
Trust Exercise
“A brilliant and challenging novel, an uncanny evocation of the not-so-distant past that turns into a meditation on the slipperiness of memory and the ethics of storytelling.”
Tom Perrotta, New York Times bestselling author
Winner of the 2019 National Book Award for Fiction
An Atlantic Best Book of 2019
A Washington Post Best Book of the Year selecgtion
Vanity Fair Magazine Pick of Best Books of 2019
An Entertainment Weekly Best Book of the Year
A Marie Claire Magazine Pick of the Year
A 2019 Cosmopolitan Best Book
A Los Angeles Times Best Book of the Year
An Elle Magazine Pick of 2019's Best Books
A Time Magazine Best Book of the Year
A Chicago Tribune Best Book of 2019
Among longlisted titles for NYPL Best Books of the Year, 2019
Among longlisted titles for Publishers Weekly Best Books of the Year, 2019
Among longlisted titles for New York Times Book Review Notable Books of the Year, 2019
Among shortlisted titles for National Book Awards - Finalist, 2019
Winner of National Book Awards - Winner, 2019
Among longlisted titles for NYPL Book for Reading and Sharing, 2019
Among longlisted titles for Kirkus Reviews Best Books of the Year, 2019
Among longlisted titles for New York Magazine Best Books of the Year, 2019
Among longlisted titles for NPR Best Book of the Year, 2019
Among longlisted titles for New Yorker Best Books of the Year, 2019
Among longlisted titles for Time Magazine Top 10 Books of the Year, 2019
Among longlisted titles for Hudson Booksellers Best of the Year, 2019
Among longlisted titles for Shelf Awareness Best Books of the Year, 2019
Among longlisted titles for Slate Book Review Best Books of the Year, 2019
Among longlisted titles for Time Magazine Best Books of the Year, 2019
Among longlisted titles for NYPL Best Books of the Year, 2019
Among longlisted titles for Slate Best Books of the Year, 2019
Among longlisted titles for Publishers Weekly Best Books of the Year, 2019
Among longlisted titles for New York Times Book Review Notable Books of the Year, 2019
Among shortlisted titles for National Book Awards - Finalist, 2019
Winner of National Book Awards - Winner, 2019
Among longlisted titles for NYPL Book for Reading and Sharing, 2019
Among longlisted titles for Kirkus Reviews Best Books of the Year, 2019
Among longlisted titles for New York Magazine Best Books of the Year, 2019
Among longlisted titles for NPR Best Book of the Year, 2019
Among longlisted titles for New Yorker Best Books of the Year, 2019
Among longlisted titles for Time Magazine Top 10 Books of the Year, 2019
Among longlisted titles for Hudson Booksellers Best of the Year, 2019
Among longlisted titles for Shelf Awareness Best Books of the Year, 2019
Among longlisted titles for Slate Book Review Best Books of the Year, 2019
Among longlisted titles for Time Magazine Best Books of the Year, 2019
WINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR FICTION
“Electrifying” (People) • “Masterly” (The Guardian) • “Dramatic and memorable” (The New Yorker) • “Magic” (TIME) • “Ingenious” (The Financial Times) • "A gonzo literary performance” (Entertainment Weekly) • “Rare and splendid” (The Boston Globe) • “Remarkable” (USA Today) • “Delicious” (The New York Times) • “Book groups, meet your next selection" (NPR)
In an American suburb in the early 1980s, students at a highly competitive performing arts high school struggle and thrive in a rarified bubble, ambitiously pursuing music, movement, Shakespeare, and, particularly, their acting classes. When within this striving “Brotherhood of the Arts,” two freshmen, David and Sarah, fall headlong into love, their passion does not go unnoticed—or untoyed with—by anyone, especially not by their charismatic acting teacher, Mr. Kingsley.
The outside world of family life and economic status, of academic pressure and of their future adult lives, fails to penetrate this school’s walls—until it does, in a shocking spiral of events that catapults the action forward in time and flips the premise upside-down. What the reader believes to have happened to David and Sarah and their friends is not entirely true—though it’s not false, either. It takes until the book’s stunning coda for the final piece of the puzzle to fall into place—revealing truths that will resonate long after the final sentence.
As captivating and tender as it is surprising, Trust Exercise will incite heated conversations about fiction and truth, and about friendships and loyalties, and will leave listeners with wiser understandings of the true capacities of adolescents and of the powers and responsibilities of adults.
Praise
