The ambition and magnificence of this amazing book crept up on me unawares. It's one of the best uses of the Unreliable Narrator idea that I have ever seen. Told from multiple points of view, all the male voices are horrendous, self aggrandising liars. The men telling the stories of how they made their money deliberately minimise, lie and erase the women's contribution. The women's voices make it clear that all the intelligence, wit and hard work is theirs. Story of the world.

It took me a bit to get into Trust, but I’m glad I persevered, and that I went back and read the synopsis!

Trust is made up of four narratives about the same man. The first is a book written by Harold Vanner called ‘Bonds’. It tells the story of tycoon Benjamin Rask in the 1920’s and his role in the 1929 crash. It’s also about his wife, Helen, her love of the Arts, how she descends into mental illness and dies in a European asylum.

The second story is comprised of the notes that Andrew Revel, a Wall Street banker and tycoon, makes in order to write his autobiography. His wife Mildred also features, and her death from cancer, also in a treatment centre in Europe.

The third is written by Ida Partenza (my favourite part), where she is looking back on the time that she worked for Revel, ghost-writing his biography. She clearly intensely dislikes her employer, mainly because he lies throughout his storytelling, and is quite upfront about doing it. He’s also aware of her father being a political refugee from Italy, an anarchist, and there’s an underlying menace.

And the final part are the notes and diaries that Ida finds in the ‘present’ day written by Mildred, leading up to her death. They reveal the secrets that her husband would rather not know. Why these are still in a library that can be accessed by the public isn’t known, but the handwriting is pretty indecipherable, so that may well be the reason.

Obviously the first story is about the man in the last three, and we are asked to trust that the man who wrote the first is lying - and therefore trust that Andrew Revel is telling the truth. Clearly he isn’t. His wife’s notes back that up. Revel is a manipulative man, who doesn’t hesitate to ruin other people’s lives in order to protect his reputation.

I read this whole novel with horrified fascination. It’s a good one!

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fascinating novel that kept me intrigued all the way through, it was my first foray into a historical novel and definitely wont be my last.

I enjoyed this while I was reading it especially when I realised how it worked. It's a great idea but sadly I wasn't bowled over by it as I had hoped to be.
Good but not great

Trust is original and a highly intelligent piece of fiction. Diaz subtly makes powerful comments about power, wealth, literature, manipulation and insecurity.

It is very well written and although I can appreciate the brilliance - because it is - I didn't always enjoy it.

I received an advanced reading copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review, thank you to NetGalley, Pan Macmillan and the author Hernan Diaz.
I can absolutely understand the hype around this book. A compelling read with engaging competing narratives which flow (mostly) effortlessly into each other with a tension that simmers throughout. The writing is phenomenal, complex and layered albeit slightly intimidating at times. 4 stars.

I had already bought the hardcover book and read it - I have recommended this to everyone. It is fantastic. I also put it into our newsletter for our podcast (not online)

I was so glad to see this novel getting plaudits. It is profound, clever, moving and genuinely fast-paced, whilst always being intelligent and sophisticated. I was bereft when it was over.

I enjoyed first part though its distancing style made me constantly wonder, why am I reading all this, fascinating as it is ... I'm as susceptible as anyone else to melodrama and the way all these people failed each other while amassing huge fortunes made its point about capitalist/wealth driven life as a failed and harmful way to live. But I heaved a big sigh when the first person voice kicked in ..eek .. I was alarmed at the way her husband insisted on taking over Helen/Mildred's treatment and its consequences ..but the thgt of revisiting it all even from other angles scared me off .. well written with cartoonish characters who, despite their depictions, I cared for , I await a more integrated narrative from this deft author.

I was so glad to see this novel getting plaudits. It is profound, clever, moving and genuinely fast-paced, whilst always being intelligent and sophisticated. I was bereft when it was over.

A complex and multi layered story. The central premise is intriguing, and the multiple devices well executed but the novel was a little impenetrable for me

A wonderful series of interlocking illusions – literary Citizen Kane

This is a glorious collection of unreliable, consciously deceptive and self-deceiving books and manuscripts, showing the shallow heart of capitalism.

Called ‘Trust’ the book is about the complete lack of this quality, and how little the man at the centre of this book, a wildly successful financier, before and after the great depression, can or could be trusted. Part of his business portfolios of course involve Trust Funds. Can this kind of capitalist endeavour itself be trusted at all?

The book is in fact, four books. First, a novel by a best selling author, Harold Venner – though, maybe or maybe not. This fiction is about a mogul. And appears to be about the financier Andrew Bevel, who has had, it seems, made some attempts at an autobiography. He has hired a ghost writer, Ida, a young woman, to write this, so there is ‘work in progress’ on this sanitised account. There are dichotomies, many, between Venner’s account and Bevel’s – and then, there are pages of journals (incomplete) written by Bevel’s wife, Mildred. There is also some later historical perspective, later narrative and memory perspective, provided by the older Ida.

