Age of Vice – Deepti Kapoor

Expectation: A sprawling saga about one of India’s crime families.

Reality: Less literary than anticipated, I was mostly entertained while also being annoyed by the repetitive action and predictable tropes.

My Take:

"Age of Vice" plunges readers into the opulent world of India's wealthy elite, where loyalty is bought and betrayal is an art. At 500+-pages, Deepti Kapoor has ample runway to let the action play out over interconnected characters — Ajay, the loyal footman; Sunny, the reckless heir; and Neda, the curious journalist.

Brutality is a recurring theme in “Vice,” but the narrative unfolds with a B-movie feel. Characters fall into familiar archetypes, action sequences feel over-the-top, and the romantic elements are predictable, leading to a story that was entertaining but frequently felt hollow.

The novel's strength lies in its unique perspective. It exposes corruption and violence among a subset of people not frequently given the lead in Western literature. Still, its length becomes a burden.  

Essentially told in three parts, with each character getting their own chance in the spotlight, “Vice” slowly becomes less interesting as the action gets repetitive and more character POVs are added. 

Things start strong with Ajay caught in the aftermath of a deadly accident. We quickly delve into his past, a depressing tale of poverty, exploitation and a desperate need for belonging. He is the standout character, and I was most intrigued in the story when he was the focus. 

After that, Kapoor lost me a bit. Neda was interesting but her plot felt incomplete. No matter how much the author tried, I failed to have any empathy for Sunny, which made his sections a slog. 

After a while I got numb to the confusing characters — many have the same name — and excessive violence. The multiple perspectives, particularly the introduction of Sunny's abductor, felt unnecessary and disrupted the flow.

My biggest gripe, however, is the complete lack of closure. Not knowing this was part of a planned trilogy, I had a total “that’s it?!” reaction to the cliffhanger that, honestly, frustrated me enough to not want to read the sequels. 

For fans of fast-paced crime thrillers, 'Age of Vice' has captivating moments despite its flaws. However, readers seeking a more nuanced narrative with a satisfying conclusion might want to wait for the entire trilogy before diving in.

My interest in the uneven material was sustained in large part due to Vidish Athavale’s audiobook narration. He gave his all, playing with accents and dialects to make me forget it was a one man show. If the page count worries you, audio is the way to go.

Thank you to Libro.fm, Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group and the author for a free copy of the audiobook. This exchange of goods did not influence my review.

Rating (story): 3/5 stars

Rating (narration): 4/5 stars

Format: Audiobook (personal library)

Dates read: May 5 – May 13, 2024

Multi-tasking: Okay. There are a lot of characters – some with the same name – and frequent time jumps that can make the story confusing, but it’s also not incredibly difficult to follow along once you know the key players.