Jezebel Book Club’s Next Book: ‘Anita de Monte Laughs Last’

There’s been a lot going on at Jezebel HQ recently: We were at South by Southwest; we launched a subscription package for the real Jez heads out there; and—my own personal highlight—we started our own book club.

For our second month of book-clubbing, we will be reading Anita de Monte Laughs Last, by Xochitl Gonzalez. Her debut novel, Olga Dies Dreaming, was released in 2022 to critical acclaim; the Guardian called it a “deeply satisfying and nuanced novel” that “shines a light on political corruption and the limits of capitalism.” Anita de Monte picks up where Olga left off, at least thematically, exploring power and the double-edged sword of wealth and fame. 

The titular character is a Cuban-American conceptual artist who has been forgotten in the decade since her death. Raquel, a working-class Puerto Rican student at Brown in the late 1990s, switches her thesis topic when she learns about de Monte, and as Raquel progresses in her research into the artist’s work—and tumultuous relationship with her husband, a white male artist—Raquel’s own relationships with the male, white, and powerful people in her life begin to shift.

The Jezebel Book Club is only accessible to subscribers so if you haven’t yet, subscribe to Jezebel! Once you become a Jezebel subscriber, you’ll receive details on joining Jezebel’s Discord. If you want, you can join the subscriber-only Book Club channel—but you don’t have to. We’ll include all Book Club details, meetings, and meetups in subsequent subscriber newsletters.

Also, Gonzalez’s publishers are graciously giving away four free copies of the book! Once you subscribe, we’ll let you know how to throw your hat in the ring.