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The Feast of the Goat
MAJOR CHARACTERS
W Style
assassination developments.
This photograph shows the car in which Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo, the subject of The Feast of the Goat, was assassinated.
ª Bettmann/Corbis
“master of the intricate and complex relation of the far Miller, Laura. Rev. of The Feast of the Goat, by Mario
past to the near past and immediate present.” Vargas Llosa. Salon.com 6 Dec. 2002. Web. 6 Oct.
Reviewers seem united in their responses to the 2010.
heinous nature of Trujillo’s brutality and authoritarian- Wood, Michael. “Memories of a Skinny Girl.” London
ism. Laura Miller, in Salon, writes, “Never has a novel Review of Books. LRB Limited, 9 May 2002. Web.
drawn the malignant political potential of crude, unfet- 6 Oct. 2010.
tered masculinity more ferociously.” Critics also note
Trujillo’s physical weaknesses—incontinence and impo- Additional Resources
tence—suggesting these private embarrassments are the Criticism and Reviews
underpinnings of the dictator’s more public humiliation
Bell-Villada, Gene H. “Thirty-One Years of Solitude.”
of others.
Commonweal 128.19 (2001): 20-21. Rpt. in Con-
Most critics agree that Vargas Llosa maintains firm
temporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Janet Witalec. Vol.
stylistic control. Michael Wood writes in the London
181. Detroit: Gale, 2004. Literature Resource Center.
Review of Books that the “individual stories do build up a
Web. 11 Oct. 2010. Bell-Villada asserts that The Feast
satisfyingly intricate picture.” Also, as the novel “arrives at
of the Goat “will most surely become THE book
its truly mesmerizing pages . . . it’s no longer quite a
about the long Trujillo nightmare and the ongoing,
dictator novel . . . but it is an intensely intelligent political
sordid aftermath.”
novel.” The only one of the inner circle who escapes is
President Balaguer, Trujillo’s puppet. Walter Kirn, in the Hensher, Philip. “The Feast of the Goat. (Books:
New York Times, labels Balaguer an “unlikely savior” who Anatomy of a Tyrant).” Rev. of The Feast of the Goat,
undergoes “a transformation of dazzling subtlety that has by Mario Vargas Llosa. Spectator 30 Mar. 2002: 38+.
to be read twice to be appreciated.” Literature Resource Center. Web. 11 Oct. 2010.
Kirn describes Edith Grossman’s translation as Situates The Feast of the Goat well outside the popular
“crackling” and energized, whereas in Miller’s view the idea of the Latin American novel, noting its strengths,
prose is “clunky” at times, a weakness that is not helped obsessions, and direction.
by Grossman’s “wooden and often inept” translation. Howard, Gregory. Rev. of The Feast of the Goat, by Mario
Reviewers agree that Vargas Llosa has written an Vargas Llosa. Review of Contemporary Fiction 22.1
important novel, which can also be read, as Olga Lorenzo (2002): 120-21. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary
of the Age does, as a comment on the “irrational forces of Criticism. Ed. Janet Witalec. Vol. 181. Detroit: Gale,
dictatorship that can be understood.” 2004. Literature Resource Center. Web. 11 Oct.
2010. Howard describes The Feast of the Goat as “a
BIBLIOGRAPHY visceral lesson in the complex synergy of political
Works Cited intrigue, sex, machismo, and history.”
Cheuse, Alan. “Power Mad: Mario Vargas Llosa’s New Johnson-Wright, Heidi. “January Interview with Mario
Novel Serves Up the Horrors of Rafael Trujillo’s Vargas Llosa.” January Magazine Jan. 2002. Web.
Reign in the Dominican Republic.” Rev. of The Feast 10 Oct. 2010. An interview with Vargas Llosa that
of the Goat, by Mario Vargas Llosa. SFGate. Hearst contains commentary on his most recent work and his
Communications, 25 Nov. 2001. Web. 10 Oct. creative process.
2010. Kakutani, Michiko. “Storyteller Enthralled by the Power
Foley, Andrew. “Power, Myth and Freedom.” Rev. of of Art.” New York Times. New York Times, 7 Oct.
The Feast of the Goat, by Mario Vargas Llosa. Journal 2010. Web. 10 Oct. 2010. Offers a succinct overview
of Literary Studies 24.1 (2008): 1. Literature Resource and commentary on Vargas Llosa’s work and its
Center. Web. 6 Oct. 2010. legacy.
Jaggi, Maya. “Fiction and Hyper-reality.” Guardian Schwartz, Lynne Sharon. “Sensationalism and
[London]. Guardian News and Media Ltd, 16 Mar. Sensibility.” New Leader 84.6 (2001): 30-31. Rpt. in
2002. Web. 7 Oct. 2010. Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Janet Witalec.
Vol. 181. Detroit: Gale, 2004. Literature Resource
Kirn, Walter. “Generalissimo.” New York Times. New
Center. Web. 11 Oct. 2010. Takes issue with “the
York Times, 25 Nov. 2002. Web. 6 Oct. 2010.
unalloyed cruelty” detailed in The Feast of the Goat as
Lorenzo, Olga. “Dissection of a Despot.” Age “neither complex nor interesting, and lingering on its
[Melbourne]. Fairfax Media, 15 July 2002. Web. details yields easily to sensationalism.”
6 Oct. 2010. Shakespeare, Sebastian. Rev. of The Feast of the Goat, by
Menton, Seymour. Rev. of The Feast of the Goat, by Mario Vargas Llosa. New Statesman 131.4554
Mario Vargas Llosa. World Literature Today 74.3 (2002): 57. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism.
