Age of Vice by Deepti Kapoor

...this is the lesson you should know. You have to adapt or die.
Age of Vice
Deepti Kapoor
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There has been hype brewing around Age of Vice for what feels like a year. And although I am sometimes let down by buzzy books, I had an advanced copy thanks to PRH Audio, so. I began listening in mid-December. But because the storyline felt so heavy and dark, I set it aside for the rest of the holiday month. .
When I picked it up again the other day I had reached the point in the story when it became compulsively readable, and from there I could not stop.

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Age of Vice is set in modern day India and opens with the story of Ajay, a young boy who is sold by his family and has to make his own way in the world. This section of the book is heavy and very sad. But the story then shifts to focus on the Wadia family, who control much of Delhi via crime and corruption and we segue from a tale of poverty and desperation to one of opulence, excess and violence. Sunny Wadia is the son of the head mobster and the main focus of the rest of the novel. The intimidation he endures from his father is painful to read - heads up that this is not a warm and fuzzy book.
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Age of Vice is a thriller in every sense of the word because for much of it I was on the proverbial edge of my seat. But it's a thriller with depth; there are actually just three main characters so we get to know them very well and understand their motivations. Despite initially seeming a bit shallow, our main female character, Nada, is both complex and interesting. She is Sunny’s love interest and their relationship allows us to garner some empathy for him. While on the surface, both Nada and Sunny appear to lack scruples, once their stories unfold we see that everything is not black and white.
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This is a novel about family, crime, corruption, power and revenge, all wrapped in great writing by a masterful storyteller. I've heard that this is the first book in a trilogy and I'm hoping that is true because wow, did it ever end on a cliffhanger. I’ve heard Age of Vice is being adapted for the screen and because I felt as though I were watching a movie as I read, it will make one great blockbuster. This is a long one (544 pages) but it ticks along quickly.