This is the age of vice, where pleasure and power are everything, and the family ties that bind can also kill
New Delhi, 3 a.m. A speeding Mercedes jumps the kerb, 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.
'Sensationally good - huge, epic, immersive and absorbing . . . certain to be a book of the year' Lee Child
New Delhi, 3am: a speeding Mercedes jumps the kerb, and in an instant five people are dead. It's a rich man's car, but when the dust settles there is no rich man at all, only a shell-shocked servant who cannot explain what has led to this carnage.
Age of Vice is a novel propelled by the enormous wealth, startling corruption and bloody violence of the Wadia family - loved by some, loathed by others, feared by all. Among the lavish estates, decadent parties, predatory business tactics and political manoeuvring, three lives become dangerously entwined. Ajay is the watchful servant, born into poverty, who rises through the Wadia ranks as a trusted servant and fixer. Sunny is the playboy heir who dreams of escaping from and outshining his father, whatever the cost. And Neda is the inquiring journalist, caught between her morality and her desire. In a world fuelled by loss, pleasure, greed, yearning, violence and revenge, will these characters' connections become a path to escape, or to annihilation?
Part thriller, part family saga, Age of Vice leaps off the page, taking us from the unimaginable poverty of the villages of Uttar Pradesh to the teeming streets, marble mansions and gleaming corporate headquarters of New Delhi. It is an intoxicating novel of gangsters and lovers, false friendships, forbidden love and the consequences of corruption. You won't be able to look away - because here is the age of vice, where money, pleasure and power are everything, and the ties that bind can also kill.
'This book. This epic, crazy, shocking, mind-blowing, brutal, tender, heartbreaking book is one of the best I've read' Marlon James, Booker Prize winner and New York Times bestselling author of MOON WITCH, SPIDER KING
'A good old-fashioned gangster story, impossible to put down. It's a novel garlanded with Shakespearean flourishes - star-crossed lovers, secret identities, complicated conspiracies - exploring timeless questions of family, loyalty, and fate' Rumaan Alam, National Book Award finalist and New York Times bestselling author of Leave the World Behind
'Kapoor spins a dizzying ride, painting an India where money is the only religion . . . Weaving the backstories of Ajay, Neda, and Sunny together, this frenetic and colourful novel highlights the new global pecking order, one forged by capitalism, in which the rich always win' Booklist, starred review
'Deeply addictive; this spellbinder would be easy to devour in one big gulp, but it's worth savoring . . . the author possesses a talent great enough to match the massive scope of her subject' Publishers Weekly (starred review)
