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The Ministry of Time

The romantic, sci-fi, comedic, literary, genre-defying bestseller

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The Ministry of Time

By: Kaliane Bradley
Narrated by: George Weightman, Katie Leung
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The Time Traveller's Wife meets David Mitchell meets Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow meets Kate & Leopold in this debut novel from an award-winning writer.

There are several ways to tell a story.

A boy meets a girl. The past meets the future. A finger meets a trigger. The beginning meets the end. England is forever; England must fall.

A civil servant starts working as a 'bridge' - a liaison, helpmeet and housemate - in an experimental project that brings expatriates from the past into the twenty-first century. This is a science-fiction story.

In a London safehouse in the 2020s, a disorientated Victorian polar explorer chain smokes while listening to Spotify and learning about political correctness. This is a comedy.

During a long, sultry summer - as the shadows around them grow long and dangerous - two people fall in love, against all odds. This is a romance.

The Ministry of Time is a novel about Commander Graham Gore (R.N. c.1809-c.1847) and a woman known only as the bridge. As their relationship turns from the strictly professional into something more and uneasy truths begin to emerge, they are forced to face the reality of the project that brought them together.

Can love triumph over the structures and histories that shape them?

(P)2024 Hodder & Stoughton Limited©2024 Kaliane Bradley City Life Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Science Fiction Time Travel Urban World Literature England Funny
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Critic reviews

The debut of the year by a distance . . . propulsive and exhilarating (Five of the year's best summer reads)
What a thrill to come to Kaliane Bradley's debut, The Ministry of Time, a novel where things happen, lots of them, and all of them are exciting to read about and interesting to think about . . . give in to the tide of this book, and let it pull you along. It's very smart; it's very silly; and the obvious fun never obscures completely the sheer, gorgeous, wild stretch of her ideas (Ella Risbridger)
Terrific, moving . . . Bradley's writing is clear and stylish, her dialogue dry and sprightly; the serious matters of love and mortality are cloaked in humour, but never too heavily. If you loved Audrey Niffenegger's The Time Traveller's Wife, or the big hit of 2022, Gabrielle Zevin's Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, this will be right up your street . . . don't wait for this tale to come to the small screen. Crack this book open and you'll see how time can disappear (Erica Wagner)
Simply adorable . . . It's the book I have recommended to friends with the most success (Books of the Year)
This is extraordinary writing, with unforgettable characters and a spine tingling love affair, and manages to be both a serious look at the weight of history and an absolute riot. A true original (Francesca Steele)
I loved its combination of extreme whimsy, high seriousness and cool understatement - and migration-as-time-travel is a clever conceit (Johanna Thomas-Corr)
Fizzing with sharp one-liners about everything from Tinder to e-scooters, the novel is also a thoughtful meditation on imperialism and immigration (50 of the best new books to dive into)
An addictive sci-fi romantic comedy . . . Laugh-out-loud funny and a suprisingly powerful meditation on the climate crisis, it's above all exciting, fun and a good old-fashioned page turner that you'll recommend to all your friends (Best new books to read in 2024)
A thoughtful dive into colonialism via time-travelling expats, the perfect beach read with some literary heft . . . Bradley's debut is also acute on what refuge means in a swiftly changing world (Nilanjana Roy, Journalists pick their favourite book of 2024 so far)
Smart, funny and moving, this debut has been the hit of the year (Five of the best science fiction books of 2024)
Intelligent and witty . . . a clever, funny yarn that breathes fresh air into time-travel novels, postcolonial narratives and romance stories alike . . . a sparkling delight (Bidisha Mamata)
A triumph (Sara Lawrence)
Comedy, betrayal and romance collide in a story that explores everything from climate change and colonialism to friendship, hope and forgiveness. Start backing out of your weekend plans now . . . (Book of the Week)
A powerfully drawn love story, an insider's takedown of murky bureaucracy, an action thriller . . . It's a fun ride
All stars
Most relevant
This is a great book but I had to revert to reading it myself as I found this audible performance very oddly cadenced, with pauses where there shouldn’t be and no pauses where there should.

Tricky reading performance

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absolutely obsessed with this story, stunning writing and one of those books you always want to find and don't know how to find it, a stunning onto pick up

ughhhh what a beautiful book

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Found the delivery a shade repetitious and hard to catch at the end of sentences

Unusual, thought provoking and authentic content of story

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I think the narration did not provide the energy needed nor did it bring the characters to life. I found myself switching off and not able to take in the story, there was no excitement or drama, no emotion communicated. The story itself was interesting but not overly original, feels like it was a story which needed to be longer to build the characters and provide those connections.

Great book for insomniacs!

Interesting idea but just could not get into this story

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Loved this it had drama, espionage and romance. I would love a second book to see what happens next.

Twisting Time Tale

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