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Anita de Monte Laughs Last

Audiobook
3 of 6 copies available
3 of 6 copies available

This program is read by a full cast of Stacy Gonzalez, Jonathan Gregg, and Jessica Pimentel, best known for her role on Orange Is the New Black.
"The book is clever and original, but what's more, Jessica Pimentel, a star of Orange Is the New Black, reads Anita as if she's in a fever dream. There's a vibrant wickedness to her performance that no doubt will make this one of the best listens of the year."—Vulture

REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK

  • New York Times bestselling author Xochitl Gonzalez delivers a mesmerizing novel about a first-generation Ivy League student who uncovers the genius work of a female artist decades after her suspicious death
    A Most Anticipated Book of 2024: TIME, The Washington Post, Refinery 29, Barnes & Noble, Marie Clare, Real Simple, Entertainment Weekly, LA Daily News, LitHub, The Millions, TODAY.com, HipLatina, Book Riot, Kirkus, and more!

    "Anita de Monte Laughs Last is a cry for justice. Writing with urgency and rage, Gonzalez speaks up for those who have been othered and deemed unworthy, robbed of their legacy." ―The Washington Post

    "Anita De Monte Laughs Last by Xochitl Gonzalez asks some big questions, like who in art or history is remembered, who is left behind or erased and WHY. I have goosebumps just talking about this story." Reese Witherspoon
    1985.
    Anita de Monte, a rising star in the art world, is found dead in New York City; her tragic death is the talk of the town. Until it isn't. By 1998 Anita's name has been all but forgotten—certainly by the time Raquel, a third-year art history student is preparing her final thesis. On College Hill, surrounded by privileged students whose futures are already paved out for them, Raquel feels like an outsider. Students of color, like her, are the minority there, and the pressure to work twice as hard for the same opportunities is no secret.
    But when Raquel becomes romantically involved with a well-connected older art student, she finds herself unexpectedly rising up the social ranks. As she attempts to straddle both worlds, she stumbles upon Anita's story, raising questions about the dynamics of her own relationship, which eerily mirrors that of the forgotten artist.
    Moving back and forth through time and told from the perspectives of both women, Anita de Monte Laughs Last is a propulsive, witty examination of power, love, and art, daring to ask who gets to be remembered and who is left behind in the rarefied world of the elite.
    A Macmillan Audio production from Flatiron Books.

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      • Publisher's Weekly

        Starred review from November 20, 2023
        Gonzalez (Olga Dies Dreaming) takes inspiration from the mysterious 1985 death of Cuban American artist Ana Mendieta for this astute account of an art history student who researches the circumstances of a similar tragedy. Award winning Cuban artist Anita de Monte, who is married to successful minimalist artist Jack Martin (a stand in for the sculptor Carl Andre), mysteriously plummets to her death from the window of their 33rd-floor apartment in New York City. Gonzalez then jumps to 1998, when third-year Brown University art history student Raquel Toro is on the brink of starting her senior thesis on Martin. Raquel begins a coveted summer internship with Belinda Kim, an acclaimed Asian American feminist curator opposed to the “art for art’s sake” philosophy trumpeted by Raquel’s white thesis adviser. Under Kim’s tutelage, Raquel learns of de Monte’s mysterious death, propelling her research on Martin in an unexpected direction. Her own life begins to resemble de Monte’s when she falls for a Brown classmate, a wealthy white up-and-coming artist with ties to the New York art world. Just as de Monte played second fiddle to Martin during their marriage, Raquel’s boyfriend downplays her research, and both relationships fray due to the men’s deceitful and manipulative behavior. In addition to the intrigue generated by Raquel’s search for answers about de Monte’s death, Gonzalez crafts excoriating and whip-smart commentary on the art world’s Eurocentric conceptions of beauty and the racism faced by first-generation students of color. This is incandescent. Agent: Mollie Glick, CAA.

      • AudioFile Magazine
        With its compelling story and powerful narration, this audiobook keeps listeners invested until the very end. In 1985, Cuban artist Anita de Monte is found dead in New York City. Her death is briefly the talk of the town, but then she's essentially forgotten. In 1998, Raquel Toro, a Puerto Rican first-generation art student, is seeking a topic for her thesis. The story alternates between the two timelines and two primary characters. Anita, portrayed by Jessica Pimentel, sounds vibrant and fiery; her husband, Jack, is voiced believably by Jonathan Gregg. Stacy Gonzalez captures Raquel's focus and drive as her discovery of Anita's story changes the course of her work. K.S.M. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine
      • Library Journal

        Starred review from June 1, 2024

        In 1985, Anita de Monte was a rising artist trapped in a tumultuous marriage to Jack Martin. In 1998, Raquel Toro is an art history student living in Providence, RI, preparing to write her senior thesis and struggling to find her place on a predominantly white college campus. Gonzalez's (Olga Dies Dreaming) latest traverses time, location, and perspective, allowing listeners to witness Anita's murder and subsequent fall into anonymity, until Raquel learns of Anita's work. Raquel sees herself reflected in Anita's life and art: a young Latina woman trying to find her place in a white world while navigating relationships with men who seek control and domination. Narrated by Stacy Gonzalez, Jonathan Gregg, and Jessica Pimentel, the audio thrums with rage and passion as it details the excision of nonwhite artists from the public sphere. Gonzalez's haunting novel examines how legacy is inscribed in historical spaces and emphasizes the importance of strength, love, and community in the fight for equity. VERDICT Readers will be captivated by this piercing work, which questions identity, erasure, and power in elite spaces. A heartbreaking and poignant must-listen.--Kaitlyn Tanis

        Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

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