The Feast of the Goat (Paperback)

Publisher and industry reviews

UK Kirkus review

This work by distinguished Latin American writer Mario Vargas Llosa focuses on a turbulent period in the history of the Dominican Republic, which was ruled by a dictator, Generalissimo Rafael Trujillo, for 31 years until 1961. The book documents the final days of the regime, and its immediate aftermath, from three main perspectives: Urania Cabral, daughter of a senator, who left the country in 1961 at the age of 14 and is returning 35 years later to confront the demons that still haunt her; Trujillo - 'the Goat' - himself; and the men who assassinated him. Llosa is comfortable in all of these personas, effortlessly handling the disparate but related strands, bringing a multitude of other players into this fascinating but little-known true-life drama. He takes the reader inside the psyches of his characters to help us to understand their motivations. Trujillo is introduced awaking from a nightmare and preparing for his day, the last of his life. The internal monologue in this chapter is an excoriating mix of anger, hatred and self-justification. Whatever he may have achieved for his nation has been irredeemably tainted by the massacre and torture, but he believes that he is the only thing between his people and anarchy. His assassins clearly have a different view. These men, each with their own reasons to kill the Goat, are shown dealing with the boredom of waiting for their prey, the exhilaration of the attack, and the paranoia, bravery and horror when the secret police come after them. Uranias story, perhaps the most personal, is revealed in stages throughout the book. She has her own grounds for hating the General and her father, a once-prominent member of the government. Dictators like Trujillo will always rise somewhere in the world, no matter how eloquent the warnings from history. This book is such a warning a lesson in the seductive and destructive nature of totalitarian power, and how, even when the figurehead is removed, those that remain will 'rehabilitate' the image of the regime just enough to cling to power and ensure its succession. Sensitive readers should note that murder and torture are presented in an unflinching way, but there is no pleasant way to describe such horrors and their inclusion is wholly justified to bring us to a greater understanding of the people involved on both sides. The narrative has been superbly written and structured, and is brought vividly to life for an English-speaking readership by Edith Grossmans translation. This is an essential book. (Kirkus UK)