The Feast of the Goat: A Novel

The Feast of the Goat recounts the final days of Rafael Trujillo's regime in the Dominican Republic and the transition that followed. The novel centers on Urania Cabral, a forty-nine-year-old woman who returns to her native country and confronts memories of 1961, when the capital was still called Trujillo City. Trujillo, known as the Goat, was an aging dictator who ruled a nation of three million through violence and blackmail, maintaining control over his inner circle in his palace where treachery and cowardice were commonplace. As his power weakens, a conspiracy against him develops, setting in motion a revolution with significant and bloody consequences. Vargas Llosa gives voice to both the historical Trujillo and the victims—innocent and complicit alike—drawn into his sphere of influence. The novel explores themes of terror, emptiness, and the complex dynamics of authoritarian rule and its aftermath.