Anita de Monte Laughs Last
A Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick
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4.2 • 5 Ratings
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- £7.99
Publisher Description
'I have goosebumps just talking about this story' REESE WITHERSPOON
'Smart, funny – and furious' MARIE CLAIRE
'Genre-busting ... A clear-eyed deconstruction of skewed value systems' FINANCIAL TIMES
It's 1985 and Anita de Monte, a rising star in the art world, is found dead in New York City. Thirteen years later, art history student Raquel is preparing her final thesis, feeling the pressure to work twice as hard for the same opportunities as the wealthy students around her. Anita's name – and the mysterious circumstances around her death – has all but faded from view.
When Raquel becomes romantically involved with a well-connected older student, she finds herself unexpectedly rising up the social ranks. But then she stumbles upon Anita's story, and is struck not only by the question of who gets to leave a legacy, but by how her own relationship eerily mirrors that of the forgotten artist . . .
* A NEW YORK TIMES, ELLE AND GOOD HOUSEKEEPING HIGHLIGHT *
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
The best-selling author of Olga Dies Dreaming explores the way women of colour are marginalised in art and academia in this smart, biting novel. In 1985, Cuban artist Anita de Monte dies after falling from the window of the New York City apartment she shares with her husband, renowned artist Jack Martin. Thirteen years later, Brown University art history student Raquel Toro is trying to find a hook for her senior thesis on Martin when she stumbles upon the work of his forgotten wife. Suddenly, the long-buried de Monte has a new voice. We loved following the parallel stories of these two women. Author Xochitl Gonzalez spotlights everyday microaggressions and the ways institutions push women of colour aside to celebrate similar work from white men. Gonzalez doesn’t just give her characters agency—she lets them roar at the systems attempting to silence them. The result is a seriously cathartic read.
Customer Reviews
Brilliant.
It’s been too long since I have enjoyed a novel this much.