Kaliane Bradley’s debut novel, The Ministry of Time, attracted a lot of publicity even before publication. It’s provoked breathless anticipation and already been adapted for a BBC TV series. In an ingenious blend of time travel, spy thriller, unlikely romance and sardonic riff on power and truth and the question of whether the two can coexist, Bradley presents history in the guise of speculative fiction.

Broadly, the premise of the book is that, by means of a time machine, a British Government Ministry has extracted deceased people (termed ‘ex-pats’) from various turbulent historical eras and introduced them into the 21st century, with the purpose of discovering whether time travel is of value to mankind. The narrator, an unnamed civil servant, is employed to act as a live-in guide (called a ‘bridge’) to expat Commander Graham Gore, a real figure who was a member of the doomed 1845 expedition to the Arctic. While guiding Gore, the narrator becomes distracted by her powerful romantic attraction to her charge.

Colonialism, the collapse of the British Empire, the Cambodian genocide, the Holocaust are just a few of the black holes of history which the expats learn about, along with concepts such as feminism, modern sexuality, racism and technological miracles. For Commander Gore, navigating these mysteries proves both exhilarating and hazardous. Inevitably the sexual tension intensifies between him and the narrator leading to an outcome as life changing as time travel.

Outrageously original and fun, it’s also well written, intelligent and thought provoking. Many readers will love this wild ride, however, for me, the multiple elements, themes, characters and wacky concepts strike a precarious balance between excitement and chaos, especially as the pace heats up towards the end.

Reviewed by Anne Green

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