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Freedom Is a Feast
In the tradition of Isabel Allende’s career-launching debut, The House of the Spirits, a multigenerational, Latin American saga of love and revolution in which a young man abandons his family for the cause—and receives a late-life chance at “a tour de force” from “the new master” (Luis Alberto Urrea, New York Times bestselling author of Good Night, Irene). In 1964, Stanislavo, a zealous young man devoted to his ideals, turns his back on his privilege to join the leftist movement in the jungles of Venezuela. There, as he trains, he meets Emiliana, a nurse and fellow revolutionary. Though their intense connection seems to be love at first sight, their romance is upended by a decision with consequences that will echo down through the generations. Forty years later, the country’s political landscape has drastically changed, as have the trajectories that Stanislavo and Emiliana followed in the intervening decades. When a young boy is accidentally shot on the eve of the attempted coup against President Chávez, Stanislavo’s chance encounter with the boy’s mother forces a reckoning with past missteps and the ways his actions have reverberated into the present. With its epic scope, gripping narrative, and unflinching intimacy, Freedom Is a Feast announces a major new talent. Alejandro Puyana has delivered an extraordinarily wise and moving debut about sticking to one’s beliefs at the expense of pain and chaos, about the way others can suffer for our misdeeds even when we have the best of intentions, and about the possibility for redemption when love persists across time.
448 pages, Hardcover
First published August 20, 2024
66 people are currently reading
5416 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 88 reviews
April 30, 2025
Violence. Gangs.Guns. Riots.Revolutionaries. Guerrilla warfare. This is Venezuela circa 1960’s. The fight for freedom rages.
An epic story that spans decades. We meet Stanislavo, born to privilege but turns his back on it, to join the leftist movement. He is captured and escapes with a laser focus on returning to the mission at the cost of losing the one thing who matters the most, Emiliana.
As the story progresses, the years pass. The political instability of the country teeters. Maria, Stanislavo’s daughter, comes face to face with the father she’s never met.
Puyana’s debut writing is richly layered and textured with descriptions of a country ravaged by political corruption while also revealing the beauty of this tropical land. Characters are authentic, deeply flawed, scarred. Society consists of the wealthy and the poor with little in between.
Freedom, for these people who hope for it and hunger for it, would be a bountiful feast.
5⭐️
An epic story that spans decades. We meet Stanislavo, born to privilege but turns his back on it, to join the leftist movement. He is captured and escapes with a laser focus on returning to the mission at the cost of losing the one thing who matters the most, Emiliana.
As the story progresses, the years pass. The political instability of the country teeters. Maria, Stanislavo’s daughter, comes face to face with the father she’s never met.
Puyana’s debut writing is richly layered and textured with descriptions of a country ravaged by political corruption while also revealing the beauty of this tropical land. Characters are authentic, deeply flawed, scarred. Society consists of the wealthy and the poor with little in between.
Freedom, for these people who hope for it and hunger for it, would be a bountiful feast.
5⭐️
December 7, 2024
Literary pals, check this one out. Same to you, hist fic buddies. The comparison to Allende’s debut are spot-on. Freedom Is a Feast is epic and immersive. Alejandro Puyana story of Venezuela, his lost and forgotten homeland in many ways, is sooooooo good, so well-done; a marvel.
Central to the story is Stanislavo, living in 1960s Venezuela, as he joins the leftist movement, traveling deep in the jungle for training. While there, he meets Emiliana, a nurse and fellow revolutionary. Their connection is strong but fleeting.
More than forty years later, the politics have changed… but so much has also remained the same. A boy is shot in an accident, and his mother and Stanislavo cross paths, changing the course of their each of their futures. How are the two connected?
What struck me first is the intimacy in the Puyana’s writing. Next, I was overwhelmed with the reality- all of this happened, is still happening, could happen again, anywhere?! A beautiful country filled with people who love it, who are passionate about their home and their freedoms… and how we can push and push for what we think is the best outcome, only to find that outcome was not what anyone really wanted, and yet the reality is country is still on fire. Through the pain and heartache, these characters were willing to sacrifice it all for freedom. Absolutely beautiful characters and writing. An important and timely epic.
Thanks to Bibliobeth for reading with me!
I received a gifted copy.
