21st Century Literature discussion

In addition to the Open pick and the Wild Card pick, for July we will be reading The Feast of the Goat by Nobel laureate Mario Vargas Llosa.

The Feast of the Goat is Varga Llosa's historical novel about the 31 year dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo in the Dominican Republic.

Please come by and join in the discussion!

"...a book of harrowing power and lasting resonance." --The New York Times.

"In The Feast of the Goat, Vargas Llosa paints a portrait that is darkly comic, poignant, admirable and horrifying all at once." --Los Angeles Times

a "'masterpiece of Latin American and world literature, and one of the finest political novels ever written" --Bookforum

I thoroughly enjoyed a risque, hilarious, burlesque novel Captain Pantoja and the Special Service: A Novel; thus, I am looking forward to another Llosa read.

Zulfiya wrote: "I thoroughly enjoyed a risque, hilarious, burlesque novel Captain Pantoja and the Special Service: A Novel; thus, I am looking forward to another Llosa read."

This one is just a teensy bit less light-hearted...

I know - other books are much more pessimistic and dreary; occasionally they are often existentially painful ...

Interesting! I loved Junot Díaz's take on the Trujillo-regime in "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao", so I'm looking forward to this one.

Had Llosa on my list for a long time, but never read anything. Looks like a good place to start. I'm in.

Have this book on a shelf waiting to be read, so I'm in - if I can locate which shelf it is sitting on!

Count me in. I'm a Vargas Llossa fan but haven't read this one yet. I also have a special interest in that bit of history as my Dominican brother-in-law lived through it and was deeply affected by it.

Great, this is promising to be a good discussion!

My book has arrived! Looking forward! It is quite possible I will start today - it is the only way I can catch up with multiple reads and discussions going on.

Linda wrote: "Have this book on a shelf waiting to be read, so I'm in - if I can locate which shelf it is sitting on!"

I know what you mean, Linda! I started to say much the same thing -- then realized I'd better check that The Feast of the Goat really was one of Llosa's that I had picked up at a bookstore close-out some time ago, but haven't read. It is -- which is part of why I didn't vote on the open pick for July. Llosa it is going to be IAAP.

His The Perpetual Orgy is a favorite reference of mine when reading Flaubert's Madame Bovary. On the other hand, I've tried Llosa's variation, The Bad Girl a couple of times and still haven't succeeded in engaging in the read. Hope to try at least one more time. (Llosa is a Flaubert aficionado.)