TRUST by Hernan Diaz-Trust Me, Pass on this Tedious Read

Trust is a novel by Hernan Diaz.  His novel "Distance"was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize (2017).  TRUST is set in the years preceding the Great Crash on Wall Street and hones in on Andrew Bevel, a financial tycoon who traversed financial disaster and outmaneuvered the mainstream.  Bevel's gains were at a time when the masses lost their savings and livelihoods.  Few, like Bevel prevailed, proving himself a prodigious wiz in the stocks and bonds biz.  His success did not go uncontested.  Many questioned his tactics and veracity in his business dealings.  The truth is TRUST is a bust, boring from start to finish. The book is written in four components.  The connection among the sections are varying vantages, all of the same main characters.  The supposed clever gimmick is revealed towards the conclusion at which point, it's besides the point.  Trust me, time spent on this laborious read doesn't pay out.  For those who think the synopsis intriguing and plan to read the book, stop reading my critique.  This is a spoiler alert.  The first section of Diaz's book is book within a book. "BONDS" by Harold Vanner about Helen and Benjamin Rask.  Vanner's "BONDS" rankled Bevel by fictitiously depicting the Bevels as Benjamin and Helen Rask very unflatteringly.  Bevel's rancor drives him to hire a ghost writer to write the story right, as dictated by him.  Ida Partenza is the young woman selected to do Beven's bidding.  We come to know Ida's hard knock life living in Brooklyn with her anarchist printer father.  Ida's resourcefulness leads her to write a faux history to thwart a perceived threat.  Ida's determination to bring depth to her benefactor and his deceased wife, serendipitously lea her to discover Mildred's diaries.  Mildred's version of events depicts lies that dismantle the picture her husband deemed to paint.  An excerpt from Mildred's journal reads, "The scheme lasted only for a few months.  But he {Bevel} made an incalculable fortune.  And the myth of Bevel grew till he became a god.  I called him a criminal".  Bank on the fact there will be scammers, revisionists and egoists who justify their actions by accepting the means justifying the end.  I was glad to come to the end of this relentless saga.  

Non-F INDENPENDENCE DAY by Steven Lopez To Retire or Not to Retire to What We Aspire

Steve Lopez is a writer amongst the dwindling field of journalism.  He's a columnist for the "Los Angeles Times" and a four-time Pulitzer-Prize finalist for commentary.  He's the author of three novels and the recipient of the PEN USA Literary Award for Nonfiction.  His biography about Nathaniel Ayers, a Juilliard music student whose mental illness put him on a downward trajectory was made into a major motion picture starring Robert Downey Jr. as Lopez and Jamie Foxx as Ayers.  Lopez's latest non-fiction book is his reflections and conversations with those who've considered retirement from both sides; being ideal or hell on wheels.  Lopez observations lay close to home; what's best for him, his marriage and his sanity.  Lopez contemplates turning 68 and his career prospects in journalism.  He compounds his sense of growing dread with laments for his youngest child who is on the verge of departing for college.  His sentiments for parents preparing for their prodigies pending departures from home ring true.   But, the writer's bemoaning grows tiresome.  "People who told me right before she was born that a child will keep you young, it was true, but now I want to bolt the doors shut, because when she leaves, she takes my fountain of youth."  I understand equating his daughter on the precipice of independce against his future as it appears winding down. "She and her friends are giddy as the next phase of their lives approaches...and new adventures in front of them."  Still, I wanted to yell at Lopez, grow up and be grateful.  Nonetheless, there are interviews and revelations from fascinating individuals with varying views on whether to retire.  In particular, Norman Lear and Mel Brooks wake up each day with zeal for working.  For those who opted for retirement, there were disparaging epiphanies.  Some found they tired of retirement and others discovered a whole new exciting world, "a new fantastic point of view, no one to tell us "No"or where to go." (T. Rice)  Pragmatic considerations are elucidated; financial security, the importance of a structured day and feeling needed or productive.  Lopez shared several fears with others such as loss of identity, purpose and social interactions.  I didn't uncover new insights from INDEPENDENCE DAYS for pondering the pros and cons of retirement. Lopez' loquacious, self-indulgences didn't aspire to wisdom.  My advice for Lopez is to keep his day job interviewing interesting people and leave the family laments at home.