Jeg burde muligvis have lyttet mere til New York Times’ litteraturanmelder, men jeg glemte det altså, da jeg til min forbløffelse fandt Deepti Kapoor – ‘Age of Vice’ på Nykøbing Sj biblioteks ellers ret depraverede hylder med engelsksprogede bøger. NYT skrev:
Deepti Kapoor’s second novel, “Age of Vice,” is a luxe thriller, set in New Delhi, that rides the line between commercial and literary fiction so adroitly that it will almost certainly move a lot of units, as I’ve heard publishers say about their best sellers.
“Age of Vice” is the “Good Morning America” book-club selection for January, and it’s been purchased by FX for a series. It’s easy to see why attention has been paid. As a storyteller, Kapoor is a natural. Her novel offers the pleasures of narrative dexterity. It moves — early on, at any rate — as if on rails.
She does not offer, except rarely, the pleasures of subtlety. Over more than 500 pages, the book’s sleekness bends toward slickness and the magic toward tricks. Its length really hurts it. What might have been a crisp and moody entertainment, in Graham Greene’s elevated sense of that word, distends.
…
Kapoor has a cinematic eye. This novel has a lot of moments that feel lush and screenplay-ready: motorcycle rides on roads that cut through paddy fields, seen as if from a drone; pensive drags on cigarettes; looming goons; flights on private jets; VIP rooms; “Silkwood”-style showers to scrub off bad decisions; gangs of nearly naked men covered in grease who emerge from the roadside, as if from a Cormac McCarthy fever dream, to wreak havoc.
Det er virkelig rammende. Havde bogen været 150 sider kortere, så ville jeg betegne den som en decideret banger. Alting er meget MEGET i bogen, alt skriger i neon. Ikke megen skandinavisk indadvendthed og gråere-end-grå gråtoner her. Den politiske og moralske korruption er af bibelske proportioner. Kapoor tackler igennem og i de første 100 sider er det altsammen fabelagtigt. Men nu endte jeg grundet længden med at skulle kæmpe for at få den læst færdig og jeg blev, ja, ligeglad med plot og karakterer hen mod slutningen. Hvorefter jeg til min rædsel opdager, at det blot er første bind i en planlagt trilogi. Eller som NYT skriver (hvilket fik mig til at klukle):
“Age of Vice” is the first novel in a planned trilogy. People say the two saddest words in the English language are “What party?” But “planned trilogy” cannot be far behind.
Anbefales kun med forbehold i elefantstørrelsen.