The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
Read by George Weightman and Katie Leung
Publication Date: May 7, 2024
Summary from Goodreads:
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.
Confession:
“Forgiveness and hope are miracles. They let you change your life. They are time-travel.”
I really enjoyed this debut novel with a very different take on time travel. I really enjoyed the characters and although I found the plot a little slow moving, I really loved the wry humor and charming slow burn romance.
Katie Leung is the narrator for the majority of the book. She does a great job of portraying the unnamed MC and all of the many other characters in the story. There were a few times where I felt like she was speaking too fast, and I had a little trouble following her, but for the most part she did a good job. I also like George Whiteman’s portrayal of Graham Gore. He does an excellent job of sounding like someone from the Victorian era.
The majority of the story is told from the unnamed character, and even though she doesn’t have a name, I really liked her. She is kind of nieve and certainly a little bit on the quiet side, but she does a great job of introducing Graham to all of the marvels of the modern world. She does take a while to catch on to the fact that the motives of the government are very much on the shady side and not at all benign when it comes to dealing with the time travelers, but I still found her to be a character I really enjoyed spending time with.
“I flexed my shoulder blades, forcing the tension out. He was an anachronism, a puzzle, a piss-take, a problem, but he was, above all things, a charming man. In every century, they make themselves at home.”
Graham Gore was delightful and pretty much stole every scene he was in. He was charming and sounded just like someone from another time period. He asked the best questions, and took the answers in stride. I loved his reaction to cell phones and streaming music. He also becomes a bit of a leader to the other time travelers, which was just so perfect for his character. I loved his narration of his expedition in the past to find the Northwest Passage. It was both interesting and harrowing to listen to.
“Everything that has ever been could have been prevented, and none of it was. The only thing you can mend is the future.”
There were five people brought back from the past, but we only get to really know two of them. Margaret was very amusing and really took to the modern times well. Arthur was also a character I would have liked to spend more time with. He had a great sense of humor and also seemed to adapt to his new world well.
The story is very much a mixture and blending of different genres. You have the science fiction of time travel, the romance, a bit of a spy thriller and probably a few more that I am forgetting. The pacing was a little on the slow side throughout the book, but really picks up at the end. There were a lot of characters to keep track of and I often got confused who everyone was. Especially because many of the travelers were called by the year they were from instead of their names. Many of the ministry personnel were also a bit confusing as to who was who.
In retrospect, I kind of wish I had read this story instead of listened to it. The chapters were rather long and with the many characters it was often hard to keep track of who was who. Also, I got somewhat confused at the end, but I think that was totally on me, (I was cooking dinner while listening to the end.) I think I will pick up the hard copy of this book at some point and give it a read.
This was an amazingly well done debut that I highly recommend. It isn’t really a time travel book, but more of a commentary on society and a slow burn romance. So if you like a book with a lot of genres mashed together than this is a book you should pick up. I certainly will be keeping an eye out for the next book by this author.
Confessions of a Serial Reader 
Great review. I’m really looking forward to reading this when my library copy turns up.
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Hope it turns up soon.
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