"The novel is the best, most elusive combination: a thought-provoking and a brilliantly entertaining triumph." --NPR
"
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 "Admirers of Xochitl Gonzalez's debut,
Olga Dies Dreaming, will be pleased to encounter in Gonzalez's follow-up novel,
Anita de Monte Laughs Last, not one but two protagonists who echo the titular Olga's best qualities. Like Olga, they are Latina women of vision and will, who emphatically refuse to be put in a corner."
--New York Times Book Review
"
Unflinching and thought-provoking."
--People "This rollicking page-turner from the bestselling author of
Olga Dies Dreaming includes of-the-moment commentary about who succeeds and why."
--Real Simple "Incandescent."
―Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"The writing is absolutely fabulous, the story is gripping, and the characters are memorable.
Outstanding."
―Library Journal (starred review) "Gonzalez's sophomore outing deserves a mouse on her doorstep in gratitude...
This is a brutal but ultimately heartwarming and certainly thought-provoking novel of Latinx magic, family, and feminine power." --Booklist (starred review) "Part campus novel, part ghost story, Xochitl Gonzalez's second novel fearlessly takes on racism and misogyny in the rarefied world of fine art and art history...
Anita de Monte Laughs Last boldly questions the choices behind what we are taught and demands that the complete story be disclosed." --BookPage (starred review) "Gonzalez has that particular penchant for navigating perspectives in a voice that's at once delightfully humorous and sobering."
--Elle
"An uncompromising message, delivered via a gripping story with two engaging heroines."
--Kirkus (starred review)
"Gonzalez's newest novel is a dynamic exploration of love, art, and power."
--LitHub
"A new captivating novel that explores othering, erasure, power, and legacy through the lens of two women of color navigating the art scene years apart."
--TODAY.com "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."
--Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Funny, piercing, and full of moxie,
Anita de Monte Laughs Last is unsparing in its assessment of what goes on behind the castle walls, the price people pay to be accepted into those hallowed halls, and what it takes to liberate oneself from the dangers that lurk within. Really, what Xochitl Gonzalez has written is an affirmation for anyone who's ever had to 'work twice as hard to get half as much.'
Anita de Monte Laughs Last is rollicking, melodic, tender, and true. And oh so very wise."
--Robert Jones, Jr., author of The Prophets, a finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction "Bravo!
A remarkable story about reclaiming what has been erased. Reader, enjoy!"
--Ana Castillo, author of So Far From God