Clever, dream-like, shifting sands

an impressive feat of literary magic, the book within the book was by far the most compelling element of Diaz' story - I only wish I got more of it. The characterisation of the women in the story was well executed beyond my expectations given the recent record of many contemporary male writers, particularly the portrayal of Mildred and Ida. In the end, I found it hard to persevere through some of the economic based plot points, but was impressed by just how compelling Diaz made such dry subject matter to began with.

Money makes the world go around… 5 stars

This is the story of a power couple in New York, in the years leading up to and following the Great Crash of 1929. He is Benjamin Rask, a financier and descendant of a long line of men who made their money through trade, first in goods and later on the money markets. Rask is fascinated by how the markets work, and has a natural intuition allied to his mathematical brain that enables him to know exactly when to buy or sell. His wealth grows until he is one of the most powerful movers in the economy. He is friendless by choice, anti-social and without hobbies. His work is his life. But in mid-life he begins to consider the matter of an heir to carry on the family line.

She is Helen Brevoort, sole daughter of a couple with an aristocratic heritage but no money. Her father tutors her idiosyncratically – she is brilliant at maths and is introduced to all the faddish philosophies of the day. She too is anti-social, but her mother has made it clear that her duty is to marry money…

Or is that really what the book is about?

This is a hard one to review because of the need not to reveal too much, so I shall keep it vague and short! The book is written in four sections, the first telling the story of Benjamin and Helen as a kind of joint biography, and that section stands on its own as a short novel in the vein of books by Edith Wharton or Henry James, examining the social structure and wealth aristocracy of early 20th century America. The other sections re-examine the same story from three different perspectives, each adding to and altering the reader’s understanding, so that in the end we are clearer about the ‘true’ lives of this couple, but also about the writing of the biography. It reminded me not a little of Citizen Kane – the same larger-than-life characters, the same sense of growing isolation as wealth and power become ends rather than means, the same arrogance and hubris.

It’s brilliantly done. In each section, Diaz creates a different narrative voice and style, and each is as believable as the others. Changes in perception are done subtly, so that for the most part ‘facts’ remain the same – it is the interpretation that alters. The examination extends beyond the lives of the Rasks, to look at the motivations and influences of the various narrators, so that there are stories within stories, gradually widening out to take us into different layers of society and see the tensions caused by the huge disparity between rich and poor. There is politics here, but not polemics – Diaz examines capitalism critically rather than with outright condemnation, and at the other end of the scale he looks at how communism and anarchism grew as a response to extreme inequality, without overtly suggesting that these philosophies are more likely to produce a better society.

But strip the politics out, and also the history of the market gamblers who caused the Crash, and what is left is an intensely human story about character. Who are Helen and Benjamin really? What factors made them into the people they became? How can we ever be sure we know the truth about anyone, even when their fame means that every detail of their lives seems to be played out on the front pages of the newspapers? And in here too is a look at the status of women and how they are perceived, with competing pictures of Helen very much dependant on the stance of the people telling her story.

I found it fascinating and absorbing, well worthy of its longlisting for the Booker nomination, and I’m disappointed that it hasn’t been shortlisted. I hope I’ve said enough to whet your appetite, without spoiling the experience of reading it for yourself. Highly recommended!

A collection of four books in one about a Wall Street financier in the 1920s, each telling different and conflicting versions about him. The first is a novel, Bonds, based on him and his wife, written by a now forgotten author. The second is an unfinished autobiography written by the financier, Andrew Bevel himself. The third is a memoir by Ida Partenza, who is hired by Bevel to ghost-write his autobiography, and the fourth is a diary left by Bevel’s wife Mildred, giving her version of events and written from the sanatorium where she is spending her last days. So what is the truth? Obviously this is the point of the title of this metafictive narrative and it’s an interesting and well-handled conceit, even if not a particularly original or innovative one. I felt it was fairly successful overall – at least I did once I worked out what was going on. My interest was sustained throughout although as none of the characters are particularly relatable (except perhaps poor old Mildred) I wasn’t emotionally engaged at any point. I did, however, want to know how it all panned out and thought that Bevel’s self-deception was very well portrayed indeed. Unreliable narrators are always good fun, and they don’t come more unreliable than here in this multi-layered and enjoyable novel about power, money, excess and greed.

My goodness how I loved the first 2/3(first 3 pars) of this novel. I kept me so gripped like no novel managed to do in a long while. For then to be served with that stereotypical end that I cannot even talk about, as I wouldn't want to spoil everything for whomever if going to look at this review before reading the book! Talk about being beyond frustrated ....

The first part reminded me so much of Calumet "K" by Samuel Merwin(one of my favourite books). A man and his sheer determination. His ability to work and work and work, apparently with no need to ever rest. A man who builds a world and inhabits it without needing anyone or anything else. But it also so American Dream: making yourself a man apparently out of noting: strong will, hard work and that special ability to anticipate what the market will do before anyone else. But also being generous making one think of the free market and the mutual benefits obtained by free trading.

The second is infused with sarcasm: a memoir that highlights the delusions of grandeur that seems to follow important people.

