Age of Vice

A Novel

By: Deepti Kapoor

Narrated by: Vidish Athavale

Length: 19 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's summary

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

A GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK

Named a Best Book of the Year by Publishers Weekly, Oprah Daily and NPR!

“Dazzling...Finally free from the book’s grip, now all I want to do is get others hooked.”—The Washington Post

“A page-turning social novel…It stirs the pulse while digging into the entrenched and evolving structures and contradictions of modern India.”—NPR

“Cinematic…As a storyteller, Kapoor is a natural.”—The New York Times

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 listeners 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.

©2023 Deepti Kapoor (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"Aspiring novelists should read [Age of Vice]. The narrative is clean and lean, the story unputdownable. Every word counts. This is how it's done when it's done exactly right."—Stephen King

“Questions of guilt, complicity, idealism and disillusion arise as the story moves into the glamorous milieu of penthouse apartments and fortified rural compounds… Ms. Kapoor effortlessly changes settings from Delhi markets to prisons to remote forests on the Nepalese border to the beaches of Goa, and she’s equally comfortable writing about servants, politicians and assassins…Recommended.”—Wall Street Journal

“A luxe thriller, set in New Delhi, that rides the line between commercial and literary fiction so adroitly ...The book has echoes of Mario Puzo’s “The Godfather,” in terms of its mobbed-up apex predators, and Vikas Swarup’s “Q & A,” the 2005 novel that was the basis for Danny Boyle’s film “Slumdog Millionaire....It’s easy to see why attention has been paid. As a storyteller, Kapoor is a natural.”—The New York Times

Could’ve been a 5-er :(

Started off SO good I was convinced I’d found a new favorite but then 1) it moved its attention away from its most interesting character, ajay (sp?), and his motivations 2) seemed to severely lack editing toward the latter half or so, as it included way more dull, unnecessary detail than needed. I literally took a nap with an hour left in this audiobook, woke up to it still playing and realized I’d missed nothing. I’d rather a book be boring from the get go than do this to me, ugh

Fast paced, Indian mafia crime thriller

I loved this book and really enjoyed the narrator. Skillfully written with a unique plot and characters. I can’t wait for the sequel and the FX series. This book is going to be amazing on screen!

Captivating!

Excellent storyline and very captivating. I found myself wanting to listen straight through. Story is filled with some surprising twist.

Sadly, loses focus and drifts into mediocrity

Great story, very evocative for the first 3/5ths. Last part turgid and boring. Lost interest in characters.

Expressive, visceral, and effortlessly intellectual

Oh my gosh, I devoured this title. I heard about it on Dan Harris’s Ten Percent Happier podcast and by chance downloaded it for my next listen. The story is SO engrossing that I could barely think about anything else until I had finished it. The detail is just immense, I felt like I was there. I love the beautiful exposure of human relationships in the midst of impeccable storytelling, for which the author commands so much admiration. The narrator is just incredible, too. I just learned this is part of a planned trilogy, and I’m salivating for the next.

Don't expect a happy ending

This story unfolds into the harsh reality of India's poor and then proceeds to tell the story of a family that keeps the poor poor and profits greatly from their suffering and loss. The characters are compelling and authentic sounding, there is a feeling of authenticity to my western ear but it is merciless giving no quarter. It was difficult to leave hoping that there would be a spark of light that would weave itself into a positive outcome, there were a lot of missed opportunities and it didn't happen.

I need to take a happy pill now.

In retrospect it makes me appreciate more the life I have enjoyed and I'm sure this story will creep into my conscious thoughts when India is in the news.

A better listen than a read

This was one of those books that kept me listening, despite being longer than it needed to be. A good travel Audiobook. Excellent prose and great narration. It should make for a great HULU series. Seems like It was written to be a movie. An unnecessary amount of drinking, drugs and violence. A bit more subtly would have been appreciated. Especially the end.

Anticlimactic Ending

I tore through this story until about midway through and then started to lose interest because the plot felt like it was starting to lose direction. Overall, still a great book with interesting characters and perspective

Disappointed

Unnecessarily long. This book started off so strong, and I was so excited to love it. Around the halfway point it started to lose momentum and gain unlikeable characters. By the end of the book there wasn’t a completed plot line or a developed character in sight.

Hard to keep track of the time frame

I had to keep looking at the chapters to see what year they were in. The violence and drugs became a bit too much. Seemed like a novel of a doped up character Sunny. I kept wondering what was going to happen to Ajay. It would be interesting to know how much of the novel is taken up with people drunk and stoned.