The audiobook for Anita de Monte Laughs Last (2024) by Xóchitl González (author of 2022’s Olga Dies Dreaming) completely enthralled me with the alternating stories of both Cuban artist Anita de Monte in the early 1980s and 3rd year art history student Raquel in the late 1990s.
There is some controversy that shows up in the Goodreads reviews, as the character of Anita de Monte and her storyline is based on the true story of Ana Mendieta, a Cuban performance artist who fell from a 34th floor window in Greenwich Village in 1985, and Ana’s husband, minimalist sculptor Carl Andre, was charged with her murder, but acquitted. The controversy is that González did not mention Ana Mendieta in the novel or make any acknowledgement in an author’s note, nor does it seem that González worked with Mendieta’s estate at all.
Along with Anita’s and Raquel’s voices, González also includes a few chapters from Anita’s husband Jack’s perspective, after her death. Those chapters are difficult to listen to, as he is an oblivious, aggrieved man. And Anita’s story is told from beyond the grave, as she is a ghost, recalling her life. I loved the idea that Anita’s spirit lives on and gets stronger as long as her art is still appreciated and seen.
From that perspective, I think González has honored Ana Mendieta, as this novel has brought awareness to what happened to her and made many more people aware of her work. I grieved for her as I listened to Anita’s rage and sadness and was joyful when she successfully haunted her murderer when she became a bat and played Paul Simon on the stereo to toy with him.
And I was glad that Raquel had such growth, from falling into a relationship with a wealthy white man to realizing how she had compromised herself while she was with him.
My only issues were that González, unfortunately, included quite a bit of anti-fatness. Raquel has a history of disordered eating, and especially when she’s with her boyfriend, there are some scenes with explicit anti-fatness. González includes many descriptions of Anita’s tiny size compared to her husband, and as he gets older, how his size has changed, to accompany his loathsome character. So I didn’t appreciate that and think she could have done better. None of this was necessary to further the plot.
Reading While Fat 