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Sign up todayThe Ministry of Time
A Novel
Length
10 hours 22 minutes
Language
English
Narrators
George Weightman & Katie Leung
This audiobook uses AI narration.
We’re taking steps to make sure AI narration is transparent.
Learn moreBookseller recommendation
“A whirlwind and winding time travel story with history, suspense, and romance. Beautifully written with some of the loveliest, quirkiest sentences and metaphors. Expats are brought to the future by force, assigned “bridges” to help them acclimate, with all the complexity one might expect, plus some real cheekiness and profundity around race, class, identity, and desire. Cool and compelling toggling back in time, plus sweetness and sadness in the connections expats remember and also forge in their future, now present. Some nitpicky issues with pacing and plot, but the payoffs are well worth it. Ultimately, The Ministry of Time is both honest and hopeful in its messages about history’s tendency to repeat itself and humans’ capacity to change; even when they aren’t sure what will come of it, people doing what is right make a difference in our collective trajectory. We can want to know and control how it all ends, and at the same time appreciate that we can’t, and yet must still do our best, on faith, regardless.”
— Lauren • Possible Futures
Bookseller recommendation
“Slow burn yet spicy romance, science fiction, spy thriller…this has it all yet somehow is better than all of those put together. ”
— Carol • BookPeople of Moscow
Bookseller recommendation
“This book was so great and very different than anything I have ever read before. With many genres comedy, romance, sci-fi, time travel and a whole lot of speculative fiction, it was very fast-paced and entertaining! I became very attached to the main and side characters. It made me laugh out loud and cry. I was on my edge on the edge of my seat until the very last paragraph. ”
— Sandra • Underground Books
Bookseller recommendation
“I was drawn in by the first sentence, and astounded at how much it did and didn't say after I reread it. Tense and morally-grey, if you'd like your BBC's Ghosts with a lot more heartache you'll love this book.”
— Jessica • Books & Books
Bookseller recommendation
“The Ministry of Time is an interesting look at the meaning of time and time lines. While it takes a little bit to get to the main plot, the character building is amazing. Bringing people from the past into the present brings up the question 'just because we can, should we?' ”
— Erin • The Roasted Bookery
Bookseller recommendation
“A blend of history, science fiction, mystery and love story. I haven't listened to something this good since Outlander. Would recommend to customers, co-workers, friends and family.”
— Stacey • Murder on the Beach Mystery Bookstore
Bookseller recommendation
“Historical Fiction meets Spy thriller meets will-they-or-won’t-they -rom-com meets dystopian sci-fi with time travel? Yup. That’s right. Somehow this book manages to pack the best of all the genres into one really compelling story. Dare I compare it to Beyoncé? Either way, it’s just an excellent summer read! Put a bookmark on it. ”
— Krissy • The Homer Bookstore
Bookseller recommendation
“I love a good time travel book and this one sucked me right in... finding new ways to connect people across years, Kaliane Bradley breaks new ground with her passionate narrator and fun story.”
— Kira • Merritt Bookstore
Bookseller recommendation
“Our near future narrator's love of history, especially the polar expeditions of the 1800’s, make her the perfect 'bridge' worker. She is assigned to befriend Graham Gore, snatched from a doomed 1845 Arctic expedition. Gore does his best to adjust to the times, and she is right there to help. Maybe more than she should… History, mystery, time travel and romance come together in this story unlike anything you’ve read!”
— Beth • Lake Forest Book Store
Bookseller recommendation
“This is an incredible listen of a wonderful debut from Bradley. A great premise about how time travel could work and the challenges of messing with time. A wonderful sci-fi story interspersed with a love story, betrayal and the mystery of what is afoot. The research behind the protagonist makes the depth of the background a super entertaining supposition. I could not stop listening.”
— Matthew • McIntyre's Books
Bookseller recommendation
“This book covered some pretty heavy topics in the best way possible! The romance was so slight but so fun and this is definitely one of those books that you’ll think about long after you’ve finished reading it!”
— Emma • The Read Queen Bookstore & Cafe
Bookseller recommendation
“This one was a rainy camping trip book- my husband listened in as we sat watching the rain drip off our tarp. He got into a bit late but caught up after being filled in on a few details. It was a 'must listen' and we were both enthralled. Definitely, we were both caught unawares by the twist of fast paced happenings near the end. Enjoyed the journey.”
— Judi • Artisans Books & Coffee
ONE OF BARACK OBAMA’S FAVORITE BOOKS OF SUMMER 2024 • A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • WINNER OF THE GOODREADS CHOICE AWARD FOR SCIENCE FICTION • A GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK • A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: NPR, VANITY FAIR, ESQUIRE, VOX, GOOD HOUSEKEEPING, THE INDEPENDENT, PARADE, KIRKUS REVIEWS, AND MORE…
“This summer’s hottest debut.” —Cosmopolitan • “Witty, sexy escapist fiction [that] packs a substantial punch...Fresh and thrilling.” —Los Angeles Times • “Electric...I loved every second.” —Emily Henry
“Utterly winning...Imagine if The Time Traveler’s Wife had an affair with A Gentleman in Moscow...Readers, I envy you: There’s a smart, witty novel in your future.” —Ron Charles, The Washington Post
A time travel romance, a spy thriller, a workplace comedy, and an ingenious exploration of the nature of power and the potential for love to change it all: Welcome to The Ministry of Time, the exhilarating debut novel by Kaliane Bradley.
In the near future, a civil servant is offered the salary of her dreams and is, shortly afterward, told what project she’ll be working on. A recently established government ministry is gathering “expats” from across history to establish whether time travel is feasible—for the body, but also for the fabric of space-time.
She is tasked with working as a “bridge”: living with, assisting, and monitoring the expat known as “1847” or Commander Graham Gore. As far as history is concerned, Commander Gore died on Sir John Franklin’s doomed 1845 expedition to the Arctic, so he’s a little disoriented to be living with an unmarried woman who regularly shows her calves, surrounded by outlandish concepts such as “washing machines,” “Spotify,” and “the collapse of the British Empire.” But with an appetite for discovery, a seven-a-day cigarette habit, and the support of a charming and chaotic cast of fellow expats, he soon adjusts.
Over the next year, what the bridge initially thought would be, at best, a horrifically uncomfortable roommate dynamic, evolves into something much deeper. By the time the true shape of the Ministry’s project comes to light, the bridge has fallen haphazardly, fervently in love, with consequences she never could have imagined. Forced to confront the choices that brought them together, the bridge must finally reckon with how—and whether she believes—what she does next can change the future.
An exquisitely original and feverishly fun fusion of genres and ideas, The Ministry of Time asks: What does it mean to defy history, when history is living in your house? Kaliane Bradley’s answer is a blazing, unforgettable testament to what we owe each other in a changing world.
Kaliane Bradley is a British-Cambodian writer and editor based in London. Her short fiction has appeared in Somesuch Stories, The Willowherb Review, Electric Literature, Catapult, and Extra Teeth, among others. She was the winner of the 2022 Harper’s Bazaar Short Story Prize and the 2022 V.S. Pritchett Short Story Prize.
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Audiobook details
Author:
Kaliane Bradley
Narrators:
George Weightman & Katie Leung
ISBN:
9781797176888
Length:
10 hours 22 minutes
Language:
English
Publisher:
Simon & Schuster Audio
Publication date:
May 7, 2024
Edition:
Unabridged
Libro.fm rank:
#8 Overall
Genre rank:
#1 in Science Fiction
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