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aleffert 's review for:
The Feast of the Goat
by Mario Vargas Llosa
This is a fictionalized version of the assassination of the dictator Rafael Trujillo, who ruled the Dominican Republic for thirty years from the 30s to the 60s. As an ignorant American, I knew essentially none of the history, including the US's role in the whole business. So it was interesting from a historical perspective and prompted me to do some extra reading. I probably missed some things not having the background, but I didn't feel in the dark.
In addition to historically intriguing, it was also a first rate novel. Especially, as we sit on Fascism's door, its portrait of the horrors—and the appeal—of totalitarianism and how it dehumanizes everyone it touches felt as relevant as ever.
There's a sort of frame story where the daughter of a (fictional) politician goes to visit her family decades after the assassination. I'm not sure how I felt about it. It was clearly constructed to make space for a horrifying set piece at the end that is an appalling exclamation point on the whole business. I gather that even though the details were made up, the essence was accurate, but it felt artificial and self-consciously novelistic to the point of distraction.
In addition to historically intriguing, it was also a first rate novel. Especially, as we sit on Fascism's door, its portrait of the horrors—and the appeal—of totalitarianism and how it dehumanizes everyone it touches felt as relevant as ever.
There's a sort of frame story where the daughter of a (fictional) politician goes to visit her family decades after the assassination. I'm not sure how I felt about it. It was clearly constructed to make space for a horrifying set piece at the end that is an appalling exclamation point on the whole business. I gather that even though the details were made up, the essence was accurate, but it felt artificial and self-consciously novelistic to the point of distraction.