The Feast of the Goat

The Feast of the Goat’ is a novel by Peruvian Nobel laureate Mario Vargas Llosa based on the assassination and aftermath of Rafael Leónidas Trujillo, the Dominican dictator. Frankly, getting past the first 100 pages was not easy, but it became much better after that. As a reader, you are thrust right into the thick of things, without being given a proper background. The narrative is oppressive and gives one a sense of claustrophobia, and while this makes the book difficult to read, it reflects the sense of helplessness and not being in control that was felt by citizens during Trujillo’s reign.

The story has three main strands. One is set in 1996 and follows Urania Cabral, the daughter of Agustin ‘Egghead’ Cabral, an ardent follower of Trujillo, as she returns to the Dominican Republic after over three decades to meet her father. The second, in 1961, follows Trujillo’s assassins, focussing on their wait for the dictator, then the act itself, and later the aftermath of the assassination. And finally, the third, also in 1961, follows Trujillo himself, showing us the final moments of his life.

The story begins with Urania’s arrival in Santo Domingo (earlier Ciudad Trujillo), and ends with her departure. The first chapter shows Urania trying to gather courage to meet her long estranged, and now bed-ridden, father. He is old, and unable to speak clearly, and maybe not even understand much. Agustin Cabral used to be a member of Trujillo’s inner circle, but fell out of favour with the dictator during the final stages of his reign, the reason for which he doesn’t understand. As she mocks him, we see Urania’s hatred for her father, but not the reason for it, at least not yet. This, and Cabral’s despair at being ostracised by Trujillo, are closely linked, and are explained later when Urania tells her cousins why she left the Dominican Republic and never came back.

Vargas Llosa also shows us his version of the assassination, taking time to explain the motives of each of the seven assassins to us. The assassination takes place midway through the book, and though that is the end of Trujillo, it is nowhere close to being the end of Trujillism. The latter part of the book deals with the aftermath of the killing, and early life of the country after Trujillo.

Before the assassination, we are taken deep into Trujillo’s head, as he tries to take care of international issues with the OAS (Organization of the American States), national issues with the Catholic priests, and finally, personal issues with his faulty bladder. Trujillo is a man of routine, and a man who needs power and control to feel alive. He enjoys toying with his followers, most of who hang on to his every word, always looking for an acknowledgment from the dictator, but always mortally afraid of being rebuked. Falling out of favour can have disastrous effects on the mental health of his loyal aides, as can be seen in the case of ‘Egghead’ Cabral. However, as much as Trujillo himself loves this degree of control, he is powerless against his own body. The revolt of his own penis – private, though at all times threatening to betray him publicly – is the only thing in Trujillo’s world that is completely beyond the reach of his will. His failing bladder causes embarrassing, spontaneous, public urinations; and even worse, he can no longer depend on effective erections – a particular incident with a particular girl keeps coming back to haunt him. For Trujillo, nicknamed the ‘Goat’ for his powerful sex-drive at the age of 69, this is something that haunts him more than the issues with his country. As he prays

“I don’t care about the priests, the gringos, the conspirators, the exiles. I can clear all that shit away myself. But I need your help to fuck that girl.”

Trujillo’s paralysing effect on people can be seen in the inability of Pupo Román, one of the generals, to act after the assassination. Román had earlier been humiliated by the ‘Goat’ because of a leaking sewer pipe in front of the Air Base and even after the dictator’s death he is unable to act according to the plan, which would have completed the military coup, and ends up doing the opposite of what he is supposed to be. Trujillo’s essence still lingers, even after his death.

The aftermath of the assassination is the goriest part of the book. The assassins are tortured by Trujillo’s son, Ramfis, and here Vargas Llosa does not hold back. The torture is depicted explicitly, with no detail left out, and is the most difficult section of the book to read. Ramfis takes his revenge on the assassins, at least the ones that are caught alive, their families, and other collaborators including Pupo Román until finally they look forward to their death.

“With great joy, (Pupo) Román felt the final burst of gunfire.”

Many of the characters in the book were real historical figures: Johnny Abbes García, the chief of government intelligence under Trujillo, who was as ruthless as the Goat himself; puppet President Balaguer, who during Trujillo’s reign seems to be just a figurehead. However, after Trujillo’s death, Balaguer displays extraordinary resourcefulness and craftsmanship to keep himself alive and in charge of the country. He mends relations with the church, improves diplomatic relations with the OAS, and even goes as far as insulting Trujillo in the United Nations, angering Trujillo’s remaining relatives. Ironically however, Balaguer was exiled a few months after this, and returned three years later to govern with the same authoritarian attitude as Truijllo himself. However, Vargas Llosa decides not to tell us this story, and ends the book on a hopeful note, with Balaguer as president, and Trujillism gradually decreasing throughout the country.