Fiction, 2021
Trust is an odd little novel. I was reading this during finals season, which meant that I would get through a few pages a day, and drag the story well beyond what should have been its ending in my life. When I finally finished, it was a sunny winter day, and I was sitting at my favourite cafe. I had gone alone, with the sole purpose of reading, and found myself in a space where I had something to say, or thought I did, but had no one to say it to. With this lump stuck in my throat, I went outside for a cigarette to think about what I was feeling. The conclusion I reached was that a non-conclusion—the lump left unspoken—is perhaps the point of investment in the story.
We follow Pietro as he imagines, and attempts to realise, his ego ideal. He is a teacher, father, husband, and most importantly, the sharer of a secret that will haunt him not because it imposes an immediate threat, but because he knows that at some point, he has revealed it. Like everyone trying to live up to the image they’ve crafted of who they are, and what they want to be remembered for, Pietro is a performer in a play of his own making. But is it of his own making? The questions the novel asks are, how is the attainment of our ideal selfhood contaminated—or complicated—by the intrusion of others? Do we have a role in how people affect us? I don’t think the novel answers these questions, but they’re posed with such grace and restraint that I think the ultimate read is worth it.
There is also a lot to be said about the afterword by the translator, Jhumpa Lahiri. Like every afterword should be, it felt like a conversation with a friend who is so much smarter than you. Not strenuous enough to feel academic, yet still meaty enough to read like an essay, Lahiri talks through what I want to hear every translator explain: the process instead of the result. Read it during moments alone, and unlike me, perhaps don’t reveal your thoughts on it for the ultimate Starnone experience.
Song - Yesterday - The Beatles (Lahiri’s recommendation, which I agree with), but also, Wednesday Morning, 3 a.m. - Simon & Garfunkel
Film - The Lost Daughter (I am aware that this is an adaption of a Ferrante novel, but it still works beautifully, specifically the scenes of Leda in her youth.)
P.S. Apologies for the lack of an email last week, I have no explanation other than I was fast asleep. Also, a big thank you to my friend who gifted me the novel for my birthday, and without whom I would never have read this.
do u know u can track your life based on the titles of your blog mahika