Reviews with content warning for Eating disorder - Anita de Monte Laughs Last

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Anita de Monte Laughs Last by Xochitl Gonzalez

47 reviews

bestknownfor's review against another edition

dark funny reflective 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

Took a little while to get going but I really like where it went. The character voices are so vivid and distinctive. My only complaint is I would've liked more nuance to Belinda's character. In a story full of complex and contradictory people, she felt a little too straightforward and neat.

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bekkah_co's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

This book was a challenge for me at the start. The writing was dense and the bulk of the characters within the book were awful-even those I believe we were meant to like. I wish I liked Anita's character more, something I will loop back to in a moment. Jack and Nick, while genuinely awful, are awful in their own degrees. The people Anita and Raquel both surround themselves with mostly sucks.

I wish more characters had substance instead of falling into their archetypes. Jack was a cut and paste villain from a Lifetime movie. I hated it. He was someone that could have easily had depth, given the time we spent in his POV. He would have been someone easy to make not just villain shitty, but scary villain shitty It wasn't until Anita's death that we began to break away from the general "villain" vibes.

Anita was frustrating in the most understandable away. I would change nothing about her, frankly. I just wish we knew more about her art and the conflicts with the art world that she had while alive. Instead, I felt like all of her problems were caused by Jack...

which is fair, given he killed her.

Raquel was equally as frustrating. She was insta-loved with Nick and I hated it. While Nick wasn't "that bad" at the start, after she was consistently belittled and continued to excuse his behavior, I was over it. I wanted more time with Raquel and her work. I wanted to see her researching Anita and bringing someone who was lost to time back. I wisht that was the focus of the book.

It wasn't until the last quarter of the book that I found myself enjoying the book for its content. I wish that this book focused more on the premise of Raquel

discovering Anita through Belinda. I feel like this came in way too late in the narrative for the blurb to mention Raquel seeing the parallels between herself and Anita.

It was mostly for the reader, not the characters. Going into this as a BOTM pick, I thought this was what it was going to be: A parallel timeline of discovery. I thought it would be Raquel's discovery leading to the unfolding of Anita's story. I wish it was that.

The ending was exceptional. It was what one would expect for contemporary fiction. It was artful and ultimately satisfying.

Xochitl Gonzalez is a talented writer. The writing of Anita de Monte Laughs Last is phenomenal, but I can understand how it could be difficult for some other readers.

Now, with all this being said, upon looking at reviews here and on Goodreads, it does appear that there is some controversy surrounding this novel. Apparently, the "Ana" that is mentioned in the dedication is in reference to a real artist, Ana Mendieta. Ana's own death at the hands of her husband appears to be the "inspiration" between Anita's death. However, after researching further on my own, I struggled to distinguish between fact and fiction - from their art to their shitty husbands.

Gonzalez did not consult the Mendieta estate regarding the similarities between Ana and the fictional Anita. Gonzalez centers Anita's story on being forgotten and having to be unearthed by a new generation. However, Mendieta's family has vehemently argued against Ana being forgotten.

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rltcoach's review against another edition

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dark emotional inspiring mysterious tense 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

5.0

I really loved this book. Extremely well-developed characters growing through some very intense topics worthy of discussion! I hope there's a follow-up!

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