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ginamacleod's review against another edition
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Trust exercise is a book to read very closely. Slow to start but quick to turn everything on its head - nothing and no one are quite real - and characters are best interpreted as concepts rather than individuals. This book was highly unique & thought provoking, although at times overly verbose, hence the loss of a star.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, and Pregnancy
bookishlittleme's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I hated this.
That’s not true. But I didn’t like this book just because of personal preference but I will defend almost every choice in it. It’s truly one thousand books in one because of the multiple perspectives and contradictions throughout the story offered by multiple characters. It asks the question of what truth really is and who are we to decide what truth is? Can anyone objectively decipher truth?
That’s not true. But I didn’t like this book just because of personal preference but I will defend almost every choice in it. It’s truly one thousand books in one because of the multiple perspectives and contradictions throughout the story offered by multiple characters. It asks the question of what truth really is and who are we to decide what truth is? Can anyone objectively decipher truth?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pedophilia, Classism, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Homophobia
Minor: Drug use, Body shaming, Alcohol, Eating disorder, Gun violence, and Ableism
omnipresent_photon's review against another edition
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Rape
Moderate: Gun violence, Vomit, Homophobia, Xenophobia, Pedophilia, and Sexism
travisppe's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
The format of this book is going to stick with me for a long time. Very cool.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Alcohol, Outing, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Drug use, Incest, Pregnancy, Rape, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Sexual violence
ravensalwaysreading's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
I feel so divided on this book. The first half was incredibly painful for me to read and I was anxiety ridden about where the protagonist was going. When the twist came I was intrigued because I thought it would be about this tangled friendship, but was quickly let down. If it had ended there it would have been okay but a poor encapsulation of supposed symbolism. But then the third section ended, as did the overall book, and now I'm left feeling grimy and sad and still don't not understandin what the point of it was. The harm men can do to women that chases them through not only their adult lives but their children's adult lives? Why did you rupture our view of the first character to set up the next character? Why leave off after giving us the shortest time with the most likable character just to traumatize her and us and then run away after that? I guess my final question is still what is the point?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Sexual violence
Moderate: Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Stalking, Adult/minor relationship, and Eating disorder
rmperezpadilla's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Vomit, and Pedophilia
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
internetegg's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pedophilia, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, and Child abuse
donut_holer's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I think Choi balanced the temporal and pov shifts really well in this story. It was fascinating to feel your understanding of these situations shift as the characters' perceptions and understanding shifted as well. The prose is also deliciously detailed and rich.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Pregnancy, Self harm, and Pedophilia
elatedbooks's review against another edition
challenging
dark
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
“And right away her gaze went hard with the anger we always feel at the person who spoils our idea of ourself.”
This was not what I was expecting it to be & is indeed very ‘literary’ and I nearly DNFed it early on but soon developed the sick sort of fascination that comes with watching a car crash from start to finish. However I find character studies not very memorable & relate to Sarah’s experience trying to read Tropic of Cancer:
“Clearly she’s too young to read Tropic of Cancer, but she can’t accept this; if she knows what the words mean, the book’s meaning ought to unfold.”
I’m too young to read this book (although, unlike Sarah, I do except this!) perhaps character focused books will resonate more with me in the future but for now I need a bit more plot & less floaty idea things.
“Karen’s true adult life began when she recognized she was a child”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, and Pedophilia
sageypants's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I finished this book breathless, and although I was tired, when I opened the app to mark it as Read, I couldn’t help scrolling through reviews, curious what other peoples’ interpretations of the identities of certain characters were. I was actually appalled at the number of one star reviews from people who didn’t even finish the first part??? I guess out of offense in defense of Susan Choi, I felt the need to actually lay out a serious and thorough review of my own even though I’m not usually the type and hadn’t been planning on it at all.
I was first exposed to “Trust Exercise” when I, on a whim, decided to go to my University’s book store for a reading night. I had no idea what to expect, had never heard of the author or the book before, and was instantly struck by the contrast between my impression of Choi, her illustrative and smooth prose, and the subject matter. I was compelled!
