Bec's 2024 Summer Fave

There’s nothing better than a good rom-com in the summer months, am I right? Not too heavy, with just the right amount of witty banter and romance. Sometimes, though, rom-coms can feel a little too perfect or predictable, even when written by an excellent writer like Abby Jimenez. If you want to read a novel that will deliver that romantic rush you’re craving but give you a serious dose of sex, intrigue, and suspense, as well, you should definitely check out Kaliane Bradley’s The Ministry of Time. 

In the article “Kaliane Bradley Fell in Love With a Dead Man. The Result Is The Ministry of Time,” (https://www.elle.com/culture/books/a60790222/kaliane-bradley-the-ministry-of-time-interview/), author Lauren Puckett-Pope describes the novel’s origin story: how, during the pandemic, Bradley became obsessed with a handsome (dead) man in a photo–a Victorian polar explorer named Graham Gore.

Puckett-Pope writes, 

“Bradley had developed a fixation, except hers was neither sourdough nor houseplants nor indoor workout equipment, but the dimples mirrored on either side of Graham Gore’s face. She studied the sole existing daguerreotype of him with an increasing sense of wonder, noting his curls, his ‘dramatic nose,’ and slight smile. ‘Did I stare at the picture too long?’ Bradley asks herself when we meet in April. ‘Maybe I stared at the picture too long.’"

Bradley’s delightful sense of humor, which is on display here, comes out in her novel, as well. 

So what is the novel about???

The first thing you need to know is that it is about time-traveling. A government agency in near-future London is “expatriating” people from the past who were at risk of dying and resettling them in modern-day London. (How these individuals are chosen is left unclear; it is also a little foggy as to why the government agency is doing this.)

Our narrator, a young woman of Cambodian heritage who remains unnamed throughout the novel, works as a “bridge” to help the expat adjust to their new life. She is assigned 37-year-old Graham Gore, who lived during the early 19th century and was a Commander of the Royal Navy. Gore has a charming, witty sense of humor, an endearing chain-smoking habit, and adorable dimples, and the narrator finds herself slowly but undeniably falling for her charge. 

They share an apartment together, which is at first very awkward: “We separated and spent the fading day bobbing shyly around each other like clots in a lava lamp.” And, as a man from early 19th century England, Gore struggles to make sense of life in the 21st century, at one point asking the narrator, What is a “DILF”? But over time, the two get to know each other and, despite her not wanting it to happen, the narrator can’t prevent her feelings of attraction and jealousy from surfacing in regard to Graham.

This, for me, was the most enjoyable and charming aspect of the book: how beautifully Bradley describes the slow, seductive fall into love—and the inexorability of it. 

This novel truly defies labels; it is a rom-com, but so much more. There is intrigue and mystery, especially towards the end, and a hot sex scene that you will not want to miss. 

Please pick up and enjoy The Ministry of Time! You will be chuckling the whole way through.