This work of historical fiction is a well-researched and informative, suspenseful novel. It explores the motives for the assassination of the dictator Rafael Trujillo, the aftermath, and the personal toll that political machinations took on the people involved with the regime.

It is difficult to read, yet fascinating. The author is able to bring you into the minds of the main players, both the heroes and the villains. The author observes that the dictator Trujillo (aka "the Goat") had created a perverse system, "one in which all Dominicans sooner or later took part as accomplices, a system which only exiles (not always) and the dead could escape." As accomplices Dominicans participated in spying, betrayal, assault human trafficking, horrendous torture, and murder..." the Goat had taken from people the sacred attribute given to them by God: their free will."

Urania's ability to confess the betrayal that almost destroyed her life, Balaguer's democratization of his country, and Imbert's survival and return to Dominican society were all accomplished with some difficult and sometimes extreme decisions. This restoration of their free will is also what ultimately gives the book hope. ( )

Here's what I wrote in 2008 about this read: "Haunting. Domincan Republic was run for a very bad long long time by a very bad dude; despot General Rafael Truillo; descriptions of torture of his murderers still shocks." ( )

Historical fiction about the dictatorship of Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina in the Dominican Republic. It utilizes three storylines, including flashbacks and flash-forwards, to tell the story of this oppressive regime and its aftermath. It opens in 1996, with Urania Cabral, daughter of a (fictional) former supporter of Trujillo. At age 49, she has returned after thirty-five years in the US. She eventually reveals the reason for her lengthy absence. The second storyline covers the last day of Trujillo’s life. It portrays the dictator and his devotees and provides the historic content of Trujillo’s power base. The third story involves the group of assassins awaiting arrival of Trujillo’s chauffeured car. It covers how they became disillusioned and what drove them to decide to kill “the Goat.”

This book portrays abuse of power and the lingering psychological impact on the people who lived through it. Though the Cabral family is fictional, Trujillo and his assassins were real people, and the descriptions of events are based on what actually occurred. Their thoughts, of course, are fictionalized. It reflects the dangers of following the Cult of Personality.

The book is well-written and well-crafted. The interwoven storylines inform each other, such that the reader gains a vivid picture of what life was like in the Dominican Republic under Trujillo. Be aware that the content includes gruesome descriptions of brutal violence, torture, and sexual abuse.

4.5 ( )

Garcia Marquez takes on similar material but achieves greater artistry with Autumn of the Patriarch. ( )

This is political science porn. Though not in the same sense of, say, House of Cards. This is not about complex machinations or smart people. This is about fear and ordinary people. One day you're a trusted intimate of the Generalíssimo. The next day he wakes up on the wrong side of the bed; suddenly you're no longer senator, your bank accounts are frozen, you're under investigation. You wonder what it is you've done. You worry you may get arrested. You worry about your family. You wonder if there is anything you can do to regain the man's favor.

This is also violence porn. King Joffrey is a clumsy little bully apprentice compared to Trujillo. The violence is not gratuitous though. It's one thing to learn from Wikipedia that this many people were killed, that that many people were tortured, etc. It's another thing entirely to turn the victims of the regime into relatable characters and to make the reader care about them. And Vargas Llosa does that brilliantly here.

Also, shout out to the narrators of the Audible version. They did an amazing job.

It doesn't get five stars is because it could be shorter. After a certain point it feels like "enough, I got the picture, Trujillo was mean and people lived in fear." There was no need to tie every loose end. ( )