Trust by Hernan Diaz

There are several pages that appear to be in draft format. I bought the Kindle versión and really dont know if it is supposed to be read in this way. See photos. However the book develops and the story unfolds to explain the reason behind it. I could not put it down…..

‘Trust’ by Diaz was long listed for the Booker Prize in 2022. It is a serious fictional work about capitalism, money and one of the richest and greatest stock traders/manipulators of all time. The first third of the novel is written by a fictional writer (not the author) in pretty straightforward narrative form and the writing is impeccable and quite inventive. We learn a great deal about the investor- Benjamin Rask, his family, his trades, his peculiar and idiosyncratic detached lifestyle, and his marrying a woman who also shares some of his quirks, if not particular strong feelings for him. Then the ‘novel within the novel’ ends and a brief autobiography by Mr. Rask (named Brevel in the book) commences. The writing here is rather listless, and little is added to the first part of the work. As this section concludes, a longer- in fact the longest section of the entire novel takes place, written by the young female secretary of Mr. Brevel in his later years. Frankly, I found this long section to be tired and uninspired, and it appears Hernan Diaz created this long section as a counterpoint to the capitalist system as we know it in the U.S. The secretary’s father is a staunch communist and so it is ironic that the secretary is working for the biggest ‘capitalist pig’ on the planet. The secretary becomes the moral force of the work, and her opinions take on greater urgency as the work progresses. Or at least that is the intended hope of the author, as I read it. “Trust” then concludes with some journal entries written by the wife of Mr. Brevel. Honestly, I could have done without the four section vehicle of the work. It did no favors in showing me the ‘truth’ of who Mr. Brevel/Rask really was. Perhaps Mr. Diaz, who is a fine writer, felt that he could not write this novel in a traditionally narrative form and utilized the technique of multiple forms to showcase his work. As I read the later sections I asked myself the following questions. Why not include the secretary (and bring her in earlier than after Mrs. Brevel’s death) in the original chapters of the original work? Perhaps the diaries of Mrs. Brevel could also have been incorporated as well, without resorting to the four separate narratives. I believe the book is important and has much to contribute to the novels about early 20th century capitalism in this country, so it is still a compelling read. Yet, I wonder how much more enjoyable it would have been if it had stuck to one narrative, instead of running on four tracks at once.

I really enjoyed this original plot. Author writes elegantly and holds your attention throughout the book. This was a great read.

Ultimately though, the disassociation embedded in all of the relationships made the book a tad to dissected for me. Though I love the writing, I felt the story was not as compelling. The ending was not as revelatory, uniting, or satisfying as i think it was meant to be. Still worth a read, because of the
Author’s talent with words and pacing – but I was not as taken with the overall effort as the Pulitzer committee.