Age of Vice

"With its focus on a family dynasty rooted in crime, this meaty Indian crime saga is frequently compared to mafia drama, but I read Deepti Kapoor’s creation more as a page-turning social novel than pulpy thriller. It stirs the pulse while digging into the entrenched and evolving structures and contradictions of modern India through three primary figures – a playboy with ambition beyond his shady, blood-soaked family business, a lonely servant, and an ambitious journalist. The most memorable of the trio, the one that stuck with me long after I put the book down, is a young man of low caste whose life began spiraling out of control with one tiny mistake at the age of eight."