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A review by honeyreads1066
Trust by Hernán Díaz
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
2.75
I think I was expecting more from this book than I originally got.
I was intrigued to see that this book is technically 4 novellas as it consists of a novel, autobiography, memoir, and journal, and yet I think I only really connected to the memoir and the novel. I was not aware of it going in, but that is just my lack of research on the book. Though I was pleasantly surprised with the dramatics that the first section of the book entailed and confused with what I thought was only the beginning but was instead the ending to the novel's first part.
Despite this, I carried on reading, intrigued by how the rest of the book would play out, but until about 1/4 of the way through the memoir, I was really dragging my feet trying to get through it. The idea is that the complete truth of the story of this couple must be discovered by the reader as they read each section. Despite this, I felt that the only truth needed was the journal at the end, and I ended up taking that as the complete truth. I do think it was interesting how each part did reveal different aspects to paint a complete picture.
With each different perspective, the characters changed and thus it was hard to get a good read on what they truly were like, but I think that was the point. By seeing these characters from a range of different perspectives, they become more human.
Overall, this just wasn't what I was expecting and my interest was waning a lot during this read, but I appreciated what it was trying to achieve. While I would not recommend it, I recognise that I did find it interesting enough to finish.
I was intrigued to see that this book is technically 4 novellas as it consists of a novel, autobiography, memoir, and journal, and yet I think I only really connected to the memoir and the novel. I was not aware of it going in, but that is just my lack of research on the book. Though I was pleasantly surprised with the dramatics that the first section of the book entailed and confused with what I thought was only the beginning but was instead the ending to the novel's first part.
Despite this, I carried on reading, intrigued by how the rest of the book would play out, but until about 1/4 of the way through the memoir, I was really dragging my feet trying to get through it. The idea is that the complete truth of the story of this couple must be discovered by the reader as they read each section. Despite this, I felt that the only truth needed was the journal at the end, and I ended up taking that as the complete truth. I do think it was interesting how each part did reveal different aspects to paint a complete picture.
With each different perspective, the characters changed and thus it was hard to get a good read on what they truly were like, but I think that was the point. By seeing these characters from a range of different perspectives, they become more human.
Overall, this just wasn't what I was expecting and my interest was waning a lot during this read, but I appreciated what it was trying to achieve. While I would not recommend it, I recognise that I did find it interesting enough to finish.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer