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A review by fruity_flavor
Anita de Monte Laughs Last by Xochitl Gonzalez
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
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? Yes
4.75
4.75 stars!
this book tells the story of anita de monte (heavily, HEAVILY based on real life cuban artist ana mendita; more on that later!), a cuban artist who is killed by her husband, jack martin, and later goes on to systemically erase her from the art world. twined with this story is that of raquel, a first generation art history major at brown university who struggles with being one of the only women of color in a very white field with white washed history and becomes romantically involved with an older student, who turns out to be not what she expected.
this book was very good! the narration was done very well, especially with anita's narrator, who ATE LIKE THE RENT WAS DUE!!!! i found the characters to be very well written and dynamic, each one wormed their way into my heart and refused to leave it, especially raquel and anita. the topics discussed by the author were crucial and important, those of the women of color (and people of color, period) who are forgotten or dismissed because their reflections on the world differ from the mainstream white view. this book deals heavily with that and the author was able to write in a very deep impactful way. she also managed to write a very accurate representation of an emotionally abusive relationship with raquel. raquel was constantly being put down by nick, and we were able to see her change throughout the novel as she conformed to what he wanted her to be. alongside this we see the reflection of anita, in an emotionally and physically abusive relationship with jack, though she fights for herself and identity outside of him, which ends up getting her killed. the book showcases just how bad men with power (white men) can be when they take thier insecurites out on others, who often happen to be women of color.
now my gripes 😔 i found jack's chapters to be laggy. i know why they were important but GODDAMN. everyone else's chapters were fascinating, though in the latter half of the book i found raquel's to be more compelling, but jack's were slow and i felt fucked with the just a tad. whenever it was his chapter i rolled my eyes and had to a take a deep breath and pray for it to be over. perhaps that was the point? but i have no clue.
my other gripe? the similarity in this story to the real life cuban artist ana mendieta. now i had just starting reading the book when i looked on goodreads and saw the controversy with the author. for those who don't know, the author gonzalez basically took mendieta's story and just changed the names. all details are nearly identical and gonzalez did not credit mendieta at all until later versions where she dedicated the book to her. gonzalez did not even speak to mendieta's family, who are keeping her name alive as well as showcasing her work. after reading this i googled mendieta, and it was crazy to see how many details were EXACTLY the same. anita, ana. both artists use body prints, both died via window with husband acting suspicious, husband not calling police for hours after the she fell, husband choosing to exclude the jury and have a judge only hearing, etc. all the same. if the author was trying to make a point and tell the story of ana (and changed names to not het sued) i get that, and telling her story is awesome, but to base practically ALL of your books on a real life woman who's life was tragically cut short and to not even have an author's note talking about her? rude as fuck to be quite honest. and to only mention her first name in the dedication? dude, c'mon. the author is proving the point she made in her own book- a woman of color's image and art being used by someone who is not her family and done untruthfully.
gonzalez is an amazing author, and i think i will check out more of her books in the future, but please give credit where credit is due!
check ana medieta's works here btw! the moma has a page on her and her works!
<a href="https://www.moma.org/artists/3924-ana-mendieta"> Ana Mendieta </a>
this book tells the story of anita de monte (heavily, HEAVILY based on real life cuban artist ana mendita; more on that later!), a cuban artist who is killed by her husband, jack martin, and later goes on to systemically erase her from the art world. twined with this story is that of raquel, a first generation art history major at brown university who struggles with being one of the only women of color in a very white field with white washed history and becomes romantically involved with an older student, who turns out to be not what she expected.
this book was very good! the narration was done very well, especially with anita's narrator, who ATE LIKE THE RENT WAS DUE!!!! i found the characters to be very well written and dynamic, each one wormed their way into my heart and refused to leave it, especially raquel and anita. the topics discussed by the author were crucial and important, those of the women of color (and people of color, period) who are forgotten or dismissed because their reflections on the world differ from the mainstream white view. this book deals heavily with that and the author was able to write in a very deep impactful way. she also managed to write a very accurate representation of an emotionally abusive relationship with raquel. raquel was constantly being put down by nick, and we were able to see her change throughout the novel as she conformed to what he wanted her to be. alongside this we see the reflection of anita, in an emotionally and physically abusive relationship with jack, though she fights for herself and identity outside of him, which ends up getting her killed. the book showcases just how bad men with power (white men) can be when they take thier insecurites out on others, who often happen to be women of color.
now my gripes 😔 i found jack's chapters to be laggy. i know why they were important but GODDAMN. everyone else's chapters were fascinating, though in the latter half of the book i found raquel's to be more compelling, but jack's were slow and i felt fucked with the just a tad. whenever it was his chapter i rolled my eyes and had to a take a deep breath and pray for it to be over. perhaps that was the point? but i have no clue.
my other gripe? the similarity in this story to the real life cuban artist ana mendieta. now i had just starting reading the book when i looked on goodreads and saw the controversy with the author. for those who don't know, the author gonzalez basically took mendieta's story and just changed the names. all details are nearly identical and gonzalez did not credit mendieta at all until later versions where she dedicated the book to her. gonzalez did not even speak to mendieta's family, who are keeping her name alive as well as showcasing her work. after reading this i googled mendieta, and it was crazy to see how many details were EXACTLY the same. anita, ana. both artists use body prints, both died via window with husband acting suspicious, husband not calling police for hours after the she fell, husband choosing to exclude the jury and have a judge only hearing, etc. all the same. if the author was trying to make a point and tell the story of ana (and changed names to not het sued) i get that, and telling her story is awesome, but to base practically ALL of your books on a real life woman who's life was tragically cut short and to not even have an author's note talking about her? rude as fuck to be quite honest. and to only mention her first name in the dedication? dude, c'mon. the author is proving the point she made in her own book- a woman of color's image and art being used by someone who is not her family and done untruthfully.
gonzalez is an amazing author, and i think i will check out more of her books in the future, but please give credit where credit is due!
check ana medieta's works here btw! the moma has a page on her and her works!
<a href="https://www.moma.org/artists/3924-ana-mendieta"> Ana Mendieta </a>