Pretty gruesome and brutal 

A gut punch of a book.  An historical fiction set in a few different eras (the end of Trujillo-era Dominican Republic, reminiscences of earlier years in the regime, and in the mid-late-90's) and told from varying perspectives (fictionalized Urania Cabral, Trujillo himself, and the actual individuals involved in his assassination) reflects on the nature of authoritarianism, power, machismo, and sex in a pretty devastating way.

Vargas Llosa (himself a somewhat controversial figure) does an incredible job of stripping away the veneer of the cult of personality surrounding Rafael Trujillo, exposing him for the power-seeking pig that he was, and demonstrating the spineless sycophancy of the supposed greatest minds of the nation surrounding him during his reign of terror.  After time, the consolidation of power, backed by the threat of horrendous and violent reprisals, casts the focus of that power into an ever-devolving state of self-righteousness and easy justification for all actions because there are no consequences.

I think what was done superbly well was the telling of the small, individual stories of the victims of this system, and the long-lasting effects it had (and still has) on people.  This sort of corruption is not only political and economic, but emotional and spiritual.

About halfway through you figure out how it's going to end, and it's no less heartbreaking for that.  The narrative structure allows for a taught, dread-inducing story that makes the reader (or at least me) think - what kind of system do I live in and how does it shape who I am?

Anyway, if you're a fan of historical fiction, Cold War politics, Latin American history, drama, reflections on family/power/sex, etc., definitely give this a read.

My first book from Mario Vargas Llosa, the writing and details to make this historical fiction based on facts come to life was very interesting, the last 50 pages were incredibly intense but hard to put down.