(2000): 676. General Onefile. Web. 8 Oct. 2010. Ed. Janet Witalec. Vol. 181. Detroit: Gale, 2004.
Literature Resource Center. Web. 8 Oct. 2010. Chaddick, Larissa, and Luis Rebasa-Soraluz. “Demons
Provides a mixed assessment of The Feast of the Goat, and Lies: Motivation and Form in Mario Vargas
noting that “even if this is not a great novel, Vargas Llosa.” Review of Contemporary Fiction Spring 1997:
Llosa is still a great storyteller.” 15. Literature Resource Center. Web. 10 Oct. 2010.
Torch, Rafael. Rev. of The Feast of the Goat, by Mario In this interview, Mario Vargas Llosa discusses his
Vargas Llosa. Antioch Review 60.2 (2002): 342-43. style and purposes in his fiction and recent nonfiction.
Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Janet He also responds to questions regarding the impor-
Witalec. Vol. 181. Detroit: Gale, 2004. Literature tance of the novel as a genre and touches directly on
Resource Center. Web. 11 Oct. 2010. Asserts that The the writing of Gustave Flaubert, Victor Hugo, García
Feast of the Goat is “full of the tremendous power of Márquez, and Franz Kafka.
the Latin American epic, and Vargas Llosa once again Chang, Jorge Villanueva, and Jimena Pinilla Cisneros.
delivers a sweeping statement about the turbulent “An Interview with Mario Vargas Llosa.” World
history of Latin America.” Literature Today 76.1 (2002): 64(6). General
OneFile. Web. 6 Oct. 2010. This interview features
Gale Resources Vargas Llosa’s comments on the resiliency of the
“Edith Marian Grossman.” Contemporary Authors novel form, how technology will affect publishing
Online. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Literature Resource books, and the contributions of several seminal
Center. Web. 6 Oct. 2010. writers such as Jorge Luis Borges, William Faulkner,
Marcel Proust, and Kafka.
“Mario Vargas Llosa.” Contemporary Authors Online.
Detroit: Gale, 2008. Literature Resource Center. Furtis, Richard Lee. Foundations of Despotism: Peasants,
Web. 8 Oct. 2010. the Trujillo Regime, and Modern Dominican History.
Stanford: Stanford UP, 2003. Print. This nonfiction
“Mario Vargas Llosa.” Literature Resource Center.
work looks beyond the Trujillo cult of personality and
Detroit: Gale, 2010. Web. 8 Oct 2010.
the oppressive state apparatus to find the basis for the
Open Web Sources political legitimacy of the Trujillo regime.
Vargas Llosa’s official Web site offers information on his García Márquez, Gabriel. Autumn of the Patriarch. New
novels and other publications, news links, and a short York: Harper, 1976. Print. Both a novel of the Latin
biography. http://www.mariovargasllosabooks. American literature period known as the “Boom” and
com/ one of the premier dictator novels, García Márquez’s
book is quite different in style but similar in topic to
The official site of the Nobel Prize committee features
The Feast of the Goat.
information on all laureates, including Vargas Llosa.
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laure Lopez-Calvo, Ignacio. God and Trujillo: Literal and
ates/2010/ Cultural Representations of the Dominican Dictator.
Gainesville: UP of Florida, 2005. Print. This nonfic-
The Complete Review holds a collection of reviews of The tion volume focuses on the personal and public life of
Feast of the Goat and links to the original publications. the dictator, as well as his known and probable
http://www.complete-review.com/reviews/vargas/
psychological traits, and traces the history of Spanish-
fiestac.htm
American dictators in general and Trujillo in partic-
The Historical Text Archive offers a good overview of the ular.
political history of the Dominican Republic and the Robinson, Nancy P. “Origins of the International Day for
often unpleasant involvement of the United States. the Elimination of Violence against Women: The
http://historicaltextarchive.com/sections.php?o Caribbean Contribution.” Caribbean Studies 34.2
p=viewarticle&artid=362 (2006): 141+. Academic OneFile. Web. 8 Oct. 2010.
Oberlin College & Conservatory’s Web site presents Robinson traces the development of the international
sources and general resources on Latin America. human framework for women’s rights and explores
http://www.oberlin.edu/faculty/svolk/latinam.htm the origins of the International Day for the Elimina-
tion of Violence against Women in the Latin
For Further Reading American context, through the life stories of the
Alvarez, Julia. In the Time of the Butterflies. New York: Mirabal sisters in the Dominican Republic.
Plume, 1994. Print. Three of the four Mirabal sisters
were murdered by Trujillo’s henchmen in November Adaptations
1960 for their involvement in efforts to topple the The Feast of the Goat. Dir. Luis Llosa. Perf. Isabella
Trujillo regime. Alvarez’s fictionalization of their Rossellini, Paul Freeman, Stephanie Leonidas, Tomas
story won the National Book Critics Circle Award in Milian. Future Film Group, 2005. Film. Director Luis
1994. Llosa, an accomplished filmmaker and the novelist’s
brother-in-law, trims the triple focus of the original adaptation of The Feast of the Goat is a critically
work to two dovetailed stories—those of Urania and acclaimed presentation by the father-daughter team
the conspiracy to kill Trujillo. True to the novel is the of Jorge and Victoriana Triana. In 2007 the produc-
creation of the atmosphere of terror, sycophancy, and tion moved to Lima, Peru, also to great acclaim.
savagery that pervaded Dominican society for more A prominent feature of the stage production is that
than three decades. the same actor who portrays Agustin Cabral also
The Feast of the Goat. Adapt. and dir. Jorge Triana. plays the dictator Trujillo.
Repertorio Español. 2003 and 2007. Performance.
New York City’s Repertorio Español’s stage Marta Lauritsen