The Mission Song
£2.76
What colour is a zebra? - It s easy to think of translators as robots. Words of one language go in and those of another language come out. In the middle, however, there resides a human being with intellect, feelings and beliefs. Bruno Salvador, Salvo, insists that there are translators and there are interpreters. The latter, he contends, has to think fast and detect the nuances of speech from both sides of a bi-lingual conversation. Mistaking the one for the other leads to loss of essence in what s being conveyed. In this tale, Le Carre, who s clearly lost nothing in the passage of years, demonstrates with eloquent skill, the differences in the two terms and what can result when mistakes are made in using a competent interpreter as a mere translator.Bruno, the product of an African mission school, is also the product of an errant priest. He s developed a dual identity - he s trying to become a realistic element of British society, while his knowledge of African culture remains deeply imbued in his thinking. It s the perfect situation for an interpreter properly used. One user, British Intelligence takes him up for his talents in a special task. He s to act almost as a front when warring African leaders confer with a newly rising messianic figure. Whisked off to a remote location in the British Isles, he is thrown into a tangle of intrigue. Drawing on a store of knowledge about African conditions, Le Carre weaves threads of personal self-interest and corporate machinations to produce a grim image of how imperialism works in the 21st Century. That the focus of the story is the situation in the ravaged Congo makes the picture immeasurably poignant.Salvo s domestic situation adds additional complications, since he s married to a beautiful, British Establishment journalist, but in love with a Congolese nurse. As with so many Africans in Britain, Hannah hasn t shed her roots by passing through the processes of the British Immigration service. Britons don t hyphenate as is the practice in the US, and identity remains a murky burden. Anything that might alleviate conditions at home might well lead to a mass return. Hannah kindles in Salvo a desire to return to the Congo, fuelled by the slights both have endured in the racist society of Britain. Salvo has been referred to as a zebra neither black nor white. There s a chance to end both tribal strife and neo-colonialism. But the circumstances in the Congo can be manipulated to corporate advantage, as the creation of the Syndicate that hires Salvo displays. Manipulation is the key to divide and rule - except rule is less important here than profit. Hannah s hopes and Salvo s desire to support them are stacked against powerful forces.Le Carre has always written of matters of concern. Although always depicting his characters with skill and precision, he leads them into events beyond their control or their ken. We are never in doubt of the reality of characters like Salvo or Hannah, but they must fulfill the sometimes-bizarre roles he makes them play. They must respond to challenges most of us would find overwhelming, but he grants them the strength to soldier on, even when the odds seem stacked against them. Moral issues are never easy, but Le Carre keeps them at the forefront of his work. Maintaining that level of intensity would erode a lesser writer, but Le Carre, even after all these years, is clearly equal to the task. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]
Little action and rather introspective - I m no expert on Le Carre, but The Mission Song does seem to struggle to pull a novel out of very thin ideas.The star of the piece is Salvo, a mixed race translator. The first third of the book sets out some of his background. The middle third follows Salvo translating at a mysterious hot-house negotiation on the future of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The final third presents the aftereffects of that negotiation. In theory, this is jolly good.But the truth is, Salvo is a rather self-absorbed individual who seems unable to maintain relationships with others - whether romantic, social or contractual. Moreover, interpreting is a rather mechanical process. There is vicarious interest in the subject matