🏆 Pulitzer Prize Winner | A New York Times Bestseller | One of Barack Obama’s Favorite Books of 2022
📚 Trust by Hernan Diaz (Hardcover – May 3, 2022)
⭐ 4.1 out of 5 stars (37,325 ratings) | 3.8 on Goodreads (163,156 ratings)
📖 #1 Best Seller in Biographical & Autofiction
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Introduction
In the glittering world of 1920s New York, where money ruled and morals bent under the weight of ambition, Trust by Hernan Diaz stands as a dazzling yet unsettling portrait of the American dream — and the price of achieving it.
Winner of the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, Trust is not just another historical novel. It is a literary experiment that deconstructs how wealth, gender, and narrative control intertwine to shape truth. Hernan Diaz masterfully blends fact and fiction to explore who gets to tell the story of success — and whose voices are silenced along the way.
If you’ve ever been fascinated by The Great Gatsby or intrigued by the dark psychology behind power and money, Trust will leave you mesmerized.
👉 Get your copy on Amazon: Trust (Pulitzer Prize Winner) by Hernan Diaz
Book Summary
At the center of Trust are Benjamin and Helen Rask, a wealthy, mysterious couple who dominate the New York elite during the Roaring Twenties. Benjamin is a financial genius — a Wall Street titan who seems to control the economy itself. Helen, the daughter of eccentric aristocrats, is known for her intelligence and grace but remains an enigma to the public.
The novel begins not directly with their lives but through another book — Bonds, a 1937 fictionalized account of their story. Written by a novelist named Harold Vanner, Bonds depicts Benjamin as a ruthless capitalist who manipulates the markets while his wife slowly descends into madness. The book becomes a sensation, shaping public opinion about the Rasks.
However, that’s just the beginning.
As Diaz unfolds Trust, we are presented with four interlocking narratives, each challenging the version before it. These layers slowly peel back the myths surrounding the couple and reveal deeper truths about ambition, gender, and power:
- "Bonds" – The first narrative, written like a classic 1930s novel, offers the fictionalized story of the Rasks.
- "My Life" – A memoir supposedly written by Andrew Bevel (the real-life inspiration behind Rask), where he tries to “set the record straight” and justify his wealth.
- "A Memoir, Remembered" – Told through the eyes of Ida Partenza, a young woman hired by Bevel to ghostwrite his memoir. Her perspective exposes the manipulation and hypocrisy behind Bevel’s version of the truth.
- "Futures" – The final section, composed of diary entries from Helen Rask herself, offers the most intimate, haunting, and heartbreaking revelation of all.
Through these shifting voices, Diaz weaves a story within a story, asking the reader to question everything: Who holds the truth? Is success ever pure, or is it always rewritten by those who can afford to control the narrative?
👉 Get your copy on Amazon: Trust (Pulitzer Prize Winner) by Hernan Diaz
Themes and Symbolism
💰 The Illusion of Wealth
At its core, Trust is a story about money as illusion. Benjamin Rask’s immense fortune represents not just financial success but the power to rewrite history. Diaz shows how wealth can manipulate not only markets but also perception — how the rich curate their legacies while the poor are left voiceless.
The title “Trust” itself is layered: it refers both to financial trusts and to the fragile nature of human trust — between spouses, between truth and lies, between reader and narrator.
🧠 Power and Narrative Control
Each version of the story represents a struggle over who controls the narrative. Harold Vanner’s novel portrays Rask as monstrous, so Bevel retaliates with his memoir to reclaim his image. Then comes Ida, who begins to see the cracks in Bevel’s self-portrait. Finally, Helen’s own words subvert everything we thought we knew.
Through this structure, Diaz brilliantly demonstrates how history is written by those with power — and how truth is often buried under layers of spin.
👩🎓 The Silenced Female Voice
Helen Rask is the novel’s moral and emotional anchor. Though she is initially sidelined, her final voice reclaims the story from male control. She becomes the ultimate truth-teller, exposing the emptiness behind her husband’s empire and the cost of a life built on deception.
Helen’s sections are deeply moving — poetic, quiet, and devastating. Diaz gives her back the voice that the earlier male narrators denied her, turning the book into a feminist meditation on erasure.
🕰️ Time, Memory, and Truth
The nonlinear structure of Trust mimics the way memory and history function — fragmented, unreliable, constantly rewritten. Diaz plays with time and genre, moving from social realism to memoir to metafiction, blurring the boundaries between fiction and fact.
It’s a reminder that truth is not fixed — it evolves depending on who tells it and why.
Writing Style and Structure
Hernan Diaz’s writing is elegant, precise, and rich in texture. Each of the four parts has a distinct voice and style:
- Bonds feels like a lost 1930s classic — lyrical yet distant.
- My Life mimics the arrogance and self-justification of a Wall Street mogul.
- A Memoir, Remembered introduces modern energy and skepticism.
- Futures is intimate and haunting, written with quiet rage and grace.
This structural complexity might sound challenging, but it’s beautifully rewarding. Diaz’s prose glows with intelligence and emotional depth, making every page a discovery.
Critical Reception
Trust has been widely acclaimed for its ambitious storytelling and profound themes.
- Oprah Daily called it “Buzzy and enthralling... a glorious novel about empires and erasures.”
- The New York Times described it as “Exhilarating.”
- Vanity Fair praised it as “a genre-bending, time-skipping story about New York City’s elite.”
- Esquire labeled it “a riveting story of class, capitalism, and greed.”
It also appeared on numerous Best Books of 2022 lists and was longlisted for the Booker Prize.
Why You Should Read Trust
If you enjoy novels that challenge perception and offer more than just a story, Trust is for you.
It’s a book that makes you think, makes you question, and makes you admire the power of storytelling.
Here’s why it deserves a spot on your reading list:
- A fresh take on wealth and morality: It shows the hidden costs of success and the moral compromises behind it.
- Brilliant narrative structure: Multiple perspectives keep you guessing until the end.
- Strong female voice: Helen’s section gives emotional depth and closure to the story.
- Timeless relevance: In today’s world of media spin and misinformation, Trust feels incredibly modern.
- Award-winning excellence: With the Pulitzer Prize and Obama’s endorsement, this book has already become a modern classic.
Key Takeaways
- Truth is never singular — every story has multiple sides.
- Power shapes narrative — those who own wealth, own words.
- Silence speaks volumes — Helen’s final voice reclaims what history erased.
- Trust is fragile — whether between people or between fact and fiction.
Final Verdict: 4.8/5 ⭐
Hernan Diaz’s Trust is a masterpiece of layered storytelling, blending emotional power with intellectual precision.
It’s not a light read — but it’s an unforgettable one.
This book rewards patient readers with one of the most satisfying literary experiences in recent years. It’s elegant, haunting, and deeply human — a timeless exploration of truth, power, and love.
👉 Get your copy on Amazon: Trust (Pulitzer Prize Winner) by Hernan Diaz