Introducing Age of Vice

The Audacious Book Club January Selection

I love long, dense novels that tell a sprawling, epic story. Give me a list of characters and a map at the beginning. Show me that family tree. I am here for it. Generational saga? Sweeping narrative that spans decades? Even better.

In Deepti Kapoor’s Age of Vice, the story begins with Ajay, a young boy sold by his mother into indentured servitude. When his “employer” dies, Ajay is suddenly free and eventually ends up working for Sonny Wadia, the scion of Bunty Wadia, a wealthy businessman (and terrible father) from Uttar Pradesh. There is also Sonny's love interest Neda, a journalist of whom Sonny’s father does not approve. The trajectories of Ajay, Sonny and Neda collide in a car accident with grave consequences that alter their lives in profound and heartbreaking ways.

Age of Vice is utterly engrossing. The characters are richly drawn and Kapoor has an incredible grasp of the genre into which she is writing. The way she details privation and excess, of the absolute worst of human failings is very compelling. Her sentences are beautifully, deliberately crafted. The pacing is relentless and at times, you aren’t sure where things are going but the unraveling mysteries are beguiling nonetheless. The ending crescendoes to a cliffhanger that leaves you holding your breath, teetering on a narrative precipice.

I loved Age of Vice and when I learned that it’s the first book of a trilogy, I was even more excited because I will be able to spend more time in this entrancing world. As you delve into this epic novel, I hope you find yourself equally entranced. Imagine Rohinton Mistry and Edith Wharton and Dennis Lehane making a book baby and you end up with this remarkable novel. I cannot wait to hear what you all think of the book, for better and worse, over the next couple weeks. Look for the first discussion thread on Monday, January 16th.