Ah I loved this book!! I keep trying to compare it to Olga Dies Dreaming but they are two different stories. In “Olga Dies Dreaming,” it felt like there was a lot going on with the story and at times I couldn’t get into it.

With “Anita De Monte Laughs Last” I wanted to keep reading and know what came next. I enjoyed the two women’s stories and getting to know them individually. While their love stories seemed parallel to each other, their personalities were different but they each faced racism and classism in the art world. I loved Raquel’s ending, her being able to find herself after Nick was amazing to read.

I listened to this book and would recommend the audio book because you get 3 different narrators who each did an amazing job with their respective character.

As a latina in academia this book was hard to read. There were so many things I heard as a PhD student like "you should be known by your research, not by your identity" and more. So I want to start by saying this is a great book, but if you are a latina in academia, you might get a bit anxious reading this.

The story is told from two view points Anita de Monte and Raquel. Raquel is an undergraduate student in the 98 while Anita was an artist in the 80s. Anita de Monte's career is taking off when she dies an 'untimely death'. Her chapters then explore her career, the influence of her husband in her life and how her own art influenced her husband's work. Meanwhile in 98 Raquel is trying to find a topic for her thesis and discovers the work of Anita de Monte... from there lots of things happen!

The story also deals with how women of color are fetishized by white men who feel like a white savior. Both Raquel and Anita have to deal with insecure men trying to control their work, their looks, and how they behave.

I received an audiobook of this book and as many other reviewers have pointed out the narrator for Anita de Monte is not good. She makes a lot of choices in terms of interpreting that should be left to reader (or listener in this case). At some points I had to lower the volume because she was screaming. So, I don't recommend the audiobook version.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

My internal dialogue as of late sounds like the narration of Anita… I’M OBSESSED! Like speechless… first off I’ll need a gorgeous copy to put next to Olga on my shelf but if you get the chance I highly recommend the audio! The characters really came to life…

Bits…
1980s/1990s
NYC
The Art World
Enough said… those bits 🔥

Add in the characters… Anita De Monte, young beautiful Cuban American artist in NYC 1980s with her career set to take off until she is found dead. Jump ahead to the 1990s Raquel a third year art history student preparing her final thesis. You start to see commonalities between these two characters. Going back in forth between the two women as well as a bit from Jack… Anita’s husband. It is fast paced. The talk of power/adoration and who has it and how should we separate the art from the artist… had me thinking this would pair well with Mosters: A Fan’s Dilemma by Claire Dederer.

Such a good read… I’m off to reread Olga Dies Dreaming now!

Thank you Macmillan Audio and Flatiron books for the ALC
Releases 3/5

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Xochitl Gonzalez has broken the five-star scale, no, shattered it to pieces with "Anita de Monte Laughs Last." This book is perfect; a whopping 10 million stars. The narrator? Pure brilliance. The audio version? A solid 20/10.

From the get-go, I was enthralled – infuriated, moved, and utterly captivated. The parallels between Raquel and Anita are like a literary dance, echoing the power of women in the world. Olga Dies Dreaming was one of my top reads of 2022. I was blown away by the sheer volume of themes Gonzalez could capture so skillfully in one novel
"Anita de Monte Laughs Last" is no different. The exploration of power, love, opportunity, feminism, and art is nothing short of extraordinary. Also, the supernatural in this....this story was woven by a literary GODDESS. I HIGHLY recommend this to fans of last year's hit "Yellowface", all the Dark Academia girlies, and literary queens.

I'm almost mad that I got my hands on this gem four months early because I'm dying to scream at everyone, "READ THIS RIGHT NOW." Xochitl Gonzalez is getting a shrine on my bookcase. "Anita de Monte Laughs at Last" is an absolute must-read for all people ever.

