A time-bending, genre-breaking novel

Kaliane Bradley's 'The Ministry of Time' is surprising and original

After devouring Seed (Bri Lee) I was ready for more dystopian climate fiction. I’ve seen this one doing the rounds for at least a year now, so I finally went for it. This book was surprising in so many ways — the concepts, the language, the narrator’s own two-faced-ness — and, for the most part, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Bradley seems to be a true original, and this book is in a league and category of its own.

I was underwhelmed at how the characters from the past were portrayed; their language and behaviour often seemed incongruent with their circumstances (or perhaps simply under-researched). The book suffered from a typical lagging middle, and it appears I wasn’t as surprised by the inevitable plot twists and revelations as some readers were.

My biggest gripe with this book was twofold: there were the inevitable plot holes that time travel stories always have, but the ending, on which much rested, was so rushed and confusing that I couldn’t make heads or tails of what was happening. I found myself on Reddit, one of many readers asking the same bundle of questions to try to get to the bottom of it. As I reflect on it now, the narrator didn’t get a particularly satisfying narrative arc, either.

Despite some frustrations, I genuinely enjoyed this book and look forward to more from Bradley.