Many of my reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com and instagram: www.instagram.com/tarheelreader
Central to the story is Stanislavo, living in 1960s Venezuela, as he joins the leftist movement, traveling deep in the jungle for training. While there, he meets Emiliana, a nurse and fellow revolutionary. Their connection is strong but fleeting.
More than forty years later, the politics have changed… but so much has also remained the same. A boy is shot in an accident, and his mother and Stanislavo cross paths, changing the course of their each of their futures. How are the two connected?
What struck me first is the intimacy in the Puyana’s writing. Next, I was overwhelmed with the reality- all of this happened, is still happening, could happen again, anywhere?! A beautiful country filled with people who love it, who are passionate about their home and their freedoms… and how we can push and push for what we think is the best outcome, only to find that outcome was not what anyone really wanted, and yet the reality is country is still on fire. Through the pain and heartache, these characters were willing to sacrifice it all for freedom. Absolutely beautiful characters and writing. An important and timely epic.
Thanks to Bibliobeth for reading with me!
I received a gifted copy.
Many of my reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com and instagram: www.instagram.com/tarheelreader
August 13, 2024
Actual rating 4.5 stars.
Spanning almost fifty decades, Freedom is a Feast is a multigenerational, political story set in Venezuela. It’s full of idealism but also of hurt and trying to survive. It raises questions about how far we’ll go to get a (supposedly) better world.
While reading the prologue, my chest already tightened. Maria and her son Eloy, followers of Hugo Chavez, the president in 2002, live in a poor neighborhood in Caracas. When shooters enter their neighborhood while anti-government protests are underway in the city center, Eloy gets shot.
Then, the story flashes back to 1964 and follows Stanislavo and his ideals. Joining the leftish guerilla, he has to make personal choices that have far-reaching consequences.
Even though Maria and Stanislavo don’t know each other, their lives are inextricably linked.
This book is set in the past, but the themes are so current. I visited Venezuela a long time ago and loved the nature and the people. But I also saw the differences between the gated communities with those immense mansions and the slums where people were trying to survive to have the basics: a house, food on the table, education.
In recent years, we’ve seen a shift to the extreme right in many countries, trying to restrict so many things like abortion or LHBTQ+ rights. But communist countries like China and Cuba aren’t doing any better.
Freedom is a Feast makes you think about how much freedom is worth to you and how much you are willing to give up for a (supposedly) better world.
But this story is also about love. About falling in love, love between a mother and daughter, love between a mother and son. The son I had a soft spot for. Oh Eloy, you made me cry …
The story and the writing impressed me and I hope many people will get to read it!
Thank you, Little Brown and Company and NetGalley, for this ARC!
Follow me on Instagram
Spanning almost fifty decades, Freedom is a Feast is a multigenerational, political story set in Venezuela. It’s full of idealism but also of hurt and trying to survive. It raises questions about how far we’ll go to get a (supposedly) better world.
While reading the prologue, my chest already tightened. Maria and her son Eloy, followers of Hugo Chavez, the president in 2002, live in a poor neighborhood in Caracas. When shooters enter their neighborhood while anti-government protests are underway in the city center, Eloy gets shot.
Then, the story flashes back to 1964 and follows Stanislavo and his ideals. Joining the leftish guerilla, he has to make personal choices that have far-reaching consequences.
Even though Maria and Stanislavo don’t know each other, their lives are inextricably linked.
This book is set in the past, but the themes are so current. I visited Venezuela a long time ago and loved the nature and the people. But I also saw the differences between the gated communities with those immense mansions and the slums where people were trying to survive to have the basics: a house, food on the table, education.
In recent years, we’ve seen a shift to the extreme right in many countries, trying to restrict so many things like abortion or LHBTQ+ rights. But communist countries like China and Cuba aren’t doing any better.
Freedom is a Feast makes you think about how much freedom is worth to you and how much you are willing to give up for a (supposedly) better world.
But this story is also about love. About falling in love, love between a mother and daughter, love between a mother and son. The son I had a soft spot for. Oh Eloy, you made me cry …
The story and the writing impressed me and I hope many people will get to read it!
Thank you, Little Brown and Company and NetGalley, for this ARC!
Follow me on Instagram
January 15, 2024
Got to read this manuscript early to design the cover and it is a sharp, engrossing page turner that seamlessly weaves the personal, familial, political, and the vertiginous, never-ending battle to define the identity of a nation.
