The Ministry of Time

Hard to describe, harder to review. This isn't really a time-travel story; the fact that five “ex-pats” from various moments in history are summoned to present day England is the scaffolding that debut author Bradley uses to muse on bureaucracy, climate change, colonialism, and who gets to define “history.” The most striking theme to me is the similarity of time travel to the immigrant experience. Our nameless narrator is a white-looking, half Cambodian daughter of a refugee, who shares with her assigned time traveler the experiences of disorientation, societal expectations of unfettered gratitude, and the rootlessness of knowing that they are neither fully “here” nor able to return “there.”

There is some humor laced throughout the book, especially as the ex-pats are introduced to the wonders of the 21st century, but overall it is not a lighthearted read. Those looking for action and time travel paradoxes will be disappointed until the last few chapters. Those who are hoping for a love story between the narrator and Lieutenant Graham Gore, 19th century Arctic explorer who actually existed (he has his own Wikipedia page)....well, it doesn't quite fit the parameters of a true romance novel, but it's not completely tragic either.

I wavered between 3 and 4 stars for my rating, but I'm going with 4 because I want to keep this author on my radar to see how she follows up this unique debut.