Trust by Hernan Diaz, longlisted for the Booker Prize, is a postmodern novel exploring the life of financier Andrew Bevel through four conflicting narratives. The story examines the intertwined fates of Andrew and his wife, Mildred, highlighting themes of wealth, the artifice of financial systems, and gender politics. Topics of mental illness, severe illness, and historical economic crises appear in the narrative.

Trust by Hernan Diaz has garnered acclaim for its inventive narrative structure and deep exploration of wealth and power. Critics praise Diaz’s skillful storytelling and character development. However, some readers find the fragmented format challenging and occasionally disorienting. Overall, Trust is considered a thought-provoking and ambitious work.

A reader who relishes intricate narratives and themes of wealth and power would appreciate Hernan Diaz's Trust. This novel interweaves multiple perspectives, akin to F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and John Dos Passos’s U.S.A. trilogy. Fans of literary fiction exploring the complexities of economic influence and personal relationships will be captivated.

Mysterious / Contemplative / Bittersweet / Melancholic / Emotional

- Trust by Hernan Diaz was longlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize, an annual award for the best original novel written in the English language.
- The novel's structure is unique as it consists of four interlinked narratives, each offering different perspectives and styles, which explore themes of wealth, power, and identity.
- Hernan Diaz's Trust is notable for its metafictional elements, inviting readers to question the nature of truth and fiction within the storytelling process.

**Benjamin Rask**  
Benjamin Rask is the investing savant in Vanner’s novel *Bonds*, based on Andrew Bevel. He is a static character with a mystery surrounding his mind, focusing solely on profit and lacking human emotions.

**Helen Rask (née Brevoort)**  
Helen Rask is the tragic heroine of *Bonds*, modeled on Mildred Bevel. She is a precocious, multilingual child whose talents are exploited by her parents, leading to her becoming withdrawn and solitary.

**Mildred Bevel (née Howland)**  
Mildred appears as a shadow in *Trust*, depicted by Vanner as the intelligent but tragic Helen and by Bevel as a supportive wife. She is a mystery whose true character is explored.

**Andrew Bevel**  
Andrew Bevel, the investor on whom Rask is based, is portrayed through multiple perspectives in *Trust*. He is concerned with his public image, appearing superficial while pretending to be profound.

**Ida Partenza**  
Ida Partenza is a 23-year-old ghostwriter hired by Bevel to write his autobiography. A second-generation Italian immigrant, she brings transparency to *Trust* and seeks to uncover the truth about the Bevels’ marriage.

**Partenza’s Father**  
Partenza’s unnamed father is an Italian American émigré and an anarchist living with his daughter in Brooklyn. He clings to manual typesetting, embodying a static and flat character marked by his idealism.

**Leopold Brevoort**  
Leopold Brevoort is Helen’s father in *Bonds*, an intellectual living through Helen. His obsession with Swedenborg theology illustrates the dangers of self-contained systems, contrasting with Rask/Bevel's financial pursuits.

Hernan Diaz

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Novel

Fiction

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Overview

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Trust Summary and Study Guide

Background

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Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Book 1: “Bonds: A Novel by Harold Vanner”

Book 1, Chapters 1-2

Trust Book 1, Chapters 1-2 Summary & Analysis

Book 1, Chapters 3-4

Trust Book 1, Chapters 3-4 Summary & Analysis

Book 2:“ My Life by Andrew Bevel” - Book 2, Part 1: “Ancestry”

Book 2

Trust Book 2 Summary & Analysis

Book 3: “A Memoir, Remembered by Ida Partenza”

Book 3, Part 1, Chapters 1-10

Trust Book 3, Part 1, Chapters 1-10 Summary & Analysis

Book 3, Part 2, Chapters 1-9

Trust Book 3, Part 2, Chapters 1-9 Summary & Analysis

Book 3, Part 3, Chapters 1-6

Trust Book 3, Part 3, Chapters 1-6 Summary & Analysis

Book 3, Part 3, Chapter 7-Book 3, Part 4

Trust Book 3, Part 3, Chapter 7-Book 3, Part 4 Summary & Analysis

Book 4: “Futures by Mildred Bevel”

Book 4

Trust Book 4 Summary & Analysis

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Character Analysis

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Themes

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Symbols & Motifs

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Important Quotes

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Essay Topics

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Trust

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