A story told from three different points of view, Anita de Monte Laughs Last is a masterfully complex exploration of the intersection of art, commerce, gender, and race. Third-year art history student Raquel is navigating the delicate social hierarchies of an Ivy League School (where Raquel is first-generation), when she discovers the work of Cuban-American conceptual artist Anita de Monte for her thesis project. A New York City art star of her time, Anita died mysteriously in 1985, her legacy quickly forgotten. Like Raquel, she was in a relationship with a powerful older white man in the art world, for which she faced backlash, criticism, and suspicion from his privileged friends. The novel is told from Raquel, Anita, and her (potentially murderous, definitely narcissistic) husband Jack’s perspectives, seamlessly jumping between timelines, social commentary, and thriller-level intrigue. As Raquel learns more about Anita, she finds undeniable parallels between herself and the deceased artist, and despite the decades between them, sees that some things never change.
This post was originally published on W Magazine
