I first heard this book described as a “time-travel romance”, which piqued my interest. Additionally, the beautiful, eclectic cover pulled me in and I got this book straight away. I am so glad I did, because this book did not disappoint. Romantic? Yes. Fun? Yes. Made me question my reality and time itself? Yes. What else do I even need to say? Here’s my book review for “The Ministry of Time” by Kaliane Bradley.

4 stars

We follow our unnamed narrator, a British-Cambodian civil servant working for the Ministry of Time. In the near future, the British have ‘discovered’ time-travel, but haven’t yet tested it out. For the purpose of science, 5 people get pulled out of history, each of them already on the brink of death. Our main character is one of 5 “bridges”, people assigned to educate each expat from history. She gets Graham Gore, a lieutenant from the John Franklin expedition (1845). Of course, she has to teach him all the things around us that we don’t even notice as strange: Spotify, television, electricity, cars. She develops a strong connection to him, back-dropped by intrigue, betrayal and questions about what it really means to change our world – past and future.

The writing in this book was very unique in its power and simplicity. The sentences were matter-of-fact and not overly elaborate, but at pivotal moments this book’s writing hit so hard. It left me breathless. It was so good, but at the same time, so easily overlooked? You skip right by it and then pause, reread it, and reread it again. It was that kind of hidden, powerful writing.

They fed us all poison from a bottle marked “prestige”, and we developed a high tolerance for bitterness.

– The narrator

At times, this book was a little bit slow. It’s not a read where you can turn off your brain and relax – it required a lot of brainpower and concentration. But each time I got myself to fully think and concentrate, I enjoyed it immensely. I would say the middle part dragged a bit, but I am so happy I read it to the end. It was a seriously transformative book.

This book was a mixture of many concepts and ideas, something that is always true when we talk about history. Some of my favorite ideas touched on were the ones that explored time as a concept. The idea that grief can keep you in the past, quite literally. The way we can cling to the present, fearful that it will be taken away from us – a futile attempt at slowing down time. How hope can feel like a form of time-travel, a possible future full of light.

All of these were explored in really dynamic ways. I also loved the fact that Graham Gore is a real person, a real footnote in history. We can discern what happened to him from correspondence, get a feel for his character and personality, and find out his talents and skills. Reading about that on the internet felt like a violation after reading about him so intimately in this book – it was so strange that this imagined person was real. It made it easier for me to immerse myself, to imagine a future where he did vanish into the world of the Ministry of Time.

I also loved the main character and how complex she was. Her history as a mixed-race person able to pass for white, with inherited trauma from everything her family experienced throughout the generations, was told beautifully. That really felt like an honest account from the author’s soul, as well, as the writer is British-Cambodian. That was a part of her that was explored a lot in this book.

She was ambitious, possessive, cowardly, emotional, obsessive, deeply afraid, desperate for love. A person. She was a very unreliable narrator at times, and definitely made many questionable decisions, but that made her all the more interesting to read about.

At times, I felt a bit disconnected from this book. Despite how much I loved the writing, it was a bit alienating at times. I would say the book was strongest at the start and end, and the middle was a bit confusing and got boring for me. I’m still really glad I stuck through with it, as everything paid off in the ending, but that’s just a warning if you want to read the book.

I felt like certain characters, like Anne Spencer from 1793, one of the expats, could have been explored in more depth. All the other expats formed a strong friendship group and we got to see each of their struggles and personalities and connect deeply with them. However, Anne was abandoned, and it made me wonder if she was really necessary in the story. I felt this way about some other characters as well, without getting into spoilers.

The Ministry of Time is a dive into the world of time-travel, romance, identity and the impact of history. It’s a beautiful book that explores time and all its branches. The story is funny, heartfelt, emotional and gripping – a combination that surpasses genre to tell a tale of its very own.