3.5 stars

Told through alternating POVs, set during two different times, this story is about two Latina women involved in the art world. The themes of this book include the struggles that Latina women experience navigating the world, especially as creatives in a white-male dominated industry. While I loved Olga Dies Dreaming, this one was not quite as good. I still thought some of the themes and plot points were important and interesting, but this was not as memorable of a story to me. The supernatural part was also an unexpected choice, and I am not sure how I feel about it. At times, I think it worked, but at others I found it a bit odd. As with other reviewers, I also wonder if the narration negatively impacted my experience, as it was a little over the top at times... maybe this is one to read instead.

I can’t even begin to say how much I love this book. Rising Cuban American artist Anita de Monte dies in 1985 (not a spoiler—it is discussed from the very first chapter) and her art quickly fades from the public eye. Her story is intertwined with that of Raquel, a young Puerto Rican American woman attending college at Brown University and studying art history in 1998. Both women struggle to find their way in a world of money and privilege. As she did in her debut novel, Olga Dies Dreaming, Gonzales writes with humor, insight, and great love for her characters.

Xochitl Gonzales spins a seductive dual time line and POV tale centering around the competitive and incestuous contemporary art scene.

We open to upcoming Cuban artist Anita de Monte narrating her own murder. Her husband is a wildly successful, socially connected artist and the main suspect. This is a huge scandal in the 1980s art world--until it gets swept under the rug. In a separate time line, we follow Raquel, a third year art history student at Brown University in 1998. Raquel feels like an outsider amongst the privilege of her Ivy League counterparts. When she falls in love with Nick, a socially connected artist, doors open for her. We see similarities amongst the dual time lines as they march toward convergence.

What I loved:
-The absolute accuracy of late 90s race culture, diet culture, and WASPy power. I lived through it, and it definitely felt real!
-The mystical nature of Anita and she gets her final laugh.
-A peak into the art world. I have no bearings here, and it was fun to be a fly on the wall of all the drama.

I felt the book dragged a little in the middle section, but I enjoyed the stark look at racism, privilege, and power. I loved Olga Dies Dreaming as well. I think Gonzalez may be an auto-read author for me!

Thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for an Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for feedback. This book debuts March 5, 2024!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This audiobook was so, so good. I wish I could give it ten stars but unfortunately the scales cap at five stars.

This story is told through three different perspectives and timelines, mostly in the last century - Anita de Monte, a Cuban artist who details her life, art, and death in the mid-eighties, her husband Jack Martin’s version of the story, and finally Raquel Torres, an honors art history student studying Jack Martin at Brown University in 1998.

Anita and Jack have a tumultuous relationship, and Anita has her own struggles as a Cuban-American artist at a time when art is ruled pretty firmly by white men. She must eke out her own recognition, while Jack is often handed opportunities with little effort on his part and little recognition that the same rules don’t apply to all. When Jack and Anita argue, and Jack throws Anita out a window, leading to her death, her energy and voice seem like they might be silenced. But thank goodness!! We hear from Anita from beyond the grave.

Raquel, proudly from NYC, raised by her mom, and close to her sister, Toni struggles to feel like she is fitting in at Brown. She is contending with the Art History girls, life at the radio station, and further into the story, a new relationship. It’s hard for her as she feels like somewhat of an outsider on campus due to race and privilege elements that are prevalent.

My only beef is that the author chose SUNY Buffalo as a contrast example for Brown and UB didn’t come out sounding as great as I would have liked. The most desirable of the least desirable type of title. I know even being in the same category as Brown is a stretch, but UB is a great school! Okay, it’s not really anything that impacts the plot or the ending but I had to say it. Leave UB alone!!

I listened to the audiobook version, courtesy of NetGalley in exchange for an honest review and I was BLOWN AWAY. As usual with a good audiobook, I sobbed, I laughed and I was whole again. But this time there was more meat to the story. More to take away abs think about. This is not just for pure entertainment value, Gonzalez is making a point here with her work. And it’s an intelligent point that deserves listening to. So on an intellectual level, I was very satisfied with this work. Entertainment wise, it was a success as well. The narrators were great. I really enjoyed each of the different perspectives they brought to the performance.

