The Ministry of Time
In the near future, in a London suffering under the effects of climate change, a civil servant takes a job with the Ministry of Time as a "bridge." Her charge is Commander Graham Gore, who died in 1847 on an Arctic expedition. As the bridge helps Gore adapt to modern life, the two become closer and form a small social circle with two other ridiculously charming time travelers from the past. But all is not what it seems in the Ministry, and both the time travelers and the bridges may be in danger. The question is, who is the threat--and why are they targeting them?
This is a charming take on time travel, and it's a good choice for readers who don't typically read science fiction. The tone has a clinical dryness that feels like a fit with the genre, but the sweet charm of the friendships and slow-burn romance will satisfy readers who have less interest in the sci-fi aspects. Bradley touches on a lot here--the Arctic expeditions (meticulously researched and represented here), the generational trauma of the British-Cambodian bridge, climate change, colonialism, and more. This won't be for everyone; I found the language odd at times and time travel is always a mind-bender, but those willing to immerse themselves in the oddities will appreciate it.
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Publisher’s Description
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.