I think for a lot of people picking up a book like this for the first time, it’s a very uncomfortable first impression. The book initially presents itself as a moody teenage romance with an uncomfortable amount of graphic detail and a noticeable lack of self-awareness. I am not surprised that there are people who were disgusted by graphic scenes of teenagers having sex and decided to close the book, rate it one star, call it annoying and pretentious and unnecessary, then moved on to the next. But upon reaching the perspective shift, the true narrative unfolds, and each layer peeling back reveals another layer I never knew existed.
To say the book is “trying too hard”, that it’s “pretentious” and says only vague musings about life instead of prompting real discussion seems, to me, and egregious and offensive misrepresentation of its concept and execution. I can understand the criticisms of some scenes feeling too intense, and I also wanted to pull back at some points, but I really challenge people to let themselves be uncomfortable. (Obviously if the contents are triggering and affecting your health then take care of yourself, but this is separate from feeling uncomfortable.)
The contrast between the first half of the book—the way the pain is muted and dulled, the way the darker aspects of abuse are disguised and rewritten to have happened to other people—and the second half of the book—the challenging truths finally being faced, and not only addressed but weaponized against the narrator of the first half, Sarah, is a thread woven so deftly that it’s a work which requires multiple read-throughs to catch every detail. Choi masterfully toys with our expectations of romanticized pain, disgust at obvious and unfettered abuse, and irritation with her self-absorbed “main” characters, flipping to a completely different writing style, perspective, and tone.
Karen hates Sarah and David as much as every one star reviewer. She doesn’t dance in frilly metaphors about the seascape of lush lawns in Mr. Kingsley’s neighborhood or languish in romantic prose about how tortured she is. Karen is matter-of-fact. She sprinkles multiple, exact definitions of words into her train of thought, she acknowledges every ugly feeling, and acknowledges every contradiction in her feelings. She plans things methodically instead of floating dreamlike through someone else’s story. She resents romantics like Sarah and her mother. She keeps her Self secretive. Where Sarah’s story was published for the world to see, Karen’s is a private performance for us and us alone. And even in her scathing depictions of Sarah’s book, we’re still given nuggets of information that change how we perceive Sarah’s interpretation of events.
Another review highlighted a quote to this point exactly, that we cannot know how our version of events will line up with someone else’s. Both Sarah and Karen are victims, but they’ve internalized and later externalized their conflict in completely different ways. Their abuse, their interpretations of their abuse, and their (imagined?) resolutions to their abuse are /theirs/. There is no manual to being the perfect victim or the perfect friend or the perfect lover or the perfect storyteller.
I feel like I could talk at length about the themes in this book, I’ve already highlighted so many striking lines of prose as well. While some people find it “pretentious”, I was moved. Choi’s sentences are illuminating—inspiring. She makes me want to be a more thoughtful author and a more thoughtful reader, which is really all anyone can ask for by the time they finally put a book down.
If there were any valuable criticisms I could offer, I would say that I wished some parts would linger longer than others. At times the pacing does drag, although this might be from the daunting layout of its chapter-less delivery with thick paragraphs and trailing stream-of-thought exposition. However, there were a lot of really powerful moments I wish lingered a bit longer, and there were themes/arcs I wish had been given more time to bear riper fruit such as Karen’s pregnancy, Sarah and David’s reunion (although I understand why it was limited), and understanding between Karen and Sarah over their shared and yet entirely different experiences of abuse.
I would say to give this book a try if you’re a reader or aspiring writer looking for an unconventional narrative structure and a challenging read, but if it proves to be too challenging for you, and you want to stop, please refrain from leaving a review. I think it’s important to review works as a whole, and not just parts we liked or didn’t like and why we liked or didn’t like them. Reading and reviewing just the first part because you couldn’t get through to the second is disrespectful to entire rest of the work, which completely impacts the reading of the first part. But I’ll get off my soap box for the night.
I was first exposed to “Trust Exercise” when I, on a whim, decided to go to my University’s book store for a reading night. I had no idea what to expect, had never heard of the author or the book before, and was instantly struck by the contrast between my impression of Choi, her illustrative and smooth prose, and the subject matter. I was compelled!
