The Book Anita de Monte Laughs Last and the Murdered Artist That Inspired It

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The novel Anita de Monte Laughs Last by Xochitl Gonzalez follows three perspectives. One is Anita herself, a Cuban-born artist living in America. Another is Jack, her American husband, who is also an artist. Their storylines are mainly, though not completely, in the past. Finally, we have Raquel, a Puerto Rican-American art history student.

During most of the book, I found both Anita and Jack extremely unlikeable. Anita loved to shame her husband both privately and very publicly. Jack was a serial cheater who looked down on his wife and her art. Their relationship was endlessly toxic.

In my opinion, Raquel was much more likeable. Similar to Anita, she begins dating someone her age who is an artist. While not a cheater or blatantly abusive, he has red flags, such as racial microaggressions and controlling tendencies. She struggles to find her place as a minority at her college and within the art world.

Were the book only focused on the aforementioned themes, I think I would have liked it much better. However, this book ended up having magical elements, which I neither expected nor enjoyed. Perhaps if I hadn’t been so surprised by the magic it wouldn’t have bothered me as much, but it very much caught me off guard.

I also struggled with the Jack chapters because the character had no redeeming qualities. You would think since we saw his perspective that were would be something human or relatable about him, but he was extremely one-dimensional.

Upon finishing the book, I learned that Anita de Monte was based on the real-life artist Ana Mendieta. Mendieta’s work has been featured in many notable public collections, such as the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, Tate Modern in London, and the Art Institute of Chicago.

While her art lives on, Mendieta died at the young age of 36. Her husband, who was also an artist, was charged with her murder, but acquitted when he faced trial three years later.

When her husband called 911, he said, “My wife is an artist, and I’m an artist, and we had a quarrel about the fact that I was more, eh, exposed to the public than she was. And she went to the bedroom, and I went after her, and she went out the window.”

Mendieta’s story is definitely one worth sharing, but author Xochitl Gonzalez has faced criticism for not being clear that the fictional book is based on a real person. There is nothing in the book mentioning the name Ana Mendieta, nor in the acknowledgements. When the book was first published, there was no mention of her in the dedications. Now, it mentions “Ana”, but doesn’t include her last name Mendieta or her connection to the book.

Indeed, I myself hadn’t realized the book had any truth to it until I was already finished and saw another review mention it! On one hand, knowing much of it is based on a real person makes me like the book more. On the other hand, it’s frustrating that this isn’t clear.

Without the background knowledge, I wasn’t a big fan of this book. However, if you like magical elements, it may be far more appealing. With the background knowledge, I like it more. Whether or not you read the book, I encourage you to look out for the name Ana Mendieta the next time you wander an art museum.

Video still of Ana Mendieta “Blood Sign” from the Art Institute of Chicago