TRUST by Hernan Diaz

When do we get to the good part?  This is the question I asked myself through the first two sections of this novel.  (There are four in total).  The first section is a novel about Benjamin Rask, whose stock market expertise in the early 20^th century made him a very wealthy man.  The second section is an autobiography of Andrew Bevel, including a few placeholders whose details are apparently to be supplied later, whose story sounds quite similar to Rask’s.  Their wives even have similar interests—music, philanthropy—but differ in important ways, although both perish in a Swiss hospital.  The first section is cleverly written in such a way as to mirror Benjamin Rask’s personality—stilted and unemotional, although what happens to his wife is shocking and tragic.  Bevel’s autobiography is a little warmer, but the subject is just as dull, perhaps even more so.  The third section, narrated by a woman, enlightens us as to what is going on in the first two sections and finally gives us a reason to keep reading.  The final section, though, is in the voice of Andrew Bevel’s wife and is quite the eye-opener.  If I had known that this novel would take so long to gain traction, I might have skimmed the first two sections, but now I actually want to reread them.  This book is not a mystery novel nor is there much suspense, but the surprise in the final section definitely explains Bevel’s reticence on the subject of his wife.  This book unfolds in the most clever way possible, and the title’s duality in referring to both finance and to the reliability of the narration is nifty.