Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

Age of Vice by Deepti Kapoor

8 reviews

laxm's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

 "Where is this going?" That was my recurring thought as I read Age of Vice. By the time I hit the final chapters, it became clear that the book was going nowhere. TL;DR: Maybe skip this one and wait for glossy, binge-while-multitasking series that it'll inevitably become. 

The story kicks off with Ajay, whose introduction hints at a thrilling, outsider-takes-on-the-rich narrative. You expect a gripping tale of disruption, revenge, and moral reckoning. Instead, you get a series of overblown caricatures parading as characters. There’s the entitled billionaire brat reimagining India (yawn), the educated love interest reluctantly buying into said brat’s "vision" (eyeroll), the crusading journalist with an unshakable moral compass (predictable), the one-dimensional bad-guy sidekicks (why?), and the underdog with a tragic backstory that’s neither new nor compelling.

When the story focuses on Ajay, it shows glimmers of what it could have been. His time in prison, his internal struggles, his complicated dynamics with Sunny, Prem, and Neda—these are where the book momentarily finds its footing. But just as you start to care, the narrative yanks you back to yet another flat character or, worse, to Sunil Rastogi (seriously, what even was this character?).The violence in the books crosses into gratuitous territory when Rastogi is introduced. These chapters feel like the literary equivalent of shock-value cinema where Kapoor threw in graphic violence and sexual assault simply because she could. The story would’ve been just as disappointing without these disturbing chapters. 

I finished Age of Vice only because I can’t bring myself to abandon books midway and by the end, I hated myself for wasting time I'd never get back. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence

Moderate: Gun violence and Misogyny

ionarachel's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Transphobia, Trafficking, Suicide attempt, Lesbophobia, and Sexual harassment

lisettemarie's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Drug abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Abortion

bootsmom3's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Abortion

grantsharpies's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

just_one_more_paige's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

 

“He dared to dream at the roulette wheel of life and lost his shirt every time.” 

 

There was a bit of buzz around this one as it came out, just recently, which had it on my radar. And I also got an ALC version of it from Libro.fm, which helped keep it there. I was in the mood for something more...I don't know, entertaining, I guess? Like, I know that gangster books are not necessarily light reads, as they are likely chock full of violence and substance misuse and other tough topics, *but* they have that escapist/surreal vibe that I was looking for, so I decided to give this one a try. 

 

Age of Vice opens with a post-car crash scene, with multiple people dead and a rich man's car (being driven by a shell-shocked servant with no memory of the night's events) found by police on the side of the road in Delhi. As the novel unfolds, the reader follows three perspectives of people connected to the influential-from-the-shadows, loved and feared and power-hungry, Wadia family. Sunny Wadia is the heir to the Wadia family dynasty, young and idealistic and a well-known host of lavish parties and patron of upcoming arts and socialites. Ajay is a young boy from a background of poverty who has found himself as Sunny's most trusted servant. And Neda is a journalist who, after being pulled into Sunny's sphere, finds herself in an ever-more-complicated relationship with both Sunny and the Wadia empire. Their stories span the breath of contemporary India, both in location and class, and highlight social issues, complicated interpersonal and romantic dynamics, the drama and violence and expectations of gangs and gang families, as well as the general greed of humanity and the constant battle to stand against corruption and for morality. 

 

This was well-marketed. Absolutely a good old-fashioned, classic gangster style story. As indicated in the title, there is every kind of vice imaginable in these pages: money, substances, power, sex, and, of course, tons of intimidation and violence. I was really impressed with how well Kapoor combined all those vibes with (stunning) setting descriptions and full character development that stood up the the intensity of the plot. It would have been easy for those details to be lost or consigned to the background, but they weren't - it was a great balance. That being said, this book was also long. I was so glad for the audiobook, because while I really was invested, everything was quite compelling, there was also no conciseness in the language used to convey it all. Being able to listen helped keep me moving forwards through it.   

 

I don't read a lot of books of this genre, so I am not really sure how the stories usually unfold, but I do have to say this was surprisingly emotionally a downer. Like, yes, lots of terrible things happen, violence-wise, but I had gone in expecting that. It was the character's story arcs in particular that were all honestly tragic AF. I mean even though they all ended with a sort of eye toward the future, there was nothing happy or positive about any of it. At best, one could consider some of the "fresh(ish) start" vibes as a neutral place to leave these characters. But overall, the trajectory of the individual stories for Sunny, Ajay and Neda did nothing so much as demonstrate how this type of "age of vice" lifestyle takes advantage of/screws over everyone in its quest for power and oblivion and money, no matter how you're related, inside or out of it. There is just so much naïveté and idealism and best intentions and morals squashed. It was tough to watch the slow slide into...settling. 

Overall, this is an incredible combination of all the drama and violence of a true crime syndicate/corrupt affluent population/complacent government mystery-thriller plot, with the sweeping descriptions of the city and rural landscapes of an entire country, with the character development of an intergenerational family saga. Very much some quality escapist reading, with a satisfying dose of social justice commentary. 

 

 

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Trafficking, Stalking, and Abortion

Minor: Rape, Torture, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

shanaepraystoo's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

egmamaril's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Woof. A 3.75 because it bummed me out so badly, but I did read it really quickly.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Murder, and Alcohol

Moderate: Fatphobia and Misogyny

Minor: Alcoholism, Abortion, and Pregnancy

There is also some ableist language and a lot of inter-caste racism.