A narrative constructed of differing views of the same event or person, well its an old story trope. But here in Hernan Diaz's Trust its given a refreshing shakeup. It opens with a controversial novel by Harold Vanner about a reclusive millionaire Benjamin Rask and the tragic life of his wife Helen. Rask is portrayed as an unprincipled and craven man, the only person to make a fortune out of the Wall Street Crash. Many accuse him of actively manufacturing the crash, just so he could profit from it. Married to Helen, she lives the life of a reluctant socialite, sponsoring charity work, musicians, composers and artists, until she succumbs to a severe mental breakdown, the experimental treatment for which kills her.
Vanner's novel becomes a huge bestseller, mainly because its widely interpreted as an unfavourable not too fictionalised account of the actual lives of Andrew and Mildred Bevel, Andrew Bevel, not at all happy about this, starts producing an authoritative version of his life story, to set the record straight. This unfinished autobiography, with all its foot notes and sketchy suggestions for further inclusions, is retold next. In it Bevel defends his actions during the crash because this saved the American economy, and he presents his wife as this reclusive angel. So far these appear two straightforward but divergent accounts of one millionaires life story.
These are followed by the investigative notes of Ida Partenza, originally employed by Bevel to help him write the draft autobiography we've just read. She was encouraged by him to 'be creative' in her descriptions of his wife, to make her milder, less independent and more compliant. From this point onwards the book starts to raise intriguing questions. Is anyone telling the truth here, is anyone a reliable narrator? What makes you believe one person and not another? Can any of these writers corroborate their information about Mildred? Each writer appears to have there own agenda that distorts how Mildred is remembered. Everything becomes at least partially made up. There are rumours of a diary Mildred wrote. But if the stories about her mental breakdown are true, how would you know even that could be trusted? Mildred's true life, personality and voice seem destined not to be heard, so completely is her history being controlled, misrepresented or excised.
There were times when the novel lost me on some detail or diversion, which I didn't quite see the purpose of at the time. It lays out its territory carefully, and equally it resists you trying to come to any definitive conclusions. Like every writer you are shown here, you end up making conjectures, imaginatively filling in gaps in knowledge with suppositions, based solely upon your own prejudices. In the end one particular assumption about Mildred that you don't see coming, is unexpectedly upended. Leaving you to ponder on its ramifications for everything you have been told throughout the novel. Trust is a very cleverly composed piece of writing, full of subtle trickery.
CARROT REVIEW - 6/8
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