3.5 rounded up.

This is an energetic, triumphant feminist rant against cycles of privilege and oppression, love and suppression. I had to knock off a bit in my estimation due to the iffy way some things are handled here, but overall it's a very engaging read that leaves you feeling a little hopeful, and that's a good thing.

Premise - a Cuban artist on the rise, Anita de Monte, is murdered by her wealthy white husband, Jack, an insecure artist with the system on his side, but not necessarily talent. Years later, an art student at Brown, Raquel, is set to repeat the pattern of choosing a man, Nick, and his delicate ego over herself and her art. As she learns about Anita de Monte, she begins to notice the parallels between their lives and question whether making herself small so a man can feel big is the right choice (it's not, duh, but that's harder to see when you're young and in love).

The story is told in multiple POVs. Anita's voice is brash, in your face, aggressive and unashamed. Jack's voice is the easy-to-hate white man - think Juniper Song with more testosterone. Raquel's voice is a realistic 20-something scholarship kid surrounded by wealth for the first time at university, and ashamed of herself for not fitting in.

The characters are well developed, but one of the things that bothered me was how it feels like there's some fatphobia/ableism woven into the story. I'm not overly sensitive to that sort of thing usually, but we all know Disney pictures used to be pretty bad about making the evil character express that through an unattractive exterior and I feel like this novel did the same. Jack is heavy-set and that's stressed more as we realize how awful he is - his body becomes something disgusting in its size, through the description, and Anita's ghost leers at him for eating too much and exercising too little, becoming too slow. When he has a stroke and other health issues, those are also described almost as moral failings. It was a bit yikes.

The other thing that bothered me was how, towards the end, one of the art history girls casually outs her other two friends as lesbian to her friends group. The girls being outed are pretty awful, but still it felt like a very mean-spirited, not okay thing to do and wasn't questioned.

Those two instances left a bad taste in my mouth, but overall the book was so good that it's still a 3.5 (rounded up to 4).

Thanks, NetGalley and Flatiron, for the gifted ARC in exchange for an honest review.

5 stars

I came to this book for the same reason many readers will: die hard fandom of _Olga Dies Dreaming_. Though I'm always apprehensive about reading a follow up to an excellent standalone novel, there was no need for concern here. This is also exceptional.

Like _Olga_, this novel features a multigenerational perspective and fantastic, evolved central women characters. From there, the novels depart dramatically.

_Anita_ runs in two timelines: the mid-'80s, when Anita is alive, exploring her artistry (or lack thereof), and her relationship with a certified creep show, and the late '90s, when Raquel goes to RISD, explores her artistry and feeling of disconnection in her new environment, oh...and her relationship with a different certified creep show. This isn't exactly a same story different day situation, but the pervasive commonalities between these women do make them well matched complements, and seeing how that all comes together is where a lot of the fun can be found in this piece.

I love Gonzalez's writing style, character development, and creativity, and in this most recent effort, readers are treated to some fabulous magical realism, too. Anita is a real vibe, and the added possibilities for her character bring levity to situations that can otherwise be real downers (like how you torture people who murder and/or otherwise oppress you...from beyond).

Like Gonzalez's previous effort, this is a meaty read, and it is worth every second. I was fortunate to receive the audiobook, and I can't say enough about the narration. Anita, especially, really could have gone wrong without an especially astute narrator, and listeners get exactly that here. When and where available and accessible, I'll be recommending the audio version for maximum impact and enjoyment.

I can't get enough of Xochitl Gonzalez's writing, and I look forward to recommending this one widely.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.

Anita de Monte laughs last is a powerful story about sexism, racism, and art. Told from three very different points of view, we learn of the legacy the world has worked hard to deny Anita while also seeing how social politics have not changed all that much when it comes to race since then mid eighties. I expect this to be on a lot of Best of lists in 2024.

I am so thankful to Flatiron Books, Xochitl Gonzalez, Netgalley, and Macmillan Audio for this audiobook. I do have to apologize though... I just wasn't able to get into this one.