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Trust

Trust is a 2022 novel by Hernán Díaz, published by Riverhead Books.

By Ethan Anderson| Reviewed by Olivia Bennett, Standards & Fact-Checking Lead| Updated July 27, 2026|2 min read| Fact-checked

Trust is a 2022 novel by Hernán Díaz, published by Riverhead Books. Set largely in New York City, the novel centers on finance and wealth, using a four-part metafictional structure to tell competing versions of a financier’s life and marriage. It won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

Plot and structure

Trust is built from four fictional texts that present different versions of the same story. The structure is central to the novel’s exploration of truth, memory, and narrative control.

Themes

The novel examines wealth, finance, marriage, power, and the reliability of storytelling. It also reflects on how historical and personal narratives are shaped by perspective and omission.

Publication and reception

Published by Riverhead Books in 2022, the novel received major critical attention. It won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and appeared on several year-end best-of lists.

Setting and characters

The book is set mainly in New York City during the early 20th century and revolves around a wealthy financier and his wife. Later sections revisit the same events from other viewpoints.

Key facts

  • The novel was published in 2022 and won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
  • It is set mainly in New York City and focuses on finance, wealth, and power.
  • The book presents multiple competing accounts of the same events.
  • Its internal texts include a novel, an incomplete autobiography, a memoir, and a diary.
  • The novel has been described as metafictional and fragmentary.
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Canadian context

The novel received international recognition and is relevant to Canadian readers through its Pulitzer Prize win, broad Anglophone literary reception, and availability in Canadian book markets.

Frequently asked questions

Who wrote Trust?
Trust was written by Hernán Díaz.
When was Trust published?
It was published in 2022.
What is Trust about?
It follows a wealthy financier and his wife through multiple conflicting narratives about money, marriage, and truth.
What award did Trust win?
It won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
What makes Trust structurally unusual?
It is composed of four interconnected fictional texts that tell the same basic story from different angles.
Where is Trust set?
It is set predominantly in New York City.

References

  1. Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trust_(novel)
    Supports: Author, publication year, publisher, pages, award, setting, and four-part structure.
  2. American Literary History (Oxford Academic) — https://academic.oup.com/alh/article/36/2/489/7674992
    Supports: Four-part structure, themes involving capitalism, liberalism, finance, and law.
  3. Waterstones — https://www.waterstones.com/book/trust/hernan-diaz/9781529074529
    Supports: Publication details and Pulitzer Prize recognition.
  4. Publishers Weekly — https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780593420317
    Supports: Synopsis, structure, and central characters.
  5. The New York Times — https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/28/books/review/trust-hernan-diaz.html
    Supports: Critical framing of the novel and its themes of trust, wealth, and competing narratives.