As we transition out of Hispanic Heritage Month and into Halloween, I’m highlighting a book that seamlessly bridges the gap between the two. In her book, Anita de Monte Laughs Last, Xochitl Gonzalez highlights the real-life horrors of racism, sexism, classism, and domestic abuse. Brimming with jealousy, murder, spirits, ghosts, bats, and revenge, Gonzalez’s novel captures the chilling essence of the season.
Raquel is a young Latina senior at Brown University, an Ivy League school where droves of “lily white” men and women often see her as nothing more than an affirmative action admission and refuse to validate her true talent. While issues of gender, race, cultural identity, and class play a major part in Gonzalez’s book, the predominant theme of Anita de Monte Laughs Last is the struggle between existence and erasure—who gets to be remembered and who will be forgotten.
Both protagonists, Anita and Raquel, have parallel storylines throughout the novel, even though their stories take place more than a decade apart. Both women fall in love with white men, and consequently, find themselves fighting to exist within a society of white male power and privilege that threatens their erasure.
Jack Martin, Anita’s volatile and insecure husband, is lauded as a timeless icon of American art. Despite Anita’s growing success, Jack overlooks her talent and focuses solely on his own growth and development. Even after Anita is murdered, Jack seeks to bury her artwork and erase every trace of her existence. “He was desperate to make her go away, to put her and her work in a closet forever and never let her see the light of day again.”
Ten years later, Raquel begins studying the legendary artist Jack Martin when she stumbles upon the mysterious story—and the genius artwork—of his murdered wife, Anita de Monte. But like much of Anita’s Cuban influence on the world of art history, her presence has also been erased. This changes when Raquel stumbles upon the truth about Anita’s death and decides to unearth the great Anita de Monte for good, thereby allowing her to live on.
Anita de Monte Laughs Last is a powerful, thought-provoking novel that effectively explores power, erasure, and art, and deepens one’s understanding of diversity and equal representation. I recommend Gonzalez’s work to anyone wishing to better understand what it means to exist as a minority in a myriad of whiteness. Moreover, I highly recommend listening to Anita de Monte Laughs Last on audiobook as the vocal performances are outstanding in their intensity and helpful in understanding the characters.
As we transition out of Hispanic Heritage Month and enter the spooky season of Halloween, Anita de Monte is waiting, once again, to be discovered and to live vicariously through her work. Perhaps this time, you’ll be the one to awaken her spirit. Happy reading!
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