"A complex narrative - Benjamin Button meets the Time Traveller’s Wife while still being a unique concept all of its own. "
Available in Kindle and Paperback from Amazon.
The Uncertain Past of Malachi Trendle by Kevin Vodden is an ingeniously executed narrative. Malachi, our eponymous main character, can remember the future instead of the past. He knows what’s coming but forgets what has been as soon as it arrives. A confusing concept that almost defies being put into a story but the author successfully navigates this tricky minefield seemingly effortlessly with use of the present and future tenses, and the interpretations shared by Malachi, the focus of our attention and also our guide through his complex world.
When I first read the synopsis I wasn’t sure how exactly the author would be capable of pulling this story off. It’s such a novel idea that gave me faint echoes of Benjamin Button and The Time Traveller’s Wife and intrigued me to start reading. As we learn, sometimes alongside Malachi, about his early years, the first discovery of this unique outlook and the ramifications that it’s had on his life, we understand more and more about Malachi and how his memory affects those around him. Malachi is a complex character that I enjoyed getting to know; although you can’t really relate to the complete detachment that occurs during and after his final meeting with people (even those he’s close to like his father/ friends/ wife), and you may want to disagree with him that the future can’t (and shouldn’t) be changed by what he knows. Despite his claims and arguments to the contrary, in the storyline we see three occasions where Malachi is tempted to use his knowledge to act, with serious and far reaching consequences for everyone involved. The book’s open ending offers room for speculation about whether he would try to change things in the future and perhaps an opportunity to consider whether you would do the same.
This is a weird and wonderful story that is really well-executed and definitely for those wanting to read something a little bit different.
Charlotte Walker, A LoveReading Ambassador
| Primary Genre | Science Fiction |
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