Reviews with content warning for Body shaming - Anita de Monte Laughs Last

Following two parallel stories set a decade apart, Anita de Monte Laughs Last dives deep into the themes of art, ego, racism, classism, feminism, and love. And Xochitl Gonzalez does this with such brilliant wit that the book had me literally laughing out loud one second, and then dropping my mouth in astonishment in the next.

What I loved:
- The audiobook narration. If you can listen to this one, I highly recommend it. The book rotates between three different narrators, all of whom bring so much life and passion to the characters' voices.
- The characters: Anita de Monte is the queen of revenge, and I loved every second of it. Beyond the title character, though, Gonzalez has created a full cast of characters whom you love to love and/or love to hate.
- The way the author depicts the art world: I'll admit--I know nothing about the art world, art history, or art genres, but it didn't matter at all. Gonzalez swept me up into this world, and even though I was coming in with no prior knowledge, I felt like I understood it all. The elitism, the b.s., the racism--all of it was so well illustrated that I could see these scenes playing out in my mind as if I were standing there in those very galleries.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for my advanced listener copy!

Content Warnings

kallsypage's review against another edition

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Plot- or character-driven? Character
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy.

In 1980s New York City, Cuban American artist Anita de Monte is a rising star in the art world just as the art career of Jack, her arrogant husband, is fading from the spotlight. That is until she is found dead outside of her apartment. Although her untimely death made waves, her memory, her art, and her name were soon forgotten by most.

In 1998, Raquel is an art history student battling with the feeling that no matter how hard she works, she is still seen as an outsider in the pretentious art world that is still largely uninclusive. As she works on her final thesis, Raquel begins to notice parallels between her own life and relationship with Anita's life and relationship.

The story is told by Anita, Raquel, and Jack in two different timelines. Xóchitl González does such a fantastic job of giving each of these characters their own unique voices through her writing style and the audiobook has fantastic narrators that bring the characters even more to life.

There were so many times I wanted to scream while reading (listening) this book and jump in the pages to shake some of the characters. If I had a physical copy of the book I probably would have thrown it a time or two (and please know I mean this as a high compliment!). I went through so many emotions while reading this book and it will be sticking with me for a long time!

Content Warnings

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