Trust by Hernan Diaz

Wednesday, July 27, 2022--San Antonio

Trust by Hernan Diaz was long-listed yesterday for the Booker Prize this year.  I can see why now.  I started reading what seemed to be a novel pretending to be a "biography" of the life of a great financier (in a string of generations of great financiers) about 2 1/2 weeks ago.  I kept wondering why it had been so highly recommended, and I considered quitting it.  I would pick it up every two days and read just a few pages.  Yesterday, I was only at the 50% point in the novel, but I was still chugging along and thinking I would have to extend my checkout on Libby for another 3 weeks.  (I usually finish a novel in 3-5 days.)  One reason I kept going is that I remembered reading that there was a big change around the half-way point that made it start making sense and made it become very interesting.  Well, in the last 24 hours, I have read the other 50% of the novel.  The first half was rather tedious, but it sets the stage for two more sections with the last being a great surprise twist.  If you are a fan of biographies or autobiographies, it will make you question the authenticity of any of them!  My rating went up from 3 stars to 4 1/2 stars out of 5 in just 24 hours of reading.