July 22, 2024
As a Venezuelan immigrant, I found this book fascinating and painfully accurate in its depiction of my home country's recent history.
The four main characters in the story are, in essence, archetypes, but their narrative arcs interconnect in such natural and fluid manner that you forget they're fictional.
Besides being an engrossing read, with a rich, dramatic narrative, it is also –in my opinion– the best description of Venezuela's recent history. I intend to order a handful of copies, so I can share them with my American friends who wish to understand.
Highly recommended.
The four main characters in the story are, in essence, archetypes, but their narrative arcs interconnect in such natural and fluid manner that you forget they're fictional.
Besides being an engrossing read, with a rich, dramatic narrative, it is also –in my opinion– the best description of Venezuela's recent history. I intend to order a handful of copies, so I can share them with my American friends who wish to understand.
Highly recommended.
October 15, 2025
When people say reading is not political, that is just another way to let you know they do not read. Or rather, potentially they are not reading books that enlighten or teach you about our past and current geopolitical climate. This book drug me down a rabbit hole of Venezuelan history. I had no idea Venezeula at one point in the 50's and 60's was the 3rd wealthiest nation in the world or that they were and still are the largest oil reserve in the world. I knew a tad of Hugo Chavez but not the intracacies of how he won and changed the sociopolitical landscape irrevocably (different than the voters ever imagined). I am still in need of further education here but thankful this book tipped me off to poke my nose into a history that is so worth understanding.
That said, this book is fantastic. Alejandro is so dynamic in his delivery and prose is top notch. I will read anything he writes moving forward and was so thankful to have had the opportunity to read this work.
The book centers around a few main characters, namely Stanislavo, a young man in the 60's part of the leftist movement who in turn devotes his entire life to political means and Maria, a mother in the 2000's caught in the grips of fear as her son is injured by gang violence. These two lives collide in a truly meaningful way but it is the journey we take with Stanislavo through the decades and the relationships he forms or tears down that make this novel so special.
Instantly one of my favorite reads of the year and believe the Pages Apart community would overwhelmingly appreciate this read!
That said, this book is fantastic. Alejandro is so dynamic in his delivery and prose is top notch. I will read anything he writes moving forward and was so thankful to have had the opportunity to read this work.
The book centers around a few main characters, namely Stanislavo, a young man in the 60's part of the leftist movement who in turn devotes his entire life to political means and Maria, a mother in the 2000's caught in the grips of fear as her son is injured by gang violence. These two lives collide in a truly meaningful way but it is the journey we take with Stanislavo through the decades and the relationships he forms or tears down that make this novel so special.
Instantly one of my favorite reads of the year and believe the Pages Apart community would overwhelmingly appreciate this read!
June 27, 2025
Freedom Is a Feast is a multigenerational saga that delves into Venezuela's turbulent political landscape, spanning from the 1960s guerrilla movements to the early 2000s under President Hugo Chávez. Further proof that you can keep good people down.
June 1, 2024
For someone who knows a little of the political journeys that have occurred during the 20th century in Latin America, this novel offers a wonderful introduction to the challenges, pitfalls, hardships, and daily existence of citizens striving for a better world for everyone. Written by Puyana, Venezuelan by birth, the reader learns about Stanislavo, an idealistic young man who offers his life for political freedoms in Venezuela. His life becomes irrevocably changed by his choices over a number of generations as we witness his struggle and personal sacrifice. The novel is an interesting read, and one that offers perspective to a world rarely understood by an outsider.
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December 9, 2024Set among the political upheavals in Venezuela from the 1960’s to the 2020’s, this novel follows the life and experiences – personal and political – of a man named Stanislavis or “Stanis”. Although the novel moves about in time, we first know Stanislavis as a young man from an educated family, who decides to become a part of “the Movement” and goes to the jungle to engage in guerilla warfare against the then-in-power regime. In addition to becoming friends with his fellow fighters, Stanis meets and falls in love with Emiliana, a nurse who helps the guerillas. Stanis makes a small mistake, and he and his fighter friends are captured by government forces. After his escape, Stanis remains even more committed to the Movement and makes a choice that affects his life as well as the lives of his children and grandchildren.
