The Ministry of Time: A Novel
ONE OF BARACK OBAMA’S FAVORITE BOOKS OF SUMMER 2024 • A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • HUGO AWARD FINALIST FOR BEST NOVEL • WINNER OF THE GOODREADS CHOICE AWARD FOR SCIENCE FICTION • A GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK • A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: NPR, VANITY FAIR, ESQUIRE, VOX, GOOD HOUSEKEEPING, THE INDEPENDENT, PARADE, KIRKUS REVIEWS, AND MORE…
“This summer’s hottest debut.” —Cosmopolitan • “Witty, sexy escapist fiction [that] packs a substantial punch...Fresh and thrilling.” —Los Angeles Times • “Electric...I loved every second.” —Emily Henry
“Utterly winning...Imagine if The Time Traveler’s Wife had an affair with A Gentleman in Moscow...Readers, I envy you: There’s a smart, witty novel in your future.” —Ron Charles, The Washington Post
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.
“This summer’s hottest debut.” —Cosmopolitan • “Witty, sexy escapist fiction [that] packs a substantial punch...Fresh and thrilling.” —Los Angeles Times • “Electric...I loved every second.” —Emily Henry
“Utterly winning...Imagine if The Time Traveler’s Wife had an affair with A Gentleman in Moscow...Readers, I envy you: There’s a smart, witty novel in your future.” —Ron Charles, The Washington Post
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.
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Community Reviews
thenextgoodbook.com
***I wish I could give this 4 1/2 stars....
What’s it about?
This story takes place in the near future in London. A civil servant, from the languages department, is assigned to a top secret project involving time travel. She will serve as a “bridge” for an “expat” from the past. Her duties will include living with, assisting, monitoring, and helping the expat to acclimate to the present day. Her expat is known as “1847” and was previously known as Commander Graham Gore on John Franklin’s Arctic expedition of 1845. Their year together is memorable.
What did it make me think about?
Time-travel, colonialism, power dynamics, and the improbability of love.
Should I read it?
Well this is a romance, spy thriller, and fantasy all rolled into one. More than that- this a smart book with lots to think about. So many clever observations in this book, “Gore couldn’t understand the simultaneity of stacks of meat in supermarkets and our anxiety around hunting.” or “People liked him and so they imagined he agreed with them- all likable people know to be a flattering mirror-…” I would highly recommend this book to most any reader. Don’t be fooled into thinking this is just a fun fantasy-romance romp though- I found myself re-reading paragraphs just so I didn’t miss anything. “You can’t trauma-proof life, and you can’t hurt-proof your relationships. You have to accept you will cause harm to yourself and others. But you can also fuck up, really badly, and not learn anything from it except you fucked up. It’s the same with oppression. You don’t gain any special knowledge from being marginalized. But you do gain something by stepping outside your hurt and examining the scaffolding of your oppression.” Great book and I will look forward to her next novel!
Quote-
“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.”
***I wish I could give this 4 1/2 stars....
What’s it about?
This story takes place in the near future in London. A civil servant, from the languages department, is assigned to a top secret project involving time travel. She will serve as a “bridge” for an “expat” from the past. Her duties will include living with, assisting, monitoring, and helping the expat to acclimate to the present day. Her expat is known as “1847” and was previously known as Commander Graham Gore on John Franklin’s Arctic expedition of 1845. Their year together is memorable.
What did it make me think about?
Time-travel, colonialism, power dynamics, and the improbability of love.
Should I read it?
Well this is a romance, spy thriller, and fantasy all rolled into one. More than that- this a smart book with lots to think about. So many clever observations in this book, “Gore couldn’t understand the simultaneity of stacks of meat in supermarkets and our anxiety around hunting.” or “People liked him and so they imagined he agreed with them- all likable people know to be a flattering mirror-…” I would highly recommend this book to most any reader. Don’t be fooled into thinking this is just a fun fantasy-romance romp though- I found myself re-reading paragraphs just so I didn’t miss anything. “You can’t trauma-proof life, and you can’t hurt-proof your relationships. You have to accept you will cause harm to yourself and others. But you can also fuck up, really badly, and not learn anything from it except you fucked up. It’s the same with oppression. You don’t gain any special knowledge from being marginalized. But you do gain something by stepping outside your hurt and examining the scaffolding of your oppression.” Great book and I will look forward to her next novel!
Quote-
“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.”
This book moved VERY slow, it only picked up/ got interesting at the end. I felt in my opinion there were a lot of unanswered questions, but I guess that was on purpose. An interesting book in the sense you can’t tell who the protagonists are and who the antagonists are at the end.
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