The 3rd part was my favourite part. I really love the story, the mystery at the centre of Ida's life but also the ideas debated here: capitalism vs anarchism, the ethics of money and trading financial commodities. I really loved how Mildred multi faced portrait came to life, and I wanted so much to learn more about her. To actually discover her inner world from her point of view rather than from those around her. And the 4th part should have delivered just that but it fell short of its scope by subscribing to a overused cliche ....Such a disappointment ...

Set in the boom and bust 1920s in New York, this is the story of wealthy financier Andrew Bevel. It is told in four parts with different narrators- as a novel based on Bevel, as his autobiography, by his ghost writer and finally by his wife. All are unreliable- so what is the truth about Bevel? This book seems to be marmite for reviewers, who seem to find it either brilliant or boring. I liked the idea of the differen versions and love an unreliable narrator, but gave up after reading about a third of it, as the financial parts didn’t interest me and I found the writing style uninvolving and over- formal. I did start to engage with the fictional version of Bevel’s wife Mildred (Helen in this part) but when the narrative switched back to Bevel I stopped enjoying it and didn’t finish. Other readers may well feel differently.

This is a novel in four parts, each depicting aspects of the life of the reclusive but pompous New York capitalist Andrew Bevel and his enigmatic wife Mildred, set in the years leading up to the Great Depression. Andrew was one of very few financiers who profited spectacularly from the Wall Street crash of 1929, leading to all sorts of suspicion cleaving to him.
Part 1 of the book is a self-contained novel by biographer Harold Vanner loosely based on the Bevels’ life, featuring Benjamin Rask and his wife Helen. Part two is a series of self-important notes and directives dictated by Andrew Rask intended for an authorised biography. In part three we meet Ida Partenza, the resourceful young woman Andrew hires to rebuff Vanner’s novel by penning a “true” version of events. Part four contains the fevered diary musings of terminally ill Mildred while she is treated in a Swiss clinic.
Diaz deftly peels away the truth like layers of an onion as he nears the truth about Andrew and Mildred. The writing is elegant, the plot intriguing and the ending satisfying. Diaz has deservedly earned a spot on the Booker Prize longlist for this clever novel. I'm sorry it didn't make the shortlist

My usual method of choosing books to read has, for the first time, not served me well when it comes to this book. Usually, I would read the synopsis and have a look at reviews, add it to my list of books to borrow from my local library, and then not start reading it until several weeks later so I don't have the synopsis or reviews in the forefront of my mind.
So I went into this novel thinking that it was a collection of four short stories, and I hated the first one. I found it frustrating because Helen (the female main character) had so much potential as an interesting character, only for her to be treated so badly by the author as she was <spoiler>killed off</spoiler> to advance the male main character's storyline. This trope then repeated itself in the second short story, with Mildred being described as her husband's muse who saved his life: "too good for this world," and again, was <spoiler>killed off</spoiler> by the author. The only positive note I made about the book so far was that I liked the 'work in progress' nature of the second story, where the author had made notes to expand on certain parts of the story.
It's beautifully written, but I had all but abandoned this book, wondering why I had ever requested it in the first place.
That was until I went to an event at a local Waterstones with a different author promoting a different book, and one of the audience questions was what she has read recently that she thoroughly enjoyed. Her answer: Trust, by Hernan Diaz. She described it as one of her favourite books that she'd read recently, and her description of the book was completely different to my experience reading it, so I looked up the synopsis later that day to find out what I was missing. It turns out: the entire point of the book.
Trust, is not a light, easygoing read. It invites the reader to become part of the story, to delve into the mystery and work out which characters' perspectives to believe—to trust.
On my initial read I had already picked up on how the plot of the second story mirrors that of the first, but now having reread the synopsis, I now understand why.
Diaz uses these four stories to explore narrative and manipulation through perspectives. Trust shows the power of what words can do and how perspective can warp and deceive reality.
The third story, told by Ida Partenza, was my favourite. It was this one that would have made me understand the idea behind the book since I didn't pick up on that during the first two; it tied in the other two stories, and gave us the first taste of what Mildred was like when she wasn't held up by puppet strings of two men:

"These clippings do not fit Andrew's homey, childlike description of his wife…. And this scrapbook also feels out of place in Vanner's version of Mildred…. And precisely because the image of her that comes forward in this scrapbook differs so drastically from the portrait offered by those two men, I feel this is my first glimpse of the real Mildred Bevel"

The fourth story, from Mildred's own perspective, brings all the stories together to reveal something close to (though I don't believe entirely) the truth.
I've seen many reviews now trying to be vague about the premise of the story, but for me I think the reader needs to understand the concept going in, as the first two stories are far too long to go in 'blind' if they wouldn't be interested in the plot of them as stand alone short stories. While I'm glad to have read this book, I won't be rereading it, as for me it takes too long to build momentum and it's longer than it needed to be to execute the concept (though perhaps another element of trust in the book is through the reader having to put their trust in Diaz to take them where the crux of the story is, since it's not obvious from the start).

this one has had a lot of hype everywhere so i was excited to read it! it fell a wee bit flat for me but the format and the concept were done really well and were unique. i liked seeing the differing perspectives on the wealthy couple in the centre, peeling it back layer by layer.