A Wry Take on Power, Love and Art: Xochitl Gonzalez’s Ocean County Library Virtual Author Talk

TOMS RIVER – Why do some people become iconic while others sink into obscurity? Does fame guarantee legacy? Award winning author Xochitl Gonzalez raises the point in her runaway bestseller Anita de Monte Laughs Last. Hear her witty perspectives during her Ocean County Library Virtual Author Talk, 8 PM Wednesday, April 17.

Anita de Monte Laughs Last and her breakout novel, Olga Dies Dreaming, are available in print, audio and digital versions at the Ocean County Library. Olga Dies Dreaming was named a Best of 2022 by the New York Times, Time, Kirkus, Washington Post and NPR.

The title character of Anita de Monte Laughs Last is an artist whose tragic death seemed to place her permanently in the art firmament. She is all but forgotten after a decade, when minority art student Raquel is completing her studies. Raquel’s relationship with an influential artist elevates her into the social elite, but eerie similarities between her life and Anita’s forces her to question the directions her life is taking.

Xochitl, a native New Yorker, was a finalist for the 2023 Pulitzer Prize in Commentary for her work in the Atlantic Monthly. Her new novel became a Reese’s Book Club selection upon publication in March 2024.

Please register at https://libraryc.org/theoceancountylibrary to attend this free program, to view the upcoming schedule, and to view previous talks. Registrants will receive links to the program by email and may submit questions for the author when signing up.

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