2 good books

Anita de Monte Laughs Last | Great Expectations

Anita de Monte Laughs Last by Xóchitl González (2024)

In 1985, Anita de Monte is found dead and her artistic legacy is essentially buried with her. It’s clear that her husband, titan of the art world, Jack Martin, has killed her, but as in life, his word and that of his influential friends supersede the dead woman’s.

About a decade later, Raquel is trying to find her way on her prestigious college campus when she becomes involved with a promising older artist. The relationship opens new doors that take her further away from her family, friends, and the truth she was seeking until her thesis uncovers the work and inconvenient truth of de Monte.

Great Expectations by Vinson Cunningham (2024)

David is a college dropout sharing custody of his unplanned child when he gets an opportunity to work on “the Candidate’s” campaign. The Candidate is a senator from Illinois, and you know where I’m going with this.

“Everything that happened in my life, good or bad, seemed to be an accident,” David says. “I’d somehow groped my way to the middle of the world. The middle of a world, at least. Or an unseen perch quite near the center, with an excellent view.”

Accident or not, David’s good at fundraising for the Candidate, and as the fever pitch of the campaign moves from how will he do this to he’s going to do this, David, much like America, is forced to examine what changes in his life might remain permanent after the structure of the campaign fades away.