I think for a lot of people picking up a book like this for the first time, it’s a very uncomfortable first impression. The book initially presents itself as a moody teenage romance with an uncomfortable amount of graphic detail and a noticeable lack of self-awareness. I am not surprised that there are people who were disgusted by graphic scenes of teenagers having sex and decided to close the book, rate it one star, call it annoying and pretentious and unnecessary, then moved on to the next. But upon reaching the perspective shift, the true narrative unfolds, and each layer peeling back reveals another layer I never knew existed.
To say the book is “trying too hard”, that it’s “pretentious” and says only vague musings about life instead of prompting real discussion seems, to me, and egregious and offensive misrepresentation of its concept and execution. I can understand the criticisms of some scenes feeling too intense, and I also wanted to pull back at some points, but I really challenge people to let themselves be uncomfortable. (Obviously if the contents are triggering and affecting your health then take care of yourself, but this is separate from feeling uncomfortable.)
The contrast between the first half of the book—the way the pain is muted and dulled, the way the darker aspects of abuse are disguised and rewritten to have happened to other people—and the second half of the book—the challenging truths finally being faced, and not only addressed but weaponized against the narrator of the first half, Sarah, is a thread woven so deftly that it’s a work which requires multiple read-throughs to catch every detail. Choi masterfully toys with our expectations of romanticized pain, disgust at obvious and unfettered abuse, and irritation with her self-absorbed “main” characters, flipping to a completely different writing style, perspective, and tone.
Karen hates Sarah and David as much as every one star reviewer. She doesn’t dance in frilly metaphors about the seascape of lush lawns in Mr. Kingsley’s neighborhood or languish in romantic prose about how tortured she is. Karen is matter-of-fact. She sprinkles multiple, exact definitions of words into her train of thought, she acknowledges every ugly feeling, and acknowledges every contradiction in her feelings. She plans things methodically instead of floating dreamlike through someone else’s story. She resents romantics like Sarah and her mother. She keeps her Self secretive. Where Sarah’s story was published for the world to see, Karen’s is a private performance for us and us alone. And even in her scathing depictions of Sarah’s book, we’re still given nuggets of information that change how we perceive Sarah’s interpretation of events.
Another review highlighted a quote to this point exactly, that we cannot know how our version of events will line up with someone else’s. Both Sarah and Karen are victims, but they’ve internalized and later externalized their conflict in completely different ways. Their abuse, their interpretations of their abuse, and their (imagined?) resolutions to their abuse are /theirs/. There is no manual to being the perfect victim or the perfect friend or the perfect lover or the perfect storyteller.
I feel like I could talk at length about the themes in this book, I’ve already highlighted so many striking lines of prose as well. While some people find it “pretentious”, I was moved. Choi’s sentences are illuminating—inspiring. She makes me want to be a more thoughtful author and a more thoughtful reader, which is really all anyone can ask for by the time they finally put a book down.
If there were any valuable criticisms I could offer, I would say that I wished some parts would linger longer than others. At times the pacing does drag, although this might be from the daunting layout of its chapter-less delivery with thick paragraphs and trailing stream-of-thought exposition. However, there were a lot of really powerful moments I wish lingered a bit longer, and there were themes/arcs I wish had been given more time to bear riper fruit such as Karen’s pregnancy, Sarah and David’s reunion (although I understand why it was limited), and understanding between Karen and Sarah over their shared and yet entirely different experiences of abuse.
I would say to give this book a try if you’re a reader or aspiring writer looking for an unconventional narrative structure and a challenging read, but if it proves to be too challenging for you, and you want to stop, please refrain from leaving a review. I think it’s important to review works as a whole, and not just parts we liked or didn’t like and why we liked or didn’t like them. Reading and reviewing just the first part because you couldn’t get through to the second is disrespectful to entire rest of the work, which completely impacts the reading of the first part. But I’ll get off my soap box for the night.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Child abuse, Pedophilia, and Sexual content