REVIEW - The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley

 

This debut novel is set in  the 2020's London. The UK Government has figured out a way to time travel. In this novel, it's now working towards whether people they bring from the past can survive the travel and live in the time that they have travelled to. Each "expat" is assigned to a person called a "bridge" who they will live with and attempt to learn how to live in the modern world with. Gore, a real Arctic explorer lost on a mission to find the Northwest Passage in the 1840s, is one of the expats and our narrator is his bridge.

I enjoyed reading this novel very much. It's a mashup between romance, science fiction, action and cultural commentary.  There are sometimes a lot of ideas that try to come out at once, but Bradley seems to manage to balance everything very well.  There is often a lot of comedy - the plague survivor from the 17th century loves selfies and The Simpsons, while the WWI Commander loves disco.  But there are other themes that are just as touching - Gore is very, very lonely and has tremendous survivor's guilt even as he manages to connect with his fellow expats. Bradley's strength seems to truly be in telling us about the  quirks and details of the expats and their bridges. 

I loved this novel and cannot wait to read it again to see what I've missed.  Definitely one to add to your library.