems to achieve the acceptance he wants. At its core there is family, friendship, love and the power for it all to be destroyed in the name of revenge. I had the pleasure of listening to this audio which is quite long at over nineteen hours but I never noticed it as the hours flew by. The narrator is Vidish Athavale and he does an incredible job of portraying all the intricate parts of this story. I really enjoyed this book and I would say it’ll make my favourites for the year. Highly recommended!
Summary from Penguin Random House
ABOUT AGE OF VICE
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
A GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK
“Dazzling…Finally free from the book’s grip, now all I want to do is get others hooked.”— The Washington Post
“Cinematic…A luxe thriller…As a storyteller, Kapoor is a natural.”— The New York Times
“Sensationally good — huge, epic, immersive and absorbing … certain to be a book of the year.” —Lee Child
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. It is binge-worthy entertainment at its literary best.
Review copy provided by the publisher. All opinions are my own.
