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A review by nclcaitlin
The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
3.75
Humour, deep topics, deadpan irony, lit fic with time travelling refugees.
Our protagonist is assigned to be a "bridge," basically a monitor, guide, housemate, and companion, for Commander Graham Gore, a Victorian naval officer plucked from the doomed Franklin Expedition before his death.
The writing is humorous and the book is quite entertaining, quick off-beat dialogue that keeps the focus on relationships. So no, I wouldn’t really class this as a sci-fi. The time-travelling aspect is really not explained, nor the focus or purpose of the book.
"History is what we need to happen. You talk about changing history, but you're trying to change the future. It's an important semantic differentiation in this field."
The author uses levity and playfulness to give a more understandable and relatable way for readers to tackle difficult subjects such as ‘Othering’, imperialism, refugees, displacement, trauma, and much more.
The writing is very self-aware which might annoy some people. For example, describing a woman’s breast in great detail to make fun of male authors’ obsession with over-sexualising female body parts. However, I enjoyed the quirkiness and the meta sense this created.
"Any child or unmarried woman of virtue might engage the machine and be faced with lurid examples of criminal behavior."
“No one's making you watch Midsomer Murders either.”
“Or deformed monstrosities against the will of God-“
“What?"
“Sesame Street,” he said.
At the heart of this book is the idea of narratives and controlling nature vs nurture. We are fed information we perceive as truth, as fundamentals which imprint on us which we can then impart to others. This is especially visible in our narrator’s and Gore’s relationship as someone who comes to the 21st century as a blank slate to expectations and a modern self.
What books he reads, the music he listens to, selecting food to eat, what he Googles, even what museums and bars he visits informs his worldview.
I had the feeling that I thought must afflict parents when their children start to grow apart and answer back. He was moving outside my observation, graduating from my guidance, fitting this new plastic world around him.
Not to mention, the discourse surrounding mixed race identity and how familiar trauma and legacy is passed down and how it can affect your expectations and experiences. How awkward it can be to navigate a world unsure what to label you, how to address you, when to joke with.
Also - is the narrator ever named? I am pretty sure she is unnamed throughout, just known as a bi-racial Cambodian-English woman!
The ending slightly let me down as the book suddenly tried to become more action-based and plot-focused before ending somewhat ambiguously with many raised questions.
I went in with tepid expectations after seeing such mixed reviews, but I am happy to say, whilst slightly campy, I had a fun time.
Although I do think the author would have a better reception as a lit fic author than a sci-fi author.
Then again, I really liked what she did with the concept and it reminded me of approaches such as author Matt Haig.
Our protagonist is assigned to be a "bridge," basically a monitor, guide, housemate, and companion, for Commander Graham Gore, a Victorian naval officer plucked from the doomed Franklin Expedition before his death.
The writing is humorous and the book is quite entertaining, quick off-beat dialogue that keeps the focus on relationships. So no, I wouldn’t really class this as a sci-fi. The time-travelling aspect is really not explained, nor the focus or purpose of the book.
"History is what we need to happen. You talk about changing history, but you're trying to change the future. It's an important semantic differentiation in this field."
The author uses levity and playfulness to give a more understandable and relatable way for readers to tackle difficult subjects such as ‘Othering’, imperialism, refugees, displacement, trauma, and much more.
The writing is very self-aware which might annoy some people. For example, describing a woman’s breast in great detail to make fun of male authors’ obsession with over-sexualising female body parts. However, I enjoyed the quirkiness and the meta sense this created.
"Any child or unmarried woman of virtue might engage the machine and be faced with lurid examples of criminal behavior."
“No one's making you watch Midsomer Murders either.”
“Or deformed monstrosities against the will of God-“
“What?"
“Sesame Street,” he said.
At the heart of this book is the idea of narratives and controlling nature vs nurture. We are fed information we perceive as truth, as fundamentals which imprint on us which we can then impart to others. This is especially visible in our narrator’s and Gore’s relationship as someone who comes to the 21st century as a blank slate to expectations and a modern self.
What books he reads, the music he listens to, selecting food to eat, what he Googles, even what museums and bars he visits informs his worldview.
I had the feeling that I thought must afflict parents when their children start to grow apart and answer back. He was moving outside my observation, graduating from my guidance, fitting this new plastic world around him.
Not to mention, the discourse surrounding mixed race identity and how familiar trauma and legacy is passed down and how it can affect your expectations and experiences. How awkward it can be to navigate a world unsure what to label you, how to address you, when to joke with.
Also - is the narrator ever named? I am pretty sure she is unnamed throughout, just known as a bi-racial Cambodian-English woman!
The ending slightly let me down as the book suddenly tried to become more action-based and plot-focused before ending somewhat ambiguously with many raised questions.
I went in with tepid expectations after seeing such mixed reviews, but I am happy to say, whilst slightly campy, I had a fun time.
Although I do think the author would have a better reception as a lit fic author than a sci-fi author.
Then again, I really liked what she did with the concept and it reminded me of approaches such as author Matt Haig.