Book Short
Trust
by Hernan Diaz
Review by Stephanie Miller
There are four sections to “Trust,” a novel by Pulitzer Prize winning author Hernan Diaz. The first is a novel itself, a fictionalized life of a legendary and enormously successful 1920’s financier in New York City and his wife. The second is an unfinished memoir by the financier presumed by everyone to be featured in the novel. The third is the memories of the unknown young woman hired to help the financier write his memoir. The last is a short story about a woman who could be the wife. Each of them explores the human cost of wealth, especially in the reality-bending world of capitalism.
Along the way, fantastic claims are made about who the financier really is, how he made his money, why he still made money during the crash (and if he caused the crash), who were his mentors and advisors, and who he influenced. The enormous fortune is real. The truth about the man is in debate. The title of the novel is a double entendre, of course, as (a) trust is both a financial instrument and the foundation of any healthy relationship between two people.
‘Trust’: It’s a Literary Mystery
Now that you know the cleverly conceived construct of this book, you will have a leg up on me. I came to it cold on a recommendation from someone in one of my book clubs. It took me well into the third section (the one told in the voice of the young woman hired to write the memoir) to figure out that it’s a literary mystery, presenting the life of this man (or two men?) between memory (not necessarily truth!), gossip, journalism of the time, and pure fiction.
However, at the end, I reflected on how cleverly the various sides of the story are revealed. It speaks to the way we gather information on current events and public figures. Today, we hear the people themselves in interviews with professional journalists. We scan social media. We read novels and watch plays about public figures and those around them. And we hear conflicting stories and alternate facts. How do we actually know what is truth, and which sources can be trusted?
The novel is incredibly spare and precise. It’s so well written. The voices are so unique and clear that even if you ignore the larger intrigue and quest for truth, the sections are each a delight to read. Together, however, they become more poignant and thought-provoking—like listening to a conversation between each protagonist and seeing the same story through their widely different views.
Micro-Shorts
‘Flatlands,’ by Sue Hubbard
I picked this up from the new releases table at the front of Sherman’s on Exchange Street. (Always a great stop!) It’s patterned on the 1940s children’s novella, “The Snow Goose,” which I enjoy. It is the memories of a young, plain, shy girl sent north from London during the Blitz as part of the evacuation of children to the country. She is placed in a miserable home and nearly starved while forced to do drudgery work for an unpleasant, overworked mother and attempting to escape abuse from the crude, striving, criminal father.
There is one bright spot. A young pacifist excerpted from the front who is living in a nearby lighthouse. It’s incredibly sad and unjust and no one seems happy. But she does escape and grow old. With distance we see that while she was able to physically escape this horrible time in her life, it has emotionally affected her entire sense of self and safety.
‘The Piano Tuner,’ by Daniel Mason
Found for $3 in the used book rack outside of Longfellow’s, this gripping novel is the work of a young medical student who spent part of 1998 studying malaria in Thailand. It’s about an unassuming English piano tuner summoned by military officials to the backwoods of Burma to tune a piano. The fantastical request is made by a charismatic officer who is an unknowable paragon but singularly successful in keeping the natives from killing the occupying English (and each other).
The travelog alone is engaging, but the personalities are what make this old-fashioned novel from an unlikely novelist such a treat. What kind of officer brings an expensive grand piano to the tropical jungle? Could a man in love with Bach and Hayden be untrustworthy? Why is this officer so successful with the natives, and whose side is he really on? None of that gets answered, but we do see the love and admiration of an unprepossessing piano tuner turn to these questions, as he struggles with questions about his own capacity for loyalty and betrayal.
‘The Red Boat and other Stories,’ by Sally Murdock Macvane (MAINE AUTHOR)
These interconnected stories take place on the fictional Maine island of Great Whale. The characters are hardy, stoic, industrious, and practical. As you’d expect from lobstermen, sea captains, general store owners, and their spouses who choose to live on a remote island. They are also unexpectedly independent and a bit mystical. Perhaps also common for islanders in Maine, or at least the myth of islanders in Maine depicted in novels by Mainers. Woven throughout is the character of Enid, who is a combination den mother, godmother, and wise island muse to everyone. They are beautifully constructed stories and delightful to enjoy. I’m now on the hunt for other works by Macvane.
