Sarah’s Reviews > The Ministry of Time > Status Update

The novel has become so intensely character driven that the narrator’s growing anxiety now dominates the story, often at the expense of the time travel premise that initially pulled me in. The focus is shifted toward this tension between the narrator and Graham which feels boring and and I find myself missing the bigger, more exciting ideas the premise promised.

The story is far more character focused than expected, centering on one displaced man and his helper rather than time travel mechanics. I expected more emphasis on how and why these people are brought into the present, but the novel instead leans into themes of identity, isolation, and the quiet strangeness of forming connections across time, making it feel intimate rather than high concept.