Synopsis:

A time travel romance, a spy thriller, a workplace comedy, and an ingenious exploration of the nature of power and the potential for love to change it all: Welcome to The Ministry of Time, the exhilarating debut novel by Kaliane Bradley.

In the near future, a civil servant is offered the salary of her dreams and is, shortly afterward, told what project she’ll be working on. A recently established government ministry is gathering “expats” from across history to establish whether time travel is feasible—for the body, but also for the fabric of space-time.

She is tasked with working as a “bridge”: living with, assisting, and monitoring the expat known as “1847” or Commander Graham Gore. As far as history is concerned, Commander Gore died on Sir John Franklin’s doomed 1845 expedition to the Arctic, so he’s a little disoriented to be living with an unmarried woman who regularly shows her calves, surrounded by outlandish concepts such as “washing machines,” “Spotify,” and “the collapse of the British Empire.” But with an appetite for discovery, a seven-a-day cigarette habit, and the support of a charming and chaotic cast of fellow expats, he soon adjusts.

Over the next year, what the bridge initially thought would be, at best, a horrifically uncomfortable roommate dynamic, evolves into something much deeper. By the time the true shape of the Ministry’s project comes to light, the bridge has fallen haphazardly, fervently in love, with consequences she never could have imagined. Forced to confront the choices that brought them together, the bridge must finally reckon with how—and whether she believes—what she does next can change the future.

An exquisitely original and feverishly fun fusion of genres and ideas, The Ministry of Time asks: What does it mean to defy history, when history is living in your house? Kaliane Bradley’s answer is a blazing, unforgettable testament to what we owe each other in a changing world.

Review:

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I was actually surprised at how much I did, being unsure exactly what to expect from it when I started. I ended up reading it in a single day, which I think says a lot!

The mix of *things* worked really well here. We have a spy novel, time travel and romance all mushed together to deliver a wild and incredibly clever journey.

The story is initially presented as a time travel novel, but I found it to be much more of a character novel. The time travel is never really explained in any sort of scientific way, and the focus is instead on how these historical people can adapt to the future they have found themselves in.

These historical people, our characters were by far my favourite part of it all. The ‘expats’, those who have been pulled from the past were wonderful, so well realised that I kept expecting them to walk through my door. They had their own vivid identities, and getting to learn who they were and who they think they want to be in this new life was fantastic. I would happily read several books about them and their friendship. Aside from the ‘main’ expat Graham, I loved Maggie and want her to be my friend for real.

As I said before, I read this incredibly quickly. The plot flowed well, with a gradual increase in tensions all culminating in a frantic dash as we reached the last 20%. Bradley writes in a way that I always enjoy too. Snappy and just descriptive enough to set a solid scene but not overly so. The tone was also great, I described it as witty and serious at the same time. We have moments where characters are agonising over identities and purpose interspersed with humour that genuinely made me laugh out loud.

Overall, this was an excellent read. Entertaining and thought-provoking in equal measure, and I think a lot of people will enjoy it.

Thank you to @netgalley and @hodderbooks for an arc in exchange for a review.