SlowRain reviewed The Mission Song by John le Carré
Review of 'The Mission Song' on Goodreads
4 stars
This novel is centered around Bruno Salvador--a half-British, half-Congolese interpreter of numerous obscure African languages--as he's whisked away by British Intelligence to a secret conference between the representatives of a Western-backed syndicate of politicians and celebrities, an ambitious Congolese leader preaching reform, and three Congolese warlords. The goal of this clandestine conference is none other than changing the government in the resource rich Kivu region of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
First off, le Carré has been on a slide since the end of the Cold War. He still writes better novels than all the other thriller writers out there, but he's had a hard time recapturing his glory days. The Mission Song is right up there with Our Game as the best of his post-Cold War novels, and it definitely finds a place of honor among his better works as well. Like his previous two novels, Absolute Friends (2003) …
This novel is centered around Bruno Salvador--a half-British, half-Congolese interpreter of numerous obscure African languages--as he's whisked away by British Intelligence to a secret conference between the representatives of a Western-backed syndicate of politicians and celebrities, an ambitious Congolese leader preaching reform, and three Congolese warlords. The goal of this clandestine conference is none other than changing the government in the resource rich Kivu region of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
First off, le Carré has been on a slide since the end of the Cold War. He still writes better novels than all the other thriller writers out there, but he's had a hard time recapturing his glory days. The Mission Song is right up there with Our Game as the best of his post-Cold War novels, and it definitely finds a place of honor among his better works as well. Like his previous two novels, Absolute Friends (2003) and The Constant Gardener (2000), it has a more obvious political theme than some of his others, but this time he manages to make his theme blend well with the plot.
The Mission Song is one man's reawakened sense of identity and conscience. Bruno has to decide how much he's going to allow Western interests to interfere with a society that has witnessed one of the bloodiest wars since the end of World War Two. He has choices to make: loyalty to his employers or his conscience; loyalty to his manipulating country or a manipulated people; loyalty to his all-white, career minded, adulterating wife or a Congolese nurse. The book also discusses whose responsibility it ultimately is to get Congo--and, by extension, Africa--back on track. I'm sure a few politicians, singers, and actors will be surprised by the discussion.
Le Carré's narrative is extremely engaging and his characters are larger than life. He never spells anything out for the reader, but offers enough hints for those who pay attention. Even though he has a political ax to grind over Britain's involvement in the Iraq War--and grind it he does--he still isn't preachy. And his dialogue is both brilliant and creative, definitely up there with David Mamet's.
I really enjoyed the novel as a thriller, as well as for the awareness and vast amount of information about Congo, it's troubles, Rwanda's involvement, coltan et cetera. Even though the events in the novel span less than a week, I wouldn't recommend it for people who love fast-paced thrillers. This is a novel for the patient reader. A most rewarding novel.
