Trust

Trust by Domenico Starnone

A teacher (Pietro) has a relationship with one of his students (Teresa). They agree to share something together they haven't shared with anyone else. Later they break up. The teacher goes on to get married. They student goes on to an esteemed career abroad.

The bulk of the story focuses on the teacher and his life. He has a good relationship with his wife. They are both academics. They have a kid. They have some struggles. Then an essay that he wrote starts to get some acclaim. He is asked to expand it for a book and later goes on speaking and lecture tours. His career is taking off. Meanwhile, his wife is struggling with her career. She is also spending more time with their kids. There is a struggle as neither seem to be adequately supporting each other. They have different needs. They reach some general truce.

The end of the story moves to the point of view of the teacher's daughter. She sees that he is not nominated for a teacher award. She users her connections to work to rectify this. She mentions all he did, and that he taught Teresa. This lat bit helps sway the committee, and they are willing to have him if she can talk. The daughter contacts her and she agrees immediately. The daughter tells this to her father and she is upset. We then learn of the love that Teresa still has for him and the challenges of the relationship.  

The end of the book has a discussion by the translator of how she translated and some of the challenges in translation. Translators play a key role in how we understand other works, and it is great to hear details from their perspective. The book has a nice, light view glimpse of the struggles that people have in balancing all aspects of their lives. The translation did a great job of keeping the story alive and interesting.

Trick

An older illustrator is called by his daughter to babysit his grandson while she and her husband are away at an academic conference. He runs into challenges watching this 4 year old boy. The boy demands his attention and makes it difficult for him to work. The difficulty culminates when the boy locks him outside on the balcony in the rain. They struggle to find ways to help the boy to call for assistance before finally getting back inside. Eventually, the boy is able to open the door and they return together in the house. 

In the process of these adventures, the older man learns a lot about himself. He had left Naples to seek seek his career as an illustrator in the big city. He thought he had a special gift. However, he sees similar ability in this young child. The child also questions his art. He doesn't see anything special in drawings he does for books. The man learns that maybe he is not so important after all.

There is also the side story of the boy's parents. They are having their marital struggles. They discover a little more about themselves in the process. The boy has characteristics of both of his parents. He inadvertently helps all the adults around him to learn more about themselves.