Reviews

Anita de Monte Laughs Last by Xochitl Gonzalez

jessbishai's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.5

sachacha's review against another edition

It was hard getting into this book. I really wanted to continue but I got bogged down by the details sometimes and bored by Anita and her husband's chapters. 

qbnmamaslays's review against another edition

5.0

I thought this book was fantastic touching on so many important issues. It made me look into the work of the Cuban artist Ana Mendieta which heavily influenced the part of Anita.

I would argue she was forgotten. I’m from a family of Cuban refugees and none of us knew of her.

I saw some reviews with people upset that the family wasn’t consulted but this book is not a biography - it is also art. Ana’s story doesn’t belong to her family and no one knows what Ana would have wanted except that she wanted her art seen. And now it will be - to much wider audience.

mwelp's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful inspiring fast-paced

5.0

kerbawy1's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes

5.0

_e_reads's review against another edition

dark mysterious

4.75

zamreads's review against another edition

funny tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

This was a fun one. Definitely enjoyed it and even stayed up to keep reading. There are two main women's stories (Anita de Monte, an artist found dead in 1985) and Raquel Toro (an Art History student at Brown in 1998) each grappling in different ways with asserting their own identities as Latinas in institutions shaped by rich white people (especially men). Several funny moments with a serious enough undercurrent about belonging, representation, and memory to keep me in it. Nothing revolutionary new, but engaging.

cwalden's review against another edition

emotional inspiring fast-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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Murder, and Death

kpearlman's review against another edition

emotional inspiring mysterious 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

jordan21's review against another edition

funny inspiring lighthearted reflective 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? Yes

4.5