Reviews with content warning for Murder - Anita de Monte Laughs Last

I was so excited to read this book because I loved Xochitl Gonzalez's debut, Olga Dies Dreaming. I hear about this one and got in the hold line at my local library before it was released!

This was a harder read for me than I expected because it touched a lot on experiences I thought I'd buried, of being a Black face in a sea of white ones within my academic field and overall college experience. Of working in white spaces, of being in art museums and not hearing much about artists of color. Robert Jones Jr.'s quote on the back of the book says that this book is an "affirmation for anyone who's ever had to 'work twice as hard to get half as much.'" I felt that strongly as I read through.

The depiction of relationships between Latina artists and white ones were tough to read because there was so much that rang true about them (Raquel and Nick being from different New Yorks, for example) but more so because those relationships brought so much pain. They weren't equal or equitable. The white artists had money, power, and access in a way that exotified the Latina artists and made them look like gold diggers. I feel like I read so much about Nick Fitzsimmons and Jack Martin, more than my fill really, but I didn't need to because I'd heard of folks like them before.

Seeing Anita de Monte haunt Jack Martin and his collaborators was so cool! Imagining that ceiba tree filled with bats was riveting. I wonder what her trips to Cuba had been like before she died. What rituals had she engaged in? How did she connect to the ancestors, to nature? /spoiler> I just had to read about Ana Mendienta, the artist who the titular Anita de Monte was based on. I'd love to learn more about her and the artists she surrounded herself with since no one works in a vacuum. This was such a complicated read and a strange book in the best of ways. It was worth it for me to sit with it and work my way through the story. Hopefully in the future, a story like this will just be about Latinas existing and not having to fight for every little thing.

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ysi06's review

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emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

blistering! the cycles! i loved how slice-of-life-y raquel’s chapters were initially, giving breath to the world. SO vivid. and then our stories intersected! delicious!

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sailormar's review

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adventurous challenging dark inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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spinstah's review against another edition

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dark reflective medium-paced

4.0

It took me a little while to get into this but once I did I found it really engaging. I liked the parallel structure of Anita and Raquel’s lives and thought the way the

trial

was handled in the narrative was perfect.

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sarahrose_a's review

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emotional reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I wish there had been a lot less/none from the POV of the chauvinist abuser…

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fkshg8465's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Feels like a necessary book, though I have mixed feelings about Anita’s voice as a second life. I thought it was funny and relevant, but I think I didn’t really love the use of it as a plot device. Also, my revenge lust wasn’t quenched enough. I would’ve preferred to see Jack dealt with greater consequences.

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george_tte's review

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dark inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

Systemic oppression and domestic abuse contrasted in fantastic, fleshed-out characters. It was slow at first, but once it picked it up I found it hard to stop reading.

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facciosp's review

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emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I didn’t love this book, but I also didn’t hate it. I found at some points the writing to be clunky and some of the themes to be cheesy. Very predictable and at points I was wondering how there was still more to be discussed in the book. Also a weird emphasis on characters weight that didn’t progress the story line. That being said, it has an interesting concept and I enjoyed Raquel and her development and growth.

Disappointing to find out from other reviews that this was inspired by a true story when that wasn’t mentioned in the book.

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