Anita de Monte Laughs Last by Xochitl Gonzalez

Xochitl Gonzalez’s sophomore novel “Anita de Monte Laughs Last” is a tour de force that will leave you breathless, angry, and ultimately uplifted. Following the runaway success of her debut “Olga Dies Dreaming,” Gonzalez proves she’s no one-hit wonder with this mesmerizing tale that weaves together the lives of two Latina artists separated by decades but united in their struggles against a world determined to silence them.

The Story: A Haunting Echo Across Time

At its core, “Anita de Monte Laughs Last” is a ghost story – but not in the way you might expect. In 1985, rising art star Anita de Monte plunges to her death from a New York City high-rise, her passing barely a blip on the cultural radar. Fast forward to 1998, and we meet Raquel Toro, a whip-smart art history student at an Ivy League university (which feels an awful lot like Brown, Gonzalez’s own alma mater).

Raquel’s world is turned upside down when she stumbles upon Anita’s forgotten legacy while researching her thesis on minimalist icon Jack Martin. As Raquel delves deeper into Anita’s story, uncanny parallels emerge between their lives. Both women navigate treacherous waters as Latina artists in a world dominated by wealthy white men. Both find themselves entangled with charismatic, controlling partners who threaten to eclipse their own artistic voices.

Gonzalez masterfully alternates between Anita and Raquel’s perspectives, creating a haunting echo effect that spans generations. We witness Anita’s meteoric rise and tragic fall in the cutthroat 1980s New York art scene, while following Raquel’s coming-of-age journey through the halls of academia and into the arms of Nick Fitzsimmons, a golden boy with a dark streak.

The Writing: A Canvas Alive with Color

Gonzalez’s prose crackles with energy, effortlessly capturing the frenetic pulse of New York City and the suffocating atmosphere of elite academic circles. Her descriptions of artwork leap off the page, making you wish you could step into a museum and see these fictional pieces with your own eyes.

What truly sets this novel apart is Gonzalez’s gift for voice. Anita and Raquel are fully realized characters, their inner monologues brimming with wit, passion, and vulnerability. Even minor characters feel lived-in, each with their own distinct cadence and quirks.

The author doesn’t shy away from difficult topics, tackling racism, classism, and domestic violence head-on. Yet there’s a refreshing lack of preachiness—Gonzalez trusts her readers to draw their own conclusions from the often brutal realities her characters face.

Themes: The Personal is Political (and Artistic)

“Anita de Monte Laughs Last” is a novel obsessed with power dynamics. Who gets to create art? Whose stories are deemed worthy of preservation? How do race, class, and gender intersect to elevate some voices while silencing others?

Gonzalez explores these weighty questions through deeply personal lenses. We see how Anita’s relationship with the domineering Jack Martin slowly erodes her sense of self, even as it opens doors to the art world’s inner sanctum. Meanwhile, Raquel grapples with imposter syndrome and the pressure to assimilate into her wealthy, predominantly white university environment.

The novel also serves as a biting critique of the art world’s gatekeepers. Gallery owner Tilly Barber emerges as a particularly fascinating antagonist—a woman who has clawed her way to the top, only to become complicit in perpetuating the very systems that once held her back.

Characters: A Vibrant Cast

While Anita and Raquel rightfully take center stage, the supporting characters are far from afterthoughts. Standouts include:

• Belinda Kim: A trailblazing Korean-American curator who becomes Raquel’s mentor and ally.
• Mavette: Raquel’s enigmatic classmate, straddling the line between friend and frenemy.
• Jomar: Anita’s loyal friend and confidant, offering a window into the 1980s queer art scene.
• Nick Fitzsimmons: Raquel’s boyfriend, whose charm masks a fragile ego and inherited prejudices.

Even seemingly minor characters, like Raquel’s mother Irma or the acerbic Professor John Temple, feel fully realized. Gonzalez has a knack for revealing volumes about a person through small, telling details.

Structure: A Ghostly Waltz

The novel’s structure is ambitious, with Anita and Raquel’s storylines dancing around each other in an intricate temporal waltz. We begin firmly in Raquel’s 1998 world, but as she uncovers more about Anita, the 1980s timeline gains prominence.

Gonzalez employs a unique device, allowing Anita’s ghost to occasionally narrate from beyond the grave. These spectral interludes could have felt gimmicky in less skilled hands, but here they add a layer of bittersweet poignancy to the proceedings. Anita’s inability to directly intervene in Raquel’s life, even as she sees history threatening to repeat itself, is genuinely heartbreaking.

The Verdict: A Must-Read Triumph

“Anita de Monte Laughs Last” is that rare novel that manages to be both a gripping page-turner and a deeply thoughtful examination of art, power, and identity. Gonzalez has crafted a story that will resonate with anyone who has ever felt like an outsider, while offering a scathing critique of the systems that perpetuate inequality.

This is a book that will make you laugh, cry, and most importantly, think. It’s the kind of novel that lingers in your mind long after you’ve turned the final page, urging you to look at the world—and the art that fills it—with fresh eyes.

If you enjoyed Gonzalez’s “Olga Dies Dreaming,” you’ll find familiar themes of Latinx identity and generational trauma explored here with even greater nuance. Fans of Donna Tartt’s “The Secret History” or Zadie Smith’s “On Beauty” will appreciate the novel’s exploration of class and academia. And for those who loved the art world setting of “The Goldfinch,” Gonzalez offers an equally immersive (but far more diverse) look behind the gallery walls.

In the end, “Anita de Monte Laughs Last” lives up to its title. It’s a triumphant reclamation of forgotten voices, a celebration of the power of art to transcend death, and a reminder that sometimes the most revolutionary act is simply to create on your own terms. Gonzalez has cemented her place as one of the most exciting voices in contemporary fiction, and I can’t wait to see what she does next.

A Few Nitpicks (Because No Book is Perfect)

While “Anita de Monte Laughs Last” is a stunning achievement, there are a few minor quibbles worth mentioning:

• The pacing occasionally falters in the middle section, as Raquel’s relationship drama threatens to overshadow the more compelling art world intrigue.
• Some readers might find the ghostly narration device a bit too whimsical for the otherwise grounded tone of the novel.
• A few of the art world details feel slightly anachronistic for the 1980s/90s setting, though this is unlikely to bother anyone but the most devoted art historians.

These are small complaints in the grand scheme of things, and they do little to diminish the novel’s overall impact.

Final Thoughts: Art as Resistance, Art as Memory

In a world that often seems determined to forget, “Anita de Monte Laughs Last” serves as a powerful reminder of art’s ability to preserve stories, to challenge power structures, and to connect us across time and space. Gonzalez has written a love letter to creativity itself, while never shying away from the very real costs of pursuing one’s artistic vision in a hostile world.

This is a novel that demands to be discussed, debated, and shared. Book clubs will find endless fodder for conversation in its complex characters and thorny ethical dilemmas. Art lovers will delight in Gonzalez’s vivid descriptions and insider knowledge of the gallery scene. And anyone who has ever felt like an outsider will find a kindred spirit in Raquel’s journey of self-discovery.

“Anita de Monte Laughs Last” is, quite simply, a triumph. It cements Xochitl Gonzalez’s place as one of the most exciting and necessary voices in contemporary fiction. Read it, savor it, and then go create something of your own – Anita and Raquel would want nothing less.