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A review by ninaprime
The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
4.0
3.5-4 stars: while I was slow to get into it, largely due to the romance, I ultimately found the more sci-fi/thriller elements intriguing (even when ill-explained) and I grew fond of side characters Margaret and Arthur. The writing could be overwrought with metaphors and flowery prose, but Bradley succeeded in amusing me with her satire around modern life and government bureaucracy.
The unnamed narrator irritated me significantly with her naivety, which was so bad that even her future self was frustrated by her lack of comprehension and foresight. I felt like she and Gore had some sort of Stockholm Syndrome trauma bond at the root of their relationship, which was deeply unhealthy, and that was even before I realized he was viewing her as redemption for killing that Inuit woman's husband. I relate to historical crushes and can understand how she might've been affected by his Victorian charisma - there is a reason Bridgerton and the like is still popular - but she shrugged off his period-era prejudice and culpability in slavery uncomfortably quickly. Bradley's thoughtful points about internalized racism, impacts of generational trauma, and complicity in perpetuating non-equitable systems felt underserved by the relationship she built at the center of the narrative. However, I did find it fascinating how the travelers from various eras related to each other and to the modern world, especially Margaret and Arthur as queer characters who struggled to conform to their own society's expectations. The most charming scenes in the narrative were those, for example when Arthur gets taken to a pub or gallery exhibit or Margaret explores dating and cinema. My emotional engagement in the story was minimal until the end when Arthur was killed and Margaret's life threatened - without them, I wouldn't have felt lack of humanity on the part of the Ministry for this experiment, nor would the ending of the unnamed narrator seeking both to atone by providing guidance to her past self and find Gore/Margaret been as powerful.
Spoiler
The unnamed narrator irritated me significantly with her naivety, which was so bad that even her future self was frustrated by her lack of comprehension and foresight. I felt like she and Gore had some sort of Stockholm Syndrome trauma bond at the root of their relationship, which was deeply unhealthy, and that was even before I realized he was viewing her as redemption for killing that Inuit woman's husband. I relate to historical crushes and can understand how she might've been affected by his Victorian charisma - there is a reason Bridgerton and the like is still popular - but she shrugged off his period-era prejudice and culpability in slavery uncomfortably quickly. Bradley's thoughtful points about internalized racism, impacts of generational trauma, and complicity in perpetuating non-equitable systems felt underserved by the relationship she built at the center of the narrative. However, I did find it fascinating how the travelers from various eras related to each other and to the modern world, especially Margaret and Arthur as queer characters who struggled to conform to their own society's expectations. The most charming scenes in the narrative were those, for example when Arthur gets taken to a pub or gallery exhibit or Margaret explores dating and cinema. My emotional engagement in the story was minimal until the end when Arthur was killed and Margaret's life threatened - without them, I wouldn't have felt lack of humanity on the part of the Ministry for this experiment, nor would the ending of the unnamed narrator seeking both to atone by providing guidance to her past self and find Gore/Margaret been as powerful.