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A review by gracescanlon
Trust by Hernán Díaz
challenging
mysterious
reflective
fast-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
In Trust, Díaz used unique method of storytelling I'd not encountered but much enjoyed. I loved that the first two parts of the book were written by men, both with fond feelings toward the main female character, but flawed, and limited by their upbringing and the society around them all the same, while the second parts were told by female characters about their own experiences, using their own words.
The ordering of these parts created the effect of the women setting the record straight. One woman saw herself in the other and used her own experience as a woman to read between the lines of the previous narratives to learn the real story while placating men. Meanwhile, the other woman told the actual story, as it happened in her life, using her own words. I loved that it seemed that it was the combined efforts of the women that revealed the truth - the first, in analyzing the information she was given and pursuing the real story, and the second, in recording the facts as she knew them.
The ordering of these parts created the effect of the women setting the record straight. One woman saw herself in the other and used her own experience as a woman to read between the lines of the previous narratives to learn the real story while placating men. Meanwhile, the other woman told the actual story, as it happened in her life, using her own words. I loved that it seemed that it was the combined efforts of the women that revealed the truth - the first, in analyzing the information she was given and pursuing the real story, and the second, in recording the facts as she knew them.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Self harm, Terminal illness, Medical content, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Infertility, Grief, Death of parent, and Classism
Minor: Violence