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karenleagermain's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Trust had long been on my TBR list and I finally bumped it to the top on my audio book list. The narrators for the audio book were fantastic, but I'm left wishing that I had read a physical copy. I feel like I missed something with the audio format, primarily my ability to really absorb the writing. This is especially true in the last chapter.
I don't want to spoil anything, because there is a very big twist. The main themes involve who has the power to shape the narrative and who has the power to write history.
I was enthralled from the start, not quite knowing where the story was heading. It's not linear and is told from different perspectives. I can understand why this novel has won big awards and it would be an excellent pick for a book club discussion.
I don't want to spoil anything, because there is a very big twist. The main themes involve who has the power to shape the narrative and who has the power to write history.
I was enthralled from the start, not quite knowing where the story was heading. It's not linear and is told from different perspectives. I can understand why this novel has won big awards and it would be an excellent pick for a book club discussion.
katienunnery's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
athaboros's review
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
tomleetang's review
4.0
I had to slow myself down a bit with this novel because I was so engrossed in the central mystery of trying to unravel the truth about Mildred Bevel that I almost missed the artful literary scaffolding that Hernan Diaz has erected to tell his tale.
Does Trust really tell us anything new about the nature of charlatans masquerading as financiers? Not really, but its focus on the world of money almost seems like a a conjurer's misdirection. Instead, what makes this novel interesting is a combination of narrative playfulness and a consideration of the limits of, well, the trust that we can place in any text, no matter how honest or forthright it purports to be.
We are all constantly on the receiving end of stories and news that have been mediated through one or more lenses, with the result that the original picture reaches us only as a distortion. What this novel does so well is tease out the philosophical problem of how to assess an event or a life that is so far removed from our own immediate observations that we can only ever receive it second, third, fourth hand. In that way I suppose it reminds me of Plato's cave and the idea that we can only see shadows of a life, reflected but never glimpsed directly.
In the specific case of Trust, the mediators of Mildred Bevel's story are two men and a woman who tries to estimate her complicity in the undermining of her own gender. As with the thematic glances at money and power, the discussion about the relationship between the sexes isn't exactly superficial so much as it is unremarkable. Trust isn't a novel that says anything particularly inventive or original about 'issues' or human psychology so much as an elegantly posed problem for the reader to ponder over.
Does Trust really tell us anything new about the nature of charlatans masquerading as financiers? Not really, but its focus on the world of money almost seems like a a conjurer's misdirection. Instead, what makes this novel interesting is a combination of narrative playfulness and a consideration of the limits of, well, the trust that we can place in any text, no matter how honest or forthright it purports to be.
We are all constantly on the receiving end of stories and news that have been mediated through one or more lenses, with the result that the original picture reaches us only as a distortion. What this novel does so well is tease out the philosophical problem of how to assess an event or a life that is so far removed from our own immediate observations that we can only ever receive it second, third, fourth hand. In that way I suppose it reminds me of Plato's cave and the idea that we can only see shadows of a life, reflected but never glimpsed directly.
In the specific case of Trust, the mediators of Mildred Bevel's story are two men and a woman who tries to estimate her complicity in the undermining of her own gender. As with the thematic glances at money and power, the discussion about the relationship between the sexes isn't exactly superficial so much as it is unremarkable. Trust isn't a novel that says anything particularly inventive or original about 'issues' or human psychology so much as an elegantly posed problem for the reader to ponder over.
amoliverdiaz's review
mysterious
reflective
medium-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? It's complicated
4.25
loriluo's review
3.0
This is such a uniquely jarring book - 3.5/5 stars for the moment, though subject to change upon further rumination.
"Trust" is a multi-layered story within a story, taking readers back to New York in 1920s and the financial boom and subsequent fall during this time. We open with a story titled Bonds, written by Harold Vanner, that details the life of Benjamin Rask, his marriage to the fallen aristocrat Helen Rask, and their lives after Rask's countless financial successes in the stock market. While Rask manages to escape the great Wall Street crash of 1929 seemingly unscathed, his wife's physical and mental health begins to deteriorate, until her eventual death.
This story ends and we're moved to yet another story - this time, an unfinished manuscript titled My Life that's filled with gaps and work-in-progress notes, but this time, it's a first person account of Andrew Bevel's life, a wealthy financier who is grieving his recently deceased wife Mildred. His story and success eerily parallels Rask's life... but we're led into yet a third story, A Memoir, Remembered which sheds light into the second book. Told from the perspective of Ida Partenza, the daughter of an Italian printer who is secretly printing communist papers, she details how she became Bevel's ghostwriter, and his attempt to stomp out the depiction of him in Vanner's novel. The final story Futures are notes from Mildred's own diary, an unsettling look into the relationship she had with Bevel, and her actual involvement with his success.
Diaz's writing mirrors the prose of writers from over a century ago, and I loved the small nods to Fitzgerald and Wharton that he placed in his own writing. The pacing is quite slow and while it took some time to get my head around what was actually unfolding, I found myself wanting to keep reading to try and unravel the truth behind the stories. Ultimately, "Trust" is a deceptively witty novel, a nod at how easily history can be re-written by those who wield the wealth.
"Trust" is a multi-layered story within a story, taking readers back to New York in 1920s and the financial boom and subsequent fall during this time. We open with a story titled Bonds, written by Harold Vanner, that details the life of Benjamin Rask, his marriage to the fallen aristocrat Helen Rask, and their lives after Rask's countless financial successes in the stock market. While Rask manages to escape the great Wall Street crash of 1929 seemingly unscathed, his wife's physical and mental health begins to deteriorate, until her eventual death.
This story ends and we're moved to yet another story - this time, an unfinished manuscript titled My Life that's filled with gaps and work-in-progress notes, but this time, it's a first person account of Andrew Bevel's life, a wealthy financier who is grieving his recently deceased wife Mildred. His story and success eerily parallels Rask's life... but we're led into yet a third story, A Memoir, Remembered which sheds light into the second book. Told from the perspective of Ida Partenza, the daughter of an Italian printer who is secretly printing communist papers, she details how she became Bevel's ghostwriter, and his attempt to stomp out the depiction of him in Vanner's novel. The final story Futures are notes from Mildred's own diary, an unsettling look into the relationship she had with Bevel, and her actual involvement with his success.
Diaz's writing mirrors the prose of writers from over a century ago, and I loved the small nods to Fitzgerald and Wharton that he placed in his own writing. The pacing is quite slow and while it took some time to get my head around what was actually unfolding, I found myself wanting to keep reading to try and unravel the truth behind the stories. Ultimately, "Trust" is a deceptively witty novel, a nod at how easily history can be re-written by those who wield the wealth.
jevgen_ko's review
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
booksnotgluten's review
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
An exciting mystery and historical fiction novel that exposes the hypocrisies of capitalism and American men. I only wish the women (whose agency is a focal point) were allowed more flaws.
denniharbaugh's review against another edition
mysterious
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
4.0