TRUST EXERCISE by Susan Choi

The third and final section of this book baffled me so much that I had to call into question everything that I had read before that.  Suffice it to say that the first section is not what it seems, and this novel brings the concept of an unreliable narrator to a whole new height.  The first section’s narrative follows Sarah, a theatre major at a performing arts high school, but her acting chops are such that she performs backstage tasks during all of the school’s performances.  Her failed romance with fellow student David catches the attention of Mr. Kingsley, the magnetic theatre instructor, who begins pairing the two up for trust exercises, bringing both of them to a new level of uncomfortable awkwardness in each other’s company.  Then a visiting troupe of English actors arrives to perform a production of Candide, and their relationships with the students become the focal point of the story.  The second section takes place fifteen years later and involves many of the same characters—sort of.  Reading this book is definitely a trust exercise in and of itself, as nothing in the novel, except perhaps the final section, can be taken at face value.  I found this level of unreliable narration both intriguing and frustrating at the same time.   I’m really sorry that my book club isn’t reading it, because it definitely lends itself to a rousing discussion and possibly some conclusions that I may have overlooked as possibilities.