Perspectives in Trust

     Perspective is a very prominent part of Trust, given that we read through four different narratives in the book. While each new author sheds light on their experience in the circle of Andrew Bevel, I particularly enjoyed it when each author recounted the same event. My favorite example of this is when each author describes the time of Mildred’s hospital stay. 

Initially, we read through Venner’s rendition of the story. We find Dr. Aftus assuring Helen she would be okay after a difficult and painful stay at the hospital.  Presumably, Helen still thinks there is hope although her mental condition is steadily declining and she is often silent. Next, we read Andrew’s version of events. Andrew tells us that Mildred had died of cancer after a comparatively peaceful hospital visit. Because Andrew repeatedly fabricates his life to Ida, I wondered if Mildred died of cancer or something in between cancer and Venner’s diagnosis. Surprisingly, Mildred does end up having cancer, although her version of events is different from Andrews. She writes, “My cancer diagnosis, according to which I’d be dead not too long after that.” (Diaz, p. 396). Soon after this, Mildred claims that she is the one to tell Andrew about her diagnosis. On the other hand, Andrew states his doctor told him before Mildred knew. I also found it notable how Andrew claims his leaving for Zurich at the time of Mildred’s death was “the only time I left her side” (Diaz, p. 171). We find from Mildred’s diary that Andrew often left for Zurich during their stay at the hospital. These inconsistencies between stories made me want to reread parts of the book, as it added a new element to look for while reading. 

Because of Venner and Andrews's dishonesty, I wanted to get closer to the “truth” of what happened to Mildred as I was reading. Of course, even her diary translation had some difficulty. According to Ida, “It will take days…if I can ever make out the contents at all” (Diaz, p. 356). While it is still a mystery whether some of Mildred’s writing got lost in translation, her perspective is a captivating ending to Trust.

Diaz, H. (2022). Trust. Riverhead Books.