This was a terrific, absolutely fantastic audiobook. I cannot sing high enough praises. I think it should be a required listen for all high school students. For all art enthusiasts. For all humans. And bats too.

OH WOW! The emotions that came through my earbuds when listening to this were all-encompassing. I was angry, proud, heartbroken, and scared for thirteen and a half hours. What a way to be introduced to Xochitl Gonzalez...yes I am now a huge fan. The writing was masterful; the readers see the differences in upbringings and cultures. We feel the hurt, anger, and anxiety. (as someone who went to art school...there is A LOT of fear and self-doubt in the studios) We see that sometimes the self-doubt comes through as ego, and the ego controls a character and then a monster that controls friends and family. Anita de Monte Laughs Last is such a layered story that I will listen to it again!

The narration...PERFECT cast..yes, a cast! I can't imagine anyone else reading this story. Jessica Pimentel, Jonathan Gregg, and Stacy Gonzalez did an outstanding job.

Thank you, NetGalley and Macmillan Audio, for the Audio ARC.

"Anita de Monte Laughs Last" is a wonderful second novel by Xochitl Gonzalez, which I enjoyed even more than her debut. This is a funny and captivating book which caused me to laugh out loud several times and also to be engaged with the characters to want to see what would happen next. I really appreciated the stories of Raquel set in the 1990s and Anita de Monte set in the 1980s. I listened to the audiobook (courtesy of an ARC through netGalley) and was also really impressed with the three narrators and how the voices and accents helped the different characters to come across in full depth. Highly recommended.

What a great book and fantastic narrators! Xochitl Gonzalez has written another bombshell with great characters, a murder mystery, and a little magic thrown in. Jessica Pimentel and Stacy Gonzalez do such an amazing job of drawing you in to Anita and Raquel as they struggle in their different timelines to hold on to and grow into themselves that it's hard to stop listening. 4.5 big stars for this title and I will start recommending this title to patrons now so they can get ahead of what I know will be a huge holds list! Huge thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the early listen in exchange for my honest opinion.

Firstly, thank you to Macmillan Audio for the ALC in exchange for an honest review. As a big fan of Olga Dies Dreaming, I couldn't wait to read this. I really love Gonzalez's writing style and ability to make her characters feel so real. Unfortunately I found this to be a bit disjointed and would have loved it more if it was arranged chronologically.

"Anita de Monte Laughs Last" is a part historical fiction book, part literary fiction book, part social critique and above all of a Women's literature book.

Anita is a rising artist of color married to a famous white male artist in the 1980's when she mysteriously dies (did she jump or was she pushed)? Fast forward to modern day when Raquel, another art student is living an eerie-ly parallel life to Anita.

It was fun and witty story with scathing social remarks quietly slipped onto the pages.

Thank you Natgalley and Macmillan audio for the free ALC in exchange for my honest review. I cant put a finger on what exactly i didnt enjoy but i think it gelt very slow and i had it at 2.5x speed. I loved the previous book ny the author. I will definitely try their next book

3.5/5

I love it when a book makes me so curious about a subject that a google search ensues. Anita de Monte reminded me vaguely of a true and crazy story I had heard on the art circuits of new york back in the 80s. It was so reminiscent of the books opening premise *slight spoiler ahead* the foreshadow that our heroine, Anita de Monte, falls to her tragic death off of a roof in NYC after a quarrel with her partner, also an artist. Spiraling back down the google hole I once found myself in years ago I remembered Ana Mendieta, whose work also revolves around the body--something our protagonist makes clear about her style. A cuban exile who came to the US, fell in love with a tumultuous male artist who is, in some circles, accused of pushing her off the building. I was proud and charmed to find out that this artist was indeed the inspiration for Xochitl Gonzalez's de Monte and loved her expansion of this tragic premise into a multigenerational time line. The audio book is a rich and passionately narrated experience, another great read to start off the year!

I was so excited when I heard Xóchitl González was releasing another book — because I needed to be wrecked all over again like I was post-Olga Dies Dreaming.

