First Impression Friday will be a meme where you talk about a book that you JUST STARTED! Maybe you’re only a chapter or two in, maybe a little farther. Based on this sampling of your current read, give a few impressions and predict what you’ll think by the end.

Synopsis:

New Delhi, 3 a.m. A speeding Mercedes jumps the curb, 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 Nedda 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.

The weekend is just over the horizon! Lucky for us in the Philippines as we have one extra day of vacation. On Monday, June 12, the Philippines will be celebrating its 125th Independence Day. Our years of freedom as a sovereign nation still pale in comparison to how long we have been under Spanish rule; it lasted over three centuries. The years following the ouster of the Spanish colonizer, however, were marked with tumult and insurgency. But five centuries after Ferdinand Magellan set foot on the Philippine archipelago, the Philippines is still working to realize the promise that earned it the moniker “Pearl of the Orient.” Afflictions still hound the country but I am still fervently hoping and dreaming that one day, the Philippines will be on par with the best nations in the world.

So, it is time to ditch those corporate attires and don some comfortable articles of clothing. But before we can dive deep into the weekend, I hope that everyone is ending the week on a high note. I hope it went well for everyone, else, I hope that you will spend the weekend recovering or finding your groove back. I hope that everyone also gets to spend their weekend completing tasks or chores unrelated to their jobs, may it be pursuing things they are passionate about or catching up with friends and family. For me, it is going to be the typical weekend spent reading books, watching random videos, and, well, catching up on my writing. I just hope I get some book reviews done over these coming three days.

Before I can dive into the weekend, I will be capping the work week first with a First Impression Friday update. First Impression Friday updates have become a weekly ritual, just as I open each blogging week with a Goodreads Monday update. After spending two months reading works of British and Irish literature, then two months reading purely works of Japanese literature, I have now commenced a journey across the rest of the Asian continent through literary pieces from various parts of the vast continent. I have already been to China (Mo Yan’s Red Sorghum), South Korea (Han Kang’s Greek Lessons), and the Philippines (Ninotchka Roska’s State of War). From Southeast Asia, my current read, Deepti Kapoor’s Age of Vice, takes me to the Indian subcontinent.

Prior to 2023, I have not heard of nor have I encountered any works by Deepti Kapoor. It was while searching for books to include in my 2023 Top 10 Books To Look Forward to List that I came across her and her latest novel Age of Vice. The book was included in many of 2023 most anticipated lists. It didn’t take much for me to be convinced to include the book in my own list. Age of Vice is also the first book on the list that I am reading. At least I can say now that I have read one of the ten books on the list.

The novel started with a murder and the arrest of a man named Ajay. In an italicized text, we read about his arrest and the circumstances that led to his arrest. All of this created a sense of tenterhook that ended with a line that says he was a “Wadia” man. Again, this raised questions. It was these questions that were answered in the succeeding chapters of the book. We read about the abject poverty that has crippled many Indians. While the story was set in Uttar Pradesh from the early 1990s until the turn of the millennium, the images captured by the novel are still images that reverberate in the contemporary. Exacerbating this poverty was the prevalence of corruption. The poor are exploited and they are none the wiser.

Kapoor’s novel further takes the readers down the proverbial drain as she takes the readers into the Indian underground. Think Italy’s mafia and Japan’s yakuza, then the novel will start making sense as it extensively dealt with the Indian gang life. Nothing much separates these three as they permeated with violence and unconcealed intent to get ahead of the others. It was all a game of control, money, and power. However, all is not lost. Among the scions of these gangster families are bright minds who have a genuine change in their minds, such as in the case of Sunny Wadia. He had a vision of transforming Delhi into India’s London. But to do so entails the dismantling of shantytowns occupied by many poverty-stricken Indians.

The visions of the new bloods all sound too idealistic. While he has some practical understanding of the realities gripping India, Sunny does come across as too idealistic. Anchoring him to the ground and providing some semblance of control was Neda, a journalist; interestingly, Kapoor previously worked as a journalist. But like Sunny, Neda has very little iota about the ugly realities that keep hounding India. The novel has so much promise as it explored several seminal subjects. However, in her pursuit of painting a portrait of the Indian underground, Kapoor is sacrificing her characters. They are ciphers, at least up until the point in the story I read. I guess I wanted more psychological complexity which, unfortunately, none of the characters have provided. Ajay, for instance, is a very compelling character. However, his development was abruptly cut off by the transition into the backstory of Sunny and Neda.

I am more than midway through the book so I guess there is still time for Kapoor to develop the characters and the story. Yes, I do find the story a little overwritten and a little predictable as well. It is, nevertheless, engaging and the writing is very accessible. I will be pretty occupied this weekend as I try to unravel what the novel has in store. How about you fellow reader? What book or books are you taking with you for the weekend? I hope you get to enjoy them. Again, happy weekend everyone!