Trust is a collection of four stories that narrate the account of an early 20th-century financial mogul and his wife. Hidden behind the layers, the cracks begin to show, only to shatter completely by the very end. Each story offers a different angle from which to view the narrative, employing varied narrative styles and perspectives—each molded by the viewpoint of the fictional author behind them. Step by step, you are confronted with these nuanced angles, leading you to question the nature of the reality we perceive as individuals over time, how we wish to be perceived by others, how the world sees us, and who is truly telling the story of our lives versus who is merely surviving it.
MOST OF US PREFER to believe we are the active subjects of our victories but only the passive objects of our defeats. We triumph, but it is not really we who fail—we are ruined by forces beyond our control.
I have very much enjoyed reading Trust and would likely read it again at some point. While the overall plot might be quite common, and at times you could describe it as both banal and familiar, it is the intricately laid out complexity of the book that makes it captivating.
Rating: ★★★★★ (?)