Xóchitl's books have a powerful way of speaking to experiences that are nearly universal to Latine people making lives in the U.S., and Anita de Monte Laughs Last is a stunning example of that. Through the parallel timelines of Anita y Raquel, I saw so much of my life experiences, my mom's, my abuela's, and my friends'.

I thoroughly enjoyed and loved the characterizations of all the main players in this book, even the side ones like Tilly, Nick's parents, and the professors were fascinating to me.

I only wish there had been a more in-depth study of Anita on Raquel's part that we got to see in the novel. I kept looking at the percentage thinking "when is she gonna find out about Anita??" and was sad to see that most of her research and writing about her takes place behind the scenes/in a time period that isn't really portrayed in the book. Not a huge qualm, it's just something I was excited about and very interested in.

I loved all the narrators — the voice for Anita was especially perfect!

Also, THE BAT! Hands down my favorite aspect of this story.

This was simply incredible from start to finish. This novel surrounds two parallel timelines with similar couplings and a crime in the timeline of the past. This novel includes mystery, intrigue, art, family dynamics and so on, The multiple layers that the author was able to create and move the story along was masterful. I enjoyed her prior novel but this was just so much more than I expected! I found myself mentally yelling at the characters, questioning if events on paper actually occurred until the very end. I highly recommend this novel. 5 plus stars!

i'll preface my review by saying that i loved olga dies dreaming and found that some of the (minor) flaws of that book were present and amplified in this one and so i ended up... not loving it. i'll say that this isn't a bad book, it's just not for me, but my criticisms are:

1. the book is way too long, though i think most books are too long generally. i get the mirroring of raquel and anita's experiences, of course, but the book was 3/4 over before the book brought those threads together and the ending felt really rushed.
2. i felt... i suppose, left cold by the characterization of anita and jack's relationship. did they always hate each other? why did they get married? we saw them meet, but not develop a relationship, and in a book this long/slow/character-focused it felt like an omission. obviously they had a volatile and abusive relationship, but the way it was characterized was really one-note. anita and jack as characters also felt one-note in that way.
3. i am becoming intolerant of how prevalent disordered eating themes are in books about women, and i actually didn't mind it as much in this one because i did think the characterization of raquel and nick's relationship made it make sense, BUT in the context of...
4. the constant description of jack as fat, horrible and ugly made me think, oh, this is a fatphobic/bad body image thing happening in this book. obviously he's a big time villain and i'm not saying the book has to be nice to him, but it's.... not good. you can have a character who is a monster and describe them without mentioning every time that they're fat and disgusting to the other characters. it made me have less empathy for those characters when of course i wanted to have empathy for them!


the things i liked:
1. i liked raquel as a character a lot and liked being in her head
2. the idea and plot of the book is great and compelling, but it's not a plot-based book
3. raquel's life at brown and her friend group there was really wonderfully drawn and i loved all the characters

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this book.

Oh my goodness! Gonzalez has done it AGAIN!! What an amazing book! I could not put this book down! The storyline was great! The characters are amazing! The BAT! Love her! lol This was such an amazing book. I almost never give books 5 stars but this one is a 5 star read if ever I saw one! I highly recommend!

Thank you to @NetGalley and @Celadonbooks for letting me read this ebook in advance in exchange for my honest review.

This book was a complete surprise.

I enjoyed the two parallel stories of Anita and Raquel. Both stories of being minorities within the art world and being dismissed and ignored by their white male counterparts. They both had to find their own way and make their own happy ending.

The relationship from Jack and Anita had fire, passion and fight within both of them. It was entertaining and well written. The second half of Anita and Jacks POV seemed like a fantasy book, which is where the author kinda lost me. I did appreciate the petty actions of Anita, that part had me laughing out loud.

Raquel in her POV, I enjoyed the build up of her love life and the hardships between his world and hers. The self discovery,  self respect and bravery was a great ending to her story. Im sad it took her so long, but Im glad she did what she did.

Interesting book that took me by surprise