In a different timeline, we meet Maria, a young mother, and her son Eloy, who are inhabitants of the worst barrio in Caracas. Maria cleans the home of a wealthy family, and Eloy is a happy child until he is wounded by gunfire during a march against Hugo Chavez (the then “president” of Venezuela). Maria and Stanis meet at the hospital where Eloy is taken, and the story moves forward from there. The deep entanglement of Maria’s and Stanis’ stories evolves very nicely during the rest of the novel.
However, underlying the personal story is the overwhelming effect of political instability in Venezuela. Violent changes in government and protests are part of daily life. The reader sees tortious imprisonment against the guerillas as well as (years later) the Venezuelan prison system in which a few select prisoners impose their will and laws over all the other prisoners.
This novel moved quickly among its various timelines and well-drawn, unique characters. I also learned some Venezuelan history. This is a debut novel, and I will look forward to more from Mr. Puyano.
In a different timeline, we meet Maria, a young mother, and her son Eloy, who are inhabitants of the worst barrio in Caracas. Maria cleans the home of a wealthy family, and Eloy is a happy child until he is wounded by gunfire during a march against Hugo Chavez (the then “president” of Venezuela). Maria and Stanis meet at the hospital where Eloy is taken, and the story moves forward from there. The deep entanglement of Maria’s and Stanis’ stories evolves very nicely during the rest of the novel.
However, underlying the personal story is the overwhelming effect of political instability in Venezuela. Violent changes in government and protests are part of daily life. The reader sees tortious imprisonment against the guerillas as well as (years later) the Venezuelan prison system in which a few select prisoners impose their will and laws over all the other prisoners.
This novel moved quickly among its various timelines and well-drawn, unique characters. I also learned some Venezuelan history. This is a debut novel, and I will look forward to more from Mr. Puyano.
May 23, 2024
This book was fantastic. I absolutely loved it. The story was written so well it felt like I was teleported inside the books world. The characters had depth I could really feel what the characters were feeling.
October 20, 2024
Wow! This is perhaps the best book I’ve read this year. I was blown away by the writing and couldn’t put this down. This book has received a good amount of press locally here in Austin and with good reason. Amazing debut novel! Hoping for more by Alejandro Puyana.
November 23, 2024
It's so hard to find anyone who can talk about Venezuela with any kind of nuance, that while I think this story is a fairly standard family saga, the compassion with which the Chavez supporters were written immediately sets it apart and shows Puyana's skills. Even just the acknowledgement that Venezuela pre-Chavez was great for a very select few feels like an unbelievable thing to read in print. I appreciate that he showed the kind of violence, poverty, and oppression that led to Chavez's rise, but also how quickly and thoroughly it all fell apart after he took over.
It took me a long time to type this out bc I couldn't stop crying. I've never missed Venezuela more than I do right now.
It took me a long time to type this out bc I couldn't stop crying. I've never missed Venezuela more than I do right now.
September 12, 2024
One of the most compelling aspects of *Freedom is a Feast* is how Puyana manages to weave historical and political realities into the fabric of the love story. The characters are not just swept along by the events around them; they are actively shaped by them, reflecting the ways in which the personal lives of Venezuelans are impacted by the forces of its history. This makes the narrative feel grounded and urgent, resonating with readers who may or may not be familiar with Venezuela's contemporary struggles.
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November 10, 2024Read for Venezuela in the Read the World Challenge! It was a perfect pick for this challenge, spanning several decades and representing several important moments in Venezuelan history. Although I wish I'd put in the effort to get a better understanding of Venezuelan history BEFORE reading, I did still learn a lot and get a lot out of it. There are many poignant moments, and this book did a great job portraying the way that political unrest effects everyone. The main characters are fully fleshed out, and I was really invested in seeing them find a way to hold onto hope and each other.
March 4, 2025
I’m not sure why I’ve grown to love books that are so gut wrenching and sad as hell. Add this one to that list as well. How much are you willing to give up to potentially live a better life and live in a better world? Those two questions ran through my mind a lot while reading this. There are four main characters and their stories are all well told and they are all connected with one another. I felt for each of these characters and they were so well written. This is also a story of love in many ways. Awesome story and this is a debut novel too? Could’ve fooled me!
