Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Anita de Monte Laughs Last by Xochitl Gonzalez

51 reviews

nikkic66's review against another edition

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challenging emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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kelly_e's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Title: Anita de Monte Laughs Last
Author: Xóchitl González
Genre: Literary Fiction
Rating: 4.00
Pub Date: March 5, 2024

I received a complimentary ALC from Macmillan Audio via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. #Gifted #Ad

T H R E E • W O R D S

Theatrical • Electric • Haunting

📖 S Y N O P S I S

1985. Anita de Monte, a rising star in the art world, is found dead in New York City; her tragic death is the talk of the town. Until it isn’t. By 1998 Anita’s name has been all but forgotten—certainly by the time Raquel, a third-year art history student is preparing her final thesis. On College Hill, surrounded by progeny of film producers, C-Suite executives, and international art-dealers, most of whom float through life knowing that their futures are secured, Raquel feels herself an outsider. Students of color, like Raquel, are the minority there, and the pressure to work twice as hard for the same opportunities is no secret.

But when Raquel becomes romantically involved with a well-connected older art student, she finds herself unexpectedly rising up the social ranks. As she attempts to straddle both worlds, she stumbles upon Anita’s story, raising questions about the dynamics of her own relationship, which eerily mirrors that of the forgotten artist.

💭 T H O U G H T S

After being captivated by Xóchitl González's writing in her debut, Olga Dies Dreaming, I immediately added Anita de Monte Laughs Last to my list of anticipated releases for 2024. I was graciously offered an ALC, which I tandem read with the book once it was released.

The audiobook, narrated by a full cast of Jessica Pimentel, Jonathan Gregg, and Stacy Gonzalez is absolutely fantastic. I would even venture to say the narration takes this book to the next level. The narrators really bring their characters to life and I could hear the emotion of the narrative in their voices. Because the story is told from multiple perspectives and in a nonlinear fashion it was definitely easier for me to tandem read than listen alone.

The pacing starts out on the slow side, yet it builds steadily to a satisfying ending. I will admit to being slightly caught off guard by the ghost element, but somehow it fit perfectly into the narrative. There is ample commentary on race and womanhood and when the two stories start to converge the story gets stronger.

I don't know that I enjoyed this one as much as her debut, yet it was definitely worth my time. It's easy to imagine Anita de Monte Laughs Last transitioning to the big screen down the road. This book isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea, but it establishes Xóchitl González as a force in the literary world.

📚 R E A D • I F • Y O U • L I K E
• art history
• strong female characters

⚠️ CW: toxic relationship, domestic abuse, emotional abuse, physical abuse, racism, sexism, misogyny, classism, death, murder, cursing, drug use, drug abuse, alcohol, infidelity, mental illness, eating disorder, anorexia, body shaming, fatphobia

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"Everything worth doing hurts at least a little bit."

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bookish_in_bklyn's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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ali1311's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

I would have given this book five stars if the research afterward didn't leave me to find out that this book is alarmingly based off the true story of Ana Mendieta and that the author never reached out to the family...

What really stands out in this book is the audiobook narration. I've never listened to such a good audiobook before! I think it leveled the story up and made it never feel boring. The concept is really fascinating, and the way the past and present are intertwined was really interesting to watch. I found myself gasping and tearing up through much of this book. Sometimes it felt heavy handed with its own morals, but I didn't even mind that much. A really good read, but also very important to learn about the origin of the story and Ana Mendieta. I'm still shocked at just how much of this story is based off the real story. It felt like very little was fictionalized, and I'm grappling with how I feel about all of that.

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serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Anita de Monte Laughs Last was a fabulous read, an absorbing tale with an unforgettable character, a story that was really easy to sink into and which was exactly what I was craving when I picked it up. It is told from the perspectives of three different narrators - Anita de Monte, a Cuban artist whose life is tragically cut short, her American husband Jack Martin, a highly regarded artist, and Raquel an art history student who originally plans to write her thesis on Martin but becomes more interested in de Monte, her art and her death. This book has lots of smart things to say about race, class and gender, and about their intersection particularly in the world of art. The erasure of women, particularly women of colour, was a strong theme. Anita was such a fabulous character, full of fire, passion and energy, someone who lived for her art, believed in herself and her talent totally, but sadly seemed to have bad judgement when it came to men, one man in particular. Her rage was so justified and so wonderfully depicted. I’m not normally a fan of magical realism, the supernatural or of ghosts but this book is an exception. These elements were used to perfection; the ghost of Anita haunting Jack and knowing the best and most subtle ways to mess with his mind and totally piss him off was both hilarious and empowering. Jack himself was just awful - pretentious, with not nearly as much talent as he believed, threatened by Anita’s talent and rising success, controlling and abusive but, infuriatingly, able to use his privilege to avoid the consequences of his actions. Raquel’s storyline initially showed some alarming parallels with Anita’s and I worried she was in danger of losing herself to her white boyfriend, another sad example of masculinity. Thankfully she eventually wised up and I loved the way she fought for recognition of Anita’s work and challenged her professor on the way he and the rest of the art world ignored Anita and Jack’s connection to her death. It was to his credit that he acknowledged the validity of Raquel’s criticism.
This novel was a winner for me due to Anita, such a strong and memorable character, its entertaining storytelling and satisfying narrative arc, plus the thought proving, relevant themes. I just wish an author’s note had been included acknowledging Ana Mendieta, whose life, work and death served as an inspiration for Anita’s story.

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emmorantz's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful informative medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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mulhollen's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

I greatly enjoyed the book Anita de Monte Laughs Last. I listened to this on audiobook and the actors brought these characters to life. I couldn’t stop listening. I finished this book over a weekend while trying to squeeze it into any of my free time!

I loved the different point of views throughout the book of Anita, Jack, and Raquel.

However my rating for this book is lower as it was not clear this book was based off Ana Mendieta and her life. So much was mirrored to Anita’s life and even specific art, but Gonzalez wrote without consulting the family or mentioning her name. Feels hypocritical and similar to how Jack hides Anita’s work.

I keep my rating higher as it least accomplishes what Raquel does for Anita. Gets people talking about Ana! I probably would not have known her story without this book.

I hope Gonzalez and Mendieta family can work together and turn this into the dedication Ana deserves.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/02/style/ana-mendieta-family-estate.html

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