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A review by i_love_big_books
The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This was a fun and entertaining read that I really enjoyed.
A combination of genres that include time travel romance, science fiction, historical and speculative fiction, it does a good job of telling a story that combines them all. Since this is the author's debut,I think that's an amazing achievement.
Set in the near future, the plot revolves around an experiment designed by the British government to bring people from historical eras into the 21st century via a time travel door. Once they have travelled, these 'expats' as they are called, will be monitored for adverse effects of time travel as well as to check how well they adapt to life in a period so far removed from their own. They will each be given a 'bridge' who is essentially a companion who will help in their adaptation.
Our narrator, who remains unnamed, is a British-Cambodian civil servant who is happy to get the well paying position of bridge to Commander Graham Gore, who has been extracted from 1847. He is based on the real person by the same name who was part of the polar expedition to find the Northwest passage,led by Sir John Franklin, an expedition that ended up a disaster. We see what happened in his time in snippets that alternate with the narrator's POV. The bridge is drawn to Graham and realises that she doesn't want him to ever leave her, even after he is settled in the present, only to discover that the experiment has hidden aspects that, apart from giving her no choice in the matter, have dangerous consequences that her choices will help perpetuate.
My favourite part of the book was the interaction between Graham and the bridge. When we think of time travel, we mostly think of people in our present travelling to the past or the future. However, what would someone who came into our world from a few centuries ago make of it? This is what we see through Graham's eyes. His Victorian sensibilities war with the idea of 'co habiting' with a modern unmarried woman who is far more uninhibited than he is used to and whose hemlines are far higher than he can fathom! He is fascinated by Spotify, modern cigarettes and high speed motorbikes, all of which he embraces happily even as he adjusts his ideas of chivalry and gallantry to fit the era he finds himself in. His keen intellect and curiosity help him cope with the never-ending discoveries.The playful banter between the narrator and Graham,as they orbit each other and learn to co-exist,was a great touch. The humour which is dry and written into the most mundane situations, was delightful.As was the way two of the other expats Maggie and Arthur from the seventeenth and early twentieth centuries coped with the vastly changed ideas in this new world and marvelled at concepts like feminism and the changing attitudes to gender and sexuality. Maggie, in particular, was adorable with her bright clothes and colourful vocabulary!
Speculative fiction that is very complex with a lot of explanations often leaves me scrambling to understand and connect everything and just keep up. This book, with its focus on the human beings affected by this phenomenon, was a lot easier to read and GET, something I really appreciated. It doesn't go into lengthy explanations about the mechanisms involved in perpetrating time travel but tells us enough so we can intelligently follow what's happening. The author has woven in the family history of the bridge, with her mother being a Cambodian immigrant, and touched upon the perils of inherited trauma and the evils of slavery and colonialism,all within the context of the tale.
While it does not tie up everything with a neat bow, the questions it leaves us thinking about make it a great book to discuss with other readers. There are so many possibilities and interpretations and it's very interesting to see what others made of the very same narrative. I think the way the author tells it is just perfect.
A combination of genres that include time travel romance, science fiction, historical and speculative fiction, it does a good job of telling a story that combines them all. Since this is the author's debut,I think that's an amazing achievement.
Set in the near future, the plot revolves around an experiment designed by the British government to bring people from historical eras into the 21st century via a time travel door. Once they have travelled, these 'expats' as they are called, will be monitored for adverse effects of time travel as well as to check how well they adapt to life in a period so far removed from their own. They will each be given a 'bridge' who is essentially a companion who will help in their adaptation.
Our narrator, who remains unnamed, is a British-Cambodian civil servant who is happy to get the well paying position of bridge to Commander Graham Gore, who has been extracted from 1847. He is based on the real person by the same name who was part of the polar expedition to find the Northwest passage,led by Sir John Franklin, an expedition that ended up a disaster. We see what happened in his time in snippets that alternate with the narrator's POV. The bridge is drawn to Graham and realises that she doesn't want him to ever leave her, even after he is settled in the present, only to discover that the experiment has hidden aspects that, apart from giving her no choice in the matter, have dangerous consequences that her choices will help perpetuate.
My favourite part of the book was the interaction between Graham and the bridge. When we think of time travel, we mostly think of people in our present travelling to the past or the future. However, what would someone who came into our world from a few centuries ago make of it? This is what we see through Graham's eyes. His Victorian sensibilities war with the idea of 'co habiting' with a modern unmarried woman who is far more uninhibited than he is used to and whose hemlines are far higher than he can fathom! He is fascinated by Spotify, modern cigarettes and high speed motorbikes, all of which he embraces happily even as he adjusts his ideas of chivalry and gallantry to fit the era he finds himself in. His keen intellect and curiosity help him cope with the never-ending discoveries.The playful banter between the narrator and Graham,as they orbit each other and learn to co-exist,was a great touch. The humour which is dry and written into the most mundane situations, was delightful.As was the way two of the other expats Maggie and Arthur from the seventeenth and early twentieth centuries coped with the vastly changed ideas in this new world and marvelled at concepts like feminism and the changing attitudes to gender and sexuality. Maggie, in particular, was adorable with her bright clothes and colourful vocabulary!
Speculative fiction that is very complex with a lot of explanations often leaves me scrambling to understand and connect everything and just keep up. This book, with its focus on the human beings affected by this phenomenon, was a lot easier to read and GET, something I really appreciated. It doesn't go into lengthy explanations about the mechanisms involved in perpetrating time travel but tells us enough so we can intelligently follow what's happening. The author has woven in the family history of the bridge, with her mother being a Cambodian immigrant, and touched upon the perils of inherited trauma and the evils of slavery and colonialism,all within the context of the tale.
While it does not tie up everything with a neat bow, the questions it leaves us thinking about make it a great book to discuss with other readers. There are so many possibilities and interpretations and it's very interesting to see what others made of the very same narrative. I think the way the author tells it is just perfect.