If I wasn’t trying to switch careers by going back to school, I would’ve finished this way sooner. Great read!
If I wasn’t trying to switch careers by going back to school, I would’ve finished this way sooner. Great read!
January 26, 2025
I could not put this book down. Puyana’s writing is so engrossing yet perfectly paced. I was always wanting to turn the next page to find out what happened next. The author so artfully describes the smells, the sounds and sensations of this world that can feel so far from our own.
I loved all of the main characters - their stories are tragic, yet hopeful. Truly a testament to our resilience in terrible circumstances outside of our own control.
I’m still processing my feelings and the themes of this book. If you love historical fiction as much as I do, this is a MUST READ!
I loved all of the main characters - their stories are tragic, yet hopeful. Truly a testament to our resilience in terrible circumstances outside of our own control.
I’m still processing my feelings and the themes of this book. If you love historical fiction as much as I do, this is a MUST READ!
June 10, 2025
This is about the revolution in Venezuela and the ripple effects of certain decisions through the years. I can't believe this is the author's first novel. It was excellent. 5/5 stars.
November 21, 2024
Resistance, revolution, fighting for your beliefs; love, loss, guilt, second chances, family. This was heartbreaking and beautiful (and an absolutely terrifying glimpse into a potential future)
March 6, 2025
Tragic story set in Venezuela’s political backdrop. Hard to read yet I couldn’t put it down.
January 4, 2025
Prompt 15: includes Latin American history
March 30, 2025
This was a beautifully written exploration of humanity and the choices we make set against a backdrop of Venezuelan politics. The cast of the audiobook did an excellent job bringing the characters and vibrant setting to life
September 29, 2024
Must-read debut from Alejandro Puyana. A multi-generational story set in Venezuela, spanning from the communist rebellion in the 60s to Chavez's death in 2013. Equal parts thrilling, informative and moving. Just when you are sad to see a section of the book go, it picks up with another gripping set piece. Fantastic characters and an incredible and rich glimpse into the soul of a nation. Highly recommended!
December 23, 2024
Aack, I just wrote a long review and it disappeared. I guess I saved it incorrectly. That is disappointing. I appreciated the author's ability to keep several threads going and relay rich details about life before and during the time of Hugo Chavez in Venezuela. We first meet Maria whose mother has died and the father of her son has left so it's only her and her son Eloy in the slums called Cortizo. Eloy is struck by a stray bullet during the protests. Maria's older neighbor Jacinto helps her take Eloy to a hospital on his motorbike through blockades and protests. The hospital is short on supplies and a journalist, Stanislavo, helps with the surgery. Then we go back 40 years to when Stanislavo is a revolutionary during and following his university days. His parents are both doctors who fled Europe after Hitler killed many of their relatives. Stanislavo is driving a car when he gets in an accident that kills his twin brother Ludmil who was a passenger. I believe his guilt and his feeling that his mother doesn't love him anymore drive him to become a revolutionary. He goes to the jungle to help organize troops. There he falls in love with Emiliana, a nurse who is part of the Movement. After a spell of harmony where the revolutionaries read poetry, build structures and enjoy hanging out, Stanislavo and his two friends Molino and Nunzio are captured when they hesitate to shoot two soldiers. They are kept at Mi Encanto, an old mansion turned into jail. Stanislavo is tortured but then the guards learn that these prisoners are important and they are not to harm them. The three hatch a plan to escape. Stanislavo knocks Nunzio's gold tooth out to pay for some pigs blood that Stanislavo drinks to mimic a ruptured hernia. He vomits blood and is taken to a hospital where Emiliana helps him escape. He learns she is pregnant with his child and she urges him to come away with her but he feels he must help Nunzio and Molino escape. (I kind of agree - what kind of man would escape and not help his friends escape?). He learns they have been transferred to a different prison. It is heavily guarded but he plans to dig a tunnel. His superior in the Movement, Alfred, connects him with Nassim, whose uncle runs a grocery right next to the prison. Nassim and Stanislavo take turns digging - the entrance to the tunnel is a walk-in freezer in the basement of the store. Eventually, Stanislavo realizes he's been tricked - that their plan is to bomb the prison, not help his friends escape. So he locks them in the freezer and flees, letting someone know to save them as soon as he is safely away. He is exiled in Mexico for 12 years until radicals are pardoned. He returns as a journalist and looks all over for Emiliana but never finds her. Back to Eloy, during his convalescence from the gunshot wound, a neighbor boy Wili keeps him company. Maria has to go clean the house of a rich family every day so she is glad that Eloy has