Anita De Monte Laughs Last : A Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick

REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK A Most Anticipated Book of 2024: TIME, The Washington Post, Refinery 29, Barnes & Noble, Marie Clare, Real Simple, Entertainment Weekly, LA Daily News, LitHub, The Millions, TODAY.com, HipLatina, Book Riot, & Kirkus"Incandescent." —Publishers WeeklyNew York Times bestselling author Xochitl Gonzalez delivers a mesmerizing novel about a first-generation Ivy League student who uncovers the genius work of a female artist decades after her suspicious death °°°1985. Anita de Monte, a rising star in the art world, is found dead in New York City; her tragic death is the talk of the town. Until it isn’t. By 1998 Anita’s name has been all but forgotten—certainly by the time Raquel, a third-year art history student is preparing her final thesis. On College Hill, surrounded by privileged students whose futures are already paved out for them, Raquel feels like an outsider. Students of color, like her, are the minority there, & the pressure to work twice as hard for the same opportunities is no secret. But when Raquel becomes romantically involved with a well-connected older art student, she finds herself unexpectedly rising up the social ranks. As she attempts to straddle both worlds, she stumbles upon Anita’s story, raising questions about the dynamics of her own relationship, which eerily mirrors that of the forgotten artist. Moving back & forth through time & told from the perspectives of both women, Anita de Monte Laughs Last is a propulsive, witty examination of power, love, & art, daring to ask who gets to be remembered & who is left behind in the rarefied world of the elite.°°°Xochitl Gonzalez is the New York Times bestselling author of Olga Dies Dreaming. Named a Best Book of 2022 by The New York Times, TIME, Kirkus, Washington Post, & NPR, Olga Dies Dreaming was the winner of the Brooklyn Public Library Book Prize in Fiction & the New York City Book Award. THE REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK FOR MARCH 2024'I have goosebumps just talking about this story'REESE WITHERSPOON'Smart, funny – and furious'MARIE CLAIRE'Genre-busting... A clear-eyed deconstruction of skewed value systems'FINANCIAL TIMES--------------------------------------------Who gets to leave a legacy?1985. Anita de Monte, a rising star in the art world, is found dead in New York City; her tragic death is the talk of the town. Until it isn't. By 1998 Anita's name has been all but forgotten – certainly by the time Raquel, a third-year art history student is preparing her final thesis. On College Hill, surrounded by progeny of film producers, C-Suite executives, and international art-dealers, most of whom float through life knowing that their futures are secured, Raquel feels herself an outsider. Students of colour, like Raquel, are the minority there, and the pressure to work twice as hard for the same opportunities is no secret.But when Raquel becomes romantically involved with a well-connected older art student, she finds herself unexpectedly rising up the social ranks. As she attempts to straddle both worlds, she stumbles upon Anita's story, raising questions about the dynamics of her own relationship, which eerily mirrors that of the forgotten artist.Moving back and forth through time and told from the perspectives of both women, Anita de Monte Laughs Last is a propulsive, witty examination of power, love and art, daring to ask who gets to be remembered and who is left behind in the rarefied world of the elite.A NEW YORK TIMES, ELLE AND GOOD HOUSEKEEPING HIGHLIGHT FOR 2024'Writing with urgency and rage, Gonzalez speaks up for those who have been othered and deemed unworthy, robbed of their legacy'Washington Post'Rollicking, melodic, tender and true. And oh so very wise'Robert Jones, Jr., author of The Prophets A NEW YORK TIMES, ELLE AND GOOD HOUSEKEEPING HIGHLIGHT FOR 2024 'Rollicking, melodic, tender and true. And oh so very wise' Robert Jones, Jr., author of The Prophets Who gets to leave a legacy? 1985. Anita de Monte, a rising star in the art world, is found dead in New York City; her tragic death is the talk of the town. Until it isn't. By 1998 Anita's name has been all but forgotten – certainly by the time Raquel, a third-year art history student is preparing her final thesis. On College Hill, surrounded by progeny of film producers, C-Suite executives, and international art-dealers, most of whom float through life knowing that their futures are secured, Raquel feels herself an outsider. Students of colour, like Raquel, are the minority there, and the pressure to work twice as hard for the same opportunities is no secret. But when Raquel becomes romantically involved with a well-connected older art student, she finds herself unexpectedly rising up the social ranks. As she attempts to straddle both worlds, she stumbles upon Anita's story, raising questions about the dynamics of her own relationship, which eerily mirrors that of the forgotten artist. Moving back and forth through time and told from the perspectives of both women, Anita de Monte Laughs Last is a propulsive, witty examination of power, love and art, daring to ask who gets to be remembered and who is left behind in the rarefied world of the elite. Praise for Xochitl Gonzalez and Olga Dies Dreaming 'Don't underestimate this new novelist. She's jump-starting the year with a smart romantic comedy that lures us in with laughter and keeps us hooked with a fantastically engaging story' Washington Post 'The sharpest and best written social comedy in a while' Los Angeles Times 'An astounding new voice' Esquire At times, we find ourselves unexpectedly immersed in a mood that lacks any clear object or identifiable cause. These uncanny moments tend to be hastily dismissed as inconsequential, left without explanation. Maria Balaska examines two such cases: wonder and anxiety – what it means to prepare for them, what life may look like after experiencing them, and what insights we can take from those experiences. For Kierkegaard anxiety is a door to freedom, for Heidegger wonder is a distress that opens us to the truth of Being, and for Wittgenstein wonder and anxiety are deeply connected to the ethical. Drawing on themes from these thinkers and bringing them into dialogue, Balaska argues that in our encounters with nothing we encounter the very potential of our existence. Most importantly, we confront what is most inconspicuous and fundamental about the human condition and what makes it possible to encounter anything at all: our distinct capacity for making sense of things.