Reviewed by Kristin
In a near future London, a young woman accepts a civil service
job without having a complete picture of what that job will entail. She soon
learns she is to be a caretaker to someone from two centuries ago, as the
ministry has recently worked out how to bring people centuries forward into the
current day. The ministry is cautious, and only takes individuals who were
about to die anyway. Wars, plagues, and civil unrests, those are all great times to pluck out someone whose
disappearance shouldn’t make a ripple in the fabric of time.
The unnamed young woman narrates the story, only identified as
a “bridge” working with one of the historical individuals—Commander Graham Gore
of Sir John Franklin’s ill-fated Arctic expedition. The five individuals
brought forward in time are known as “expats” and sometimes referred to by the
year from which they were extracted.
Expat Graham came from 1847, and understandably has a very
difficult time accepting some of the changes happening in the world. 9 million
people living in London? Indoor plumbing? Women’s bare calves? The
enfranchisement of the working class? Spotify? Unthinkable!
The other expats are a woman from 1665 (Plague of London), a
lieutenant from 1645 (Battle of Naseby), an army captain from 1916 (Battle of
the Somme), and a woman from 1793 (Parisian Reign of Terror). As might be
imagined, these characters are highly entertaining as they get to know each
other and the vagaries of the modern world.
The ministry is keeping an eye on them, but letting them live in the
real world, not just keeping them locked up in a hospital ward.
But, can the ministry be trusted?
Alternately funny, tender, and just slightly spicy, this genre
defying debut novel from Kaliane Bradley is a delight.
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