Trust By Hernan Diaz
“Every single one of our acts is ruled by a loss of economy. When we first wake up in the morning we trade rest for profit. When we go to bed at night we give up potentially profitable hours to renew our strength, and throughout our day we engage in countless transactions. Each time we find a way to minimize our effort and increase our gain we are making a business deal, even if it is with ourselves.”
Do you want to know what kind of book I love? Read Trust and you’ll find out. And I find a book like Trust only every couple of years. One that checks every single box and makes me desperate for more... one where the caliber of writing rises to meet a propulsive narrative, with fleshed out unique characters -- all wrapped up in a well drawn setting. A book that makes me question and wonder and think.
Why did I love Trust…?
Diaz’s female characters are the interesting ones - the men here are one sided and predictable - rarely do we see that between the pages of a book.
Trust reads like a classic and I believe it has all the qualities to become one. From page one I knew I was in the hands of a masterful storyteller. Trust is a novel for our times, framed by the past. Diaz's prose is sophisticated; it is sparse enough to never feel overdone but descriptive enough to cause me to read passages more than once (and finish in almost 24 hours). He reminds me of Amor Towles. Swoon.
The framework is nothing short of brilliant: There are 4 narratives (a novel, an unfinished manuscript, a diary and a memoir) - it was a fascinating and smart way to peel back the layers of this story from all sides.
I went down a rabbit hole of research about both author and novel after I finished and for me, that is the sign of a great book - when I can't let it go. And, I discovered that Diaz was influenced by Theodore Dreiser - I LOVE Dreiser. Double swoon.
What is Trust about?
Wealth, power, art, literature, history, family, business, finance...all set in NYC.
Triple swoon. I just wish I hadn't read it so fast.
