Reviews

La fiesta del chivo by Mario Vargas Llosa

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monchy's review against another edition

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emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

4.5

iriniv's review against another edition

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challenging informative sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Βαρύ βιβλίο, φορτωμένο με πάρα πολλές πληροφορίες για τα πολιτικά πρόσωπα στον Άγιο Δομίνικο τις δεκαετίες της δικτατορίας. Πολύ ενημερωτικό και ιστορικό.

dom_jones's review against another edition

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4.0

“Were they different times?…they were and they weren’t, thinks Urania. Something from those times is still in the air”

So close to being a perfect book - one of the best novels I’ve ever read, with a great blend of historical events and well-developed characters.

However, at times a bit hard to follow. Lots of related characters with long names popping in and out, and temporal shifts which make it a bit choppy. With this being said though, some of the pacing worked - it was cool to see events from the perspectives of different individuals.

Vargas Llosa does an excellent job in highlighting the moral complexities of characters like Turk, Egghead, and President Balaguer. Trujillo’s character was also extremely well developed - psychopathic, neurotic, and self-hating with disgustingly aggressive threads of chauvinism.

Also a nice choice to have the book climax with Urania’s rape rather than the political zenith of Trujillo’s assassination - to put victims and human consequences first was a good choice by the author.

nigelbrown's review against another edition

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5.0

Absolutely wonderful book about a subject of which I knew nothing. The only downside was the amount of people mentioned, everyone in the room it seemed, and they all had four or five names. If you can remember who’s who, you’ll find this an amazing tale that comes together superbly with a touching if not horrific ending.

queercutie's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Tragic. A hard read. Excellent writing and story telling. Urania’s story resonated with me. I was rooting for those involved in the assassination. I appreciated how the author highlighted how small this big man really was, especially at the end of his life