company. Eloy does well at school, graduates from high school and begins university while Wili drops out and becomes a delinquent involved in petty crime. One day he asks Eloy to help him with an armed robbery. Eloy doesn't want to but he always says yes to Wili. Of course, it goes wrong and they are arrested and sent to prison. The prison is run by strongman prisoners calls prans. Wili is spotted as someone who will be an enforcer. The pran, Tomaso, discovers that Eloy is a talented artist and sets him to painting a mural with Tomaso's portrait. While he is being protected, Wili is falling from grace, doing too much crack and not keeping up with the required "payments" to the pran. Eventually he is caught stealing food from a vendor and meted out justice prison style, 50/50, which means he is shot in the abdomen. He has a 50% chance of surviving. He does not. Eloy holds his hand as he dies. I see parallels between the guilt Stanislavo felt when Ludmil dies and what Eloy feels when Wili dies, but he also believes he may love him in a more romantic way. He is also afraid that he won't have a friend in the prison anymore. However, Maria has gone to Stanislavo and exlained that he is her father and that she needs help getting his grandson out of prison. In a very exciting part of the plot, they are able to get him transferred to a safer prison just before this prison is raided and the prans are murdered. Eventually, Stanslavo, Eloy and Maria form a family, find forgiveness and redemption. There is a lot about loyalty, motivation, how idealistic rulers become despots and will still have supporters who believed in their early promises and how when one honestly seeks forgiveness, it can sometimes be granted.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 2, 2025
I picked this up entirely by accident, just browsing at the library. I saw the ecstatic reviews from Junot Diaz and Marlon James, and decided I had to read it.
The arch of this story is so broad, it's like ten novels in one. At the root, it's about what we owe to each other and what we owe to this broader political project of society, and the way these two things tangle with each other in an un-winnable battle.
It's impossible not to see Venezuela's political cycles as the same as all the world over. What starts out with promise ends with repression, until the cycle begins again. Within that, the characters are forced to choose again and again whether to try and save those they love, or dedicate themselves to the bigger fight for a just world. What I appreciated about it is that the novel acknowledges that those choices are unbelievably hard, and it is impossible to know what the right thing is to do.
It also paints a picture of Latin America and the intersection of so many different stories there. Those of Native Americans, those of refugees from the Holocaust (as well as, I'm guessing, perpetrators?), and then characters coming from the Middle East, drawn by the movement and a desire to upend repressive regimes.
Personally, it felt me with a sense of how rare and how lucky it is to be born into worlds that don't push you into impossible corners, that allow you to live with dignity, with principle, and to love as you please.
I gave it four stars because ultimately, at least for me, it didn't have quite the same earth shattering impact of other Latin American literary giants, but I can't quite say why.
The arch of this story is so broad, it's like ten novels in one. At the root, it's about what we owe to each other and what we owe to this broader political project of society, and the way these two things tangle with each other in an un-winnable battle.
It's impossible not to see Venezuela's political cycles as the same as all the world over. What starts out with promise ends with repression, until the cycle begins again. Within that, the characters are forced to choose again and again whether to try and save those they love, or dedicate themselves to the bigger fight for a just world. What I appreciated about it is that the novel acknowledges that those choices are unbelievably hard, and it is impossible to know what the right thing is to do.
It also paints a picture of Latin America and the intersection of so many different stories there. Those of Native Americans, those of refugees from the Holocaust (as well as, I'm guessing, perpetrators?), and then characters coming from the Middle East, drawn by the movement and a desire to upend repressive regimes.
Personally, it felt me with a sense of how rare and how lucky it is to be born into worlds that don't push you into impossible corners, that allow you to live with dignity, with principle, and to love as you please.
I gave it four stars because ultimately, at least for me, it didn't have quite the same earth shattering impact of other Latin American literary giants, but I can't quite say why.
March 4, 2025
3.5- Freedom is a Feast is a paradox. The ending of the book is so strong and emotional, balancing the lives of the characters with their fraught surroundings. And yet, the beginning of the book is a slow mess, completely out of balance. It’s as if Alejandro Puyana learned to write while creating this text. Stanislavo is not an interesting protagonist for most of the book. He’s boring, a little dumb, and frustrating.
