The Mission Song, John le Carre
The Mission Song, John le Carre
12 Rating(s)
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The Mission Song
A Novel

Author: John le Carré

Narrator: David Oyelowo

Unabridged: 20 hr 54 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/19/2006

Synopsis

Full of politics, heart, and the sort of suspense that nobody in the world does better, The Mission Song turns John Le Carre's laser eye for the complexity of the modern world on turmoil and conspiracy in Africa.

Abandoned by both his Irish father and Congolese mother, Bruno Salvador has long looked for someone to guide his life. He has found it in Mr. Anderson of British Intelligence. Bruno's African upbringing, and fluency in numerous African languages, has made him a top interpreter in London, useful to businesses, hospitals, diplomats -- and spies. Working for Anderson in a clandestine facility known as the "Chat Room,"Salvo (as he's known) translates intercepted phone calls, bugged recordings, and snatched voice mail messages.

When Anderson sends him to a mysterious island to interpret during a secret conference between Central African warlords, Bruno thinks he is helping Britain bring peace to a bloody corner of the world. But then he hears something he should not have...

By turns thriller, love story, and comic allegory of our times, The Mission Song is a crowning achievement, recounting an interpreter's heroically naive journey out of the dark of Western hypocrisy and into the heart of lightness.

About John Le Carré

John le Carré (1931 – 2020), born David John Moore Cornwell, was a British-Irish author. He spent his childhood between boarding school and the London underworld; at sixteen, he found refuge first at the University of Bern, then Oxford. After graduating with honors, he taught at Eton for two years before he was recruited into British Intelligence. In 1961, while still an MI6 agent, he published his debut novel, Call for the Dead, which introduced the world to George Smiley. His third novel, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, spent 32 weeks atop the New York Times bestseller list and earned him a reputation as one of the world’s preeminent spy novelists. Though he declined all British-based honors and prizes, he accepted the Premio Malaparte (Italy) in 1988, the title of Commandeur de L’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (France) in 2005, and the Goethe Medal (Germany) in 2011. Over the course of sixty years, he published over two dozen novels that would come to define an age; his final novel, Silverview, was published posthumously in 2021.

Reviews

AudiobooksNow review by Jonathan on 2007-06-21 17:20:58

This book may be one of John Le Carre's 'lesser efforts' as one critic described it, but it would be considered a tour de force had it been written by almost anyone else. The story's flaws, such as they are, are over- shadowed by the compelling, bewitching performance of the narrator, David Oyelowo. The accents, inflections and personalities of the various characters are so distinct that its easy to forget that they all come from a single reader. The story line is as cynical and sad as the most moving of le Carre's earlier work. But the hero, 'Salvo', is a delight: so hungry to believe that positive change is possible that he can't see the duplicity surrounding him. Salvo rings true and his belief in love and hope gives the story a stong ray of light at the end.

AudiobooksNow review by Gary on 2007-09-03 11:58:38

I listened and waited for this story to take off but it stayed mired in the super ego of the main character, Salvo. It was about as exciting as driving through central Nebraska. Based on this book, I will probably never choose another of this author's books.

Goodreads review by David on December 07, 2011

This is one of le Carré's post-Cold War novels, and the subject is Africa. Like all of his spy thrillers, the tone is seedy, cynical, and heartbreaking, as a decent man has his idealism shattered and sees his best intentions trampled on and turned to shit. "Salvo" is the son of a British missionary a......more

Goodreads review by Maureen on August 13, 2008

I found this to be one of the most successful of LeCarre's post-Cold War novels. His sense of outrage over conditions in Africa mirrors those of The Constant Gardener. The characters are compelling, and utterly believable. As I was reading this book, I jotted down a list of phrases that caught my fa......more

Goodreads review by Nigel on September 24, 2018

Not quite up to le Carre's usual standard, but still well written and engaging. A skilled interpreter who speaks many African languages and does some part time work with the British Government becomes caught up in a plot to interfere with the Congo's election. Will this be for the good of the countr......more

Goodreads review by Nigeyb on June 17, 2020

I came to The Mission Song (2006) as a John le Carré fan and one who is working his way through all le Carré's novels. The Mission Song is convincing and impeccably researched however it lacks the dramatic tension of his best work. It's a shame, as there is so much to like and admire in this book. F......more

Goodreads review by John on July 18, 2017

A slight departure from the usual Le Carré variation on a theme, but nevertheless a chip off the old block. Anyone interested in languages and interpreting, and in the eastern DRC, will find a lot to like about this book (as will any vintage Le Carré aficionado). I fall into all three categories, an......more

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