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Quick answer: If you loved Trust, read F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, then David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas, then Susanna Clarke's Piranesi, and Jennifer Egan's A Visit from the Goon Squad and Julian Barnes's The Sense of an Ending. All are layered literary novels about money and power.
Hernan Diaz's 2022 novel Trust tells one story from four angles, about a wealthy couple in 1920s New York. It won the Pulitzer Prize. These picks share its layers.
Table of Contents
Quick Picks at a Glance
| Book | Author | Ages | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Great Gatsby | F. Scott Fitzgerald | Adult | American classics |
| Cloud Atlas | David Mitchell | Adult | readers who like structure |
| Piranesi | Susanna Clarke | Adult | readers who like puzzles |
| A Visit from the Goon Squad | Jennifer Egan | Adult | linked stories |
| The Sense of an Ending | Julian Barnes | Adult | memory and truth |
| Atonement | Ian McEwan | Adult | moral weight |
| The Remains of the Day | Kazuo Ishiguro | Adult | readers who like reflection |
| The Corrections | Jonathan Franzen | Adult | family satire |
| The Vanishing Half | Brit Bennett | Adult | readers who want a recent bestseller |
| Station Eleven | Emily St. John Mandel | Adult | readers who like quiet apocalypses |
| The Water Dancer | Ta-Nehisi Coates | Adult | fantastical history |
| Cold Mountain | Charles Frazier | Adult | literary historical fiction |
| Lessons in Chemistry | Bonnie Garmus | Adult | readers who like strong heroines |
| The Hours | Michael Cunningham | Adult | literary conversation |
| The Overstory | Richard Powers | Adult | readers who want fiction |
1. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
A mysterious millionaire throws grand parties for a lost love. Short and sharp on illusion and wealth.
Best for: American classics.
2. Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
Six nested stories across time, each read by the next. Inventive and moving.
Best for: readers who like structure.
3. Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
A man lives in a vast house of statues and tides and slowly learns the truth about his world. Strange, quiet and brilliant.
Best for: readers who like puzzles.
4. A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
Linked stories follow people in the music business over decades. Inventive and funny, and a Pulitzer winner.
Best for: linked stories.
5. The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes
A man revisits his past after a surprising bequest. Short and sharp on memory.
Best for: memory and truth.
6. Atonement by Ian McEwan
A girl's false accusation ruins lives. Precise, literary and devastating.
Best for: moral weight.
7. The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
Stevens, a butler, recalls his years of service and a missed chance at love. Restrained and heartbreaking.
Best for: readers who like reflection.
8. The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen
An aging Midwestern couple and their three grown children collide at Christmas. A long, comic family novel about American life.
Best for: family satire.
9. The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
Twin sisters from a small Black town take different paths, one passing as white. Compelling and modern.
Best for: readers who want a recent bestseller.
10. Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
A traveling Shakespeare troupe wanders a world changed by a flu pandemic. Quiet, hopeful and beautifully written.
Best for: readers who like quiet apocalypses.
11. The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates
A man with a magical gift of memory escapes slavery. Lyrical and strange.
Best for: fantastical history.
12. Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier
A wounded Confederate soldier walks home to his love. Slow, lyrical and rooted in landscape.
Best for: literary historical fiction.
13. Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
Elizabeth Zott, a chemist in the 1960s, becomes a TV cooking star. Funny, angry and warm.
Best for: readers who like strong heroines.
14. The Hours by Michael Cunningham
Three women across time are linked by Mrs Dalloway. A literary dialogue with Woolf.
Best for: literary conversation.
15. The Overstory by Richard Powers
Nine people are drawn to trees in this Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. Long, moving and ambitious.
Best for: readers who want fiction.
How We Chose These Books
Every pick is a real, widely available book that shares something specific with Trust: its tone, its themes, its pace or the kind of characters it puts at the center. We mixed well-known favorites with a few less obvious titles, and we noted who each book suits best so you can match it to the reader. Where a book belongs to a series, we list the first volume so you can start at the beginning.
If you are not sure where to begin, start with the first three picks in the table: they are the closest match to Trust. The rest of the list moves further out, so it works well once you know which part of the original you liked most.
How to Choose
For historical drama, read The Great Gatsby. For clever structure, try Cloud Atlas. For literary puzzles, pick Piranesi.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who wrote Trust?
Hernan Diaz, in 2022.
Did it win a prize?
Yes, the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
Is it hard to read?
It has a layered structure but is short.
Which book here is best for readers who want fiction?
Try The Overstory by Richard Powers, which suits readers looking for readers who want fiction.
Which book here is best for literary conversation?
Try The Hours by Michael Cunningham, which suits readers looking for literary conversation.
Which book here is best for readers who like strong heroines?
Try Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus, which suits readers looking for readers who like strong heroines.
Which book here is best for literary historical fiction?
Try Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier, which suits readers looking for literary historical fiction.
Which book here is best for fantastical history?
Try The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates, which suits readers looking for fantastical history.