This book also starts out incredibly slow, and as soon as it gets interesting, it stops and starts again, somewhere new. As for the bombs—the principle of Chekov’s gun states that if a gun appears in act one, it better go off by act three. The bombs? They never go off, but instead get dumped in the river and that’s the end of that story line. It’s anticlimactic and boring, and all together frustrating.
However, the ending of this book is amazing. I wish Puyana had written the whole thing about Eloy and his struggles. I feel we get to know Eloy enough to care about him. It doesn’t feel them same for a lot of the other characters.
Anyway.
This book also starts out incredibly slow, and as soon as it gets interesting, it stops and starts again, somewhere new. As for the bombs—the principle of Chekov’s gun states that if a gun appears in act one, it better go off by act three. The bombs? They never go off, but instead get dumped in the river and that’s the end of that story line. It’s anticlimactic and boring, and all together frustrating.
However, the ending of this book is amazing. I wish Puyana had written the whole thing about Eloy and his struggles. I feel we get to know Eloy enough to care about him. It doesn’t feel them same for a lot of the other characters.
Anyway.
January 17, 2025
This powerful, epic novel is set in Venezuela and the story is revealed through two storylines that occur about 40 years apart. There is coverage of the Chavez administration along with associated unrest. There is a revolutionary journalist who falls in love but leaves the woman he loves to continue the fight.
Forty-years later a single mom is raising her young son alone by serving the wealthy as nanny and housekeeper. During the riots associated with a coup against Chavez a stray bullet wounds her son. In the chaos at the hospital she meets a newspaper editor. This man is called into emergency service to assist the doctor treating her son’s wound. Without even exchanging names this meeting will change the course of their lives.
There is heart-stopping tension, and heart-rending pathos joined by romance, politics, and coming of age awareness. Life is lived within the pages of this novel. It is vivid and unforgettable. So much here to love.
Forty-years later a single mom is raising her young son alone by serving the wealthy as nanny and housekeeper. During the riots associated with a coup against Chavez a stray bullet wounds her son. In the chaos at the hospital she meets a newspaper editor. This man is called into emergency service to assist the doctor treating her son’s wound. Without even exchanging names this meeting will change the course of their lives.
There is heart-stopping tension, and heart-rending pathos joined by romance, politics, and coming of age awareness. Life is lived within the pages of this novel. It is vivid and unforgettable. So much here to love.
May 19, 2025
This was my first foray into Latin American and historical fiction, and I was completely unprepared for how much it would move me.
There is so much weight in this novel—political, generational, emotional—and yet it never feels heavy. It’s grounded in war and revolution, yes, but what stayed with me most was the love. The kind that spans time, survives in memory, and roots itself in food, in letters, in silence.
I was especially struck by Stanislavo’s undelivered letter—how tender and soul-baring it was—and the closure he finally found at the grave. His grandson’s unwavering love for his soulmate felt like the spiritual answer to his grandfather’s unfinished longing. That thread, across generations, made something sacred out of heartbreak.
This book is full of brutality, but also full of grace. It reminded me that even in the darkest times, we make feasts—for our dead, for our ancestors, for the chance at a freer future.
Beautifully written. Painful and necessary. I’ll carry this one with me.
There is so much weight in this novel—political, generational, emotional—and yet it never feels heavy. It’s grounded in war and revolution, yes, but what stayed with me most was the love. The kind that spans time, survives in memory, and roots itself in food, in letters, in silence.
I was especially struck by Stanislavo’s undelivered letter—how tender and soul-baring it was—and the closure he finally found at the grave. His grandson’s unwavering love for his soulmate felt like the spiritual answer to his grandfather’s unfinished longing. That thread, across generations, made something sacred out of heartbreak.
This book is full of brutality, but also full of grace. It reminded me that even in the darkest times, we make feasts—for our dead, for our ancestors, for the chance at a freer future.
Beautifully written. Painful and necessary. I’ll carry this one with me.
