The book to be discussed is "Anita de Monte Laughs Last" by Xochitl Gonzalez. Pick up a copy of the book at Martindale-Brightwood. Never attended? We would love to have you!
Anita de Monte Laughs Last by Xochitl Gonzalez is available as a print book, an e-book, a downloadable audiobook. a large print book, a preloaded audiobook, and as a Book Club Kit in the Library's collection.
"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 color, 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."
The Brightwood Branch opened in 1901 as the sixth public library in Indianapolis. It served the Brightwood community at several locations along Station Street, one street west of its current North Sherman Avenue storefront site which opened in 1972. A 1996 renovation at this location doubled the size of the branch to 5,400 square feet. In 2020, a brand-new branch building, across the street from the previous branch, was completed and re-named as the Martindale-Brightwood Branch.