Xochitl Gonzalez’s sophomore novel is a sweeping story that swings between the ’80s and ’90s and travels from Cuba to New York to Spain and everywhere in between. Artist Anita de Monte is on the rise when she’s found dead in New York City. And just like that, her renown is buried with her. That is, until over a decade later, when Brown University student Raquel Toro starts working on her final thesis. Behind her examination of another artist lies Anita de Monte’s forgotten legacy. But before she can reveal the full and beautiful extent of de Monte’s work, she must first confront the unsettling similarities between de Monte’s story and her own.
Anita de Monte Laughs Last is a sharp and gripping examination of the cost of acceptance, and of the reality of having to work twice as hard for the same opportunities. This book is equal parts frustrating and joyous, driven by two mesmerizing heroines who refuse to let fear stop them from bringing ugly truths to light, or from making the people in charge uncomfortable. Gonzalez and her characters are a force to be reckoned with.
Image Via Flatiron Books