May 22, 2025
What a beautiful, beautiful story, full of twists and turns and relatable humanity -- from the intellectual Stanislavo to the fierce Emiliana to the devoted Maria to the sweet, naive Eloy, all trying to navigate life in Venezuela through the many chapters of Chavez's ascent to power, presidency, and eventual legacy. Full of tragedy yet oddly hopeful that redemption and reconciliation are possible. I would recommend this book to anyone.
Spoiling nothing but the prologue: The story begins with a panicked street scene of a mother rushing to the hospital amidst riot crowds to try to save her son who has been shot, but we don't grasp the full context of that moment until hundreds of pages later, after the introduction of a variety of other characters and interwoven plot lines that culminate in an attempt to reconnect with a life a main character once daringly escaped. Full of action, dripping with descriptive prose, and yet somehow academic and thought-provoking in its analogues to the present as well.
Puyana delivers impressively in his debut.
Spoiling nothing but the prologue: The story begins with a panicked street scene of a mother rushing to the hospital amidst riot crowds to try to save her son who has been shot, but we don't grasp the full context of that moment until hundreds of pages later, after the introduction of a variety of other characters and interwoven plot lines that culminate in an attempt to reconnect with a life a main character once daringly escaped. Full of action, dripping with descriptive prose, and yet somehow academic and thought-provoking in its analogues to the present as well.
Puyana delivers impressively in his debut.
July 1, 2025
I knew within the first few pages that Freedom Is a Feast would be one of my all-times. The characters developed consistently through the very end, as did the plot. As I neared the end I asked myself how he would find a way to wrap this up and end the book. I admit that I was prepared to be disappointed. But then - he just did it. And it was perfect and satisfying but also deeply painful to have the people, places, and stories that I had become so invested in just stop, or rather, go on without me. I cannot wait for Alejandro Puyana's next book. Freedom Is a Feast is truly a gem, a masterpiece. Bravo!!
August 12, 2025
“Some mouths, [—], when they say your name, it’s as if they’re crossing it out with a red pen.”
💌 Thank you so much to the author, @apuyana for reaching out to me the publisher Back Bay Books (@littlebrown) for sending me a paperback copy of this moving novel.
🕊️ This is one of six titles being considered for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize.
This story spans decades, from the 1960s to early 2010s. It’s ambitious in scope and manages to highlight the natural landscape of Venezuela’s jungles (which is beautiful) as well as to illuminate the revolution. The author does this in such an impactful way through the perspectives of a young man (Stanislavo) who leaves a life of privilege for his convictions and his connection to a nurse (Emiliana) and fellow revolutionary.
The pace moves steadily and at times with urgency. I was, unfortunately, unfamiliar with the more specific struggles of the people here and this movement, but thanks to the novel I feel immersed in the class dynamics, familial turmoil and the waves that rippled through time in the wake of individual decisions. At a time when freedom is STILL be threatened and taken, and violence is prevalent as a tool of the oppressor — it’s the perfect time to read this story. It’s a good reminder that the work never ends, and there is hope IN the work.
I especially recommend this to people who love emotional, impactful, multi-generational stories. I’m so thankful I got a chance to read this and look forward to many more people ALSO doing so in the wake of its recent paperback release.
💌 Thank you so much to the author, @apuyana for reaching out to me the publisher Back Bay Books (@littlebrown) for sending me a paperback copy of this moving novel.
🕊️ This is one of six titles being considered for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize.
This story spans decades, from the 1960s to early 2010s. It’s ambitious in scope and manages to highlight the natural landscape of Venezuela’s jungles (which is beautiful) as well as to illuminate the revolution. The author does this in such an impactful way through the perspectives of a young man (Stanislavo) who leaves a life of privilege for his convictions and his connection to a nurse (Emiliana) and fellow revolutionary.
The pace moves steadily and at times with urgency. I was, unfortunately, unfamiliar with the more specific struggles of the people here and this movement, but thanks to the novel I feel immersed in the class dynamics, familial turmoil and the waves that rippled through time in the wake of individual decisions. At a time when freedom is STILL be threatened and taken, and violence is prevalent as a tool of the oppressor — it’s the perfect time to read this story. It’s a good reminder that the work never ends, and there is hope IN the work.
I especially recommend this to people who love emotional, impactful, multi-generational stories. I’m so thankful I got a chance to read this and look forward to many more people ALSO doing so in the wake of its recent paperback release.
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