From the Bookshelf of The Roundtable…
Find A Copy At
Group Discussions About This Book
Round E - 1 August - 15 September - Reservoir 13 vs Klara and the Sun vs Headshot
By Henk · 15 posts · 19 views
By Henk · 15 posts · 19 views
last updated 2 hours, 8 min ago
showing 4 of 4 topics
view all »
Other topics mentioning this book
Challenge September 2022 - Completed Tasks
By Dawn , Loves a Challenge · 71 posts · 29 views
By Dawn , Loves a Challenge · 71 posts · 29 views
last updated Dec 31, 2022 02:23PM
What Members Thought
On the upside, I learned the word "dipsomania."
I went into the novel with huge stores of leftover goodwill from reading In the Distance. I also loved the idea of reading multiple rashomon-like reveals and revelations, and I read along in the beginning with great anticipation, and tried to retain my interest long enough to get to the next passage or sentence or anything at all that might remind me of how much I loved Díaz's debut...
But there were longer and longer interludes between the sparkly p ...more
I went into the novel with huge stores of leftover goodwill from reading In the Distance. I also loved the idea of reading multiple rashomon-like reveals and revelations, and I read along in the beginning with great anticipation, and tried to retain my interest long enough to get to the next passage or sentence or anything at all that might remind me of how much I loved Díaz's debut...
But there were longer and longer interludes between the sparkly p ...more
A tale of wealth and power, and how this can be used to bring a narrative to the forefront or erase people
History itself is a fiction with an army
From humble beginnings a J.P. Morgan like bank is build up. Along the way marriage alliances are forged and “slanderous” tales need to be defused.
I loved the earlier parts of Trust which has a vaux Henry James tone, focussing on rich New York based people, especially a Warren Buffet avant le lettre and a gifted if somewhat dull young woman. It details ...more
History itself is a fiction with an army
From humble beginnings a J.P. Morgan like bank is build up. Along the way marriage alliances are forged and “slanderous” tales need to be defused.
I loved the earlier parts of Trust which has a vaux Henry James tone, focussing on rich New York based people, especially a Warren Buffet avant le lettre and a gifted if somewhat dull young woman. It details ...more
At first I thought this book was not quite the equal of my beloved In the Distance, but with just a few days to mull it over, I'm rethinking. This book is a cleverly nested series of four books with reveals that are so judiciously and delicately handled that you think you're reading one kind of book when you're reading quite another. At least that's what happened to me.
I was reminded of so many authors and books - not in a derivative way, or even as an homage, but as a meeting of equals. Henry ...more
I was reminded of so many authors and books - not in a derivative way, or even as an homage, but as a meeting of equals. Henry ...more
This novel examines the creation of image, the chasm between the public and personal persona, the way the wealthy and famous can manage their story and have their story distorted in the public arena. I appreciated this more than I enjoyed it. It started slowly for me, but by the end I was extremely impressed.
This story is set up in an interesting way. It's 3 stories told in 3 different perspectives about the same character, financier, Andrew Bevel, and his wife. How each story came to be and how it intertwines with the others is very clever. I really enjoyed reading the book as outlined in this manner. There's a big twist at the end that is also very good, but then the book just ended abruptly. The ending reduced my rating from a 5 star to a 4 star read. Even so, I highly recommend it.
...more
Sep 24, 2023
Camelia Rose
rated it
really liked it
Shelves:
contemporary-fiction,
historical-fiction
Herman Diaz’s second novel is quite different from In the Distance. I enjoyed both.
Smartly structured, there are four parts in the book. The first part is a novel inside a novel. It reads like an Edith Wharton. The second part is an unfinished memoir. I initially hated it, then I realized Andrew Bevel was an unreliable narrator. Part 3 is what glues the book together. The last part, Mildred Bevel’s diary, makes a satisfying ending.
Smartly structured, there are four parts in the book. The first part is a novel inside a novel. It reads like an Edith Wharton. The second part is an unfinished memoir. I initially hated it, then I realized Andrew Bevel was an unreliable narrator. Part 3 is what glues the book together. The last part, Mildred Bevel’s diary, makes a satisfying ending.
I thoroughly enjoy reading books that give you different perspectives on the same event, or person, or time period. This one did a fantastic job of showing a life and marriage from four different views, each version building on the previous version, often providing completely opposite ideas on the truth. I think my favourite was the first version, the fictional novel.
I found the finance background to the story fascinating, especially as it is set during an interesting period of American history ...more
I found the finance background to the story fascinating, especially as it is set during an interesting period of American history ...more
So frustrating to sense there is something great going on here but I'm missing the point completely. Despite not connecting with the story(ies), there were flashes that pulled me in and in parts, I was intrigued. But mostly I was bored. I'll have to read reviews to see what I missed.
...more
Interesting novel that consists of four different versions of the same story, the career of a Wall Street financier and his marriage. The first part fictionalises the financier in a novel called Bonds, in response to which he begins to write his own autobiography to refute the slurs he perceives. He hires a secretary called Ida Partenza, daughter of an Italian immigrant, to help as a secretary/ghostwriter and her research and experiences begin to challenge the version of the truth she is being f
...more
Very little bores me more than “money stuff” like the stock market. I wonder whether the book would have worked better for me if it had a different line of work in the background.
May 18, 2022
Erika
marked it as to-read
May 18, 2022
Susan
marked it as to-read
Sep 18, 2022
Rachel
rated it
liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fiction,
man-booker-winner-finalist
Dec 21, 2022
Sarah
marked it as to-read
Dec 23, 2022
Pat
marked it as to-read
Jan 29, 2023
S.L. Berry
marked it as to-read
Apr 01, 2024
Yokk
marked it as to-read
Aug 11, 2025
Kai Coates
marked it as to-read
