Ministry of Time

I read the "The ministry of time" by Kaliane Bradley in a few nights, I simply  couldn't put it down. A gripping story of time travel as much as a thoughtful reflection on structural power.  I adored how she elegantly broaches the subjects of colonialism, racism and sexism simply through who her characters are. The structural power relations between them drive the story as much as the romantic angle (which was also very neatly done, btw).

This reminded me somewhat of "The Echo Wife" by Sarah Gailey in that it's science fiction turned inwards rather than outwards, focused on the individual rather than the grand sweep of history. Considering that time travel is a central part of the story, that's an interesting choice, but honestly I think it's a bit inspired, because it's a reflection of the main character's myopia regarding her place in her society and in history. A couple elements weren't inspired: there's a lack of explanations about certain characters and events and there's a twist that's probably obvious to those who pay attention to the signs of such things. Still, thought-provoking overall, and sad and sweet in equal measure.

Excellent read!

I'd be curious what genre readers enjoy this, as it choppily blends historical fiction, romance, time travel, spy thriller, and reflections on genocide. Only the first two seem a strength here, and they're not my taste, but I would have settled in more easily for a slow burn romance across the last few centuries if the author hadn't kept interrupting me with the rest.

Time travel stories usually follow the exploits of someone rocketing through time to change history. This person ponders the various time travel paradoxes or wrestles with the implications of an ever-splitting multiverse. All of which is to say that Kaliane Bradley’s The Ministry of Time is a unique look at the perils of time travel. Instead of travelers deliberately injecting themselves into history, a mysterious British Agency has used a recovered time machine to “rescue” five Britons from the past from their inevitable deaths by pulling them into a future ravaged by climate change. Our narrator is one of the few civil servants in on the secret, selected to help acclimate one of the “expats” to life in the twenty-first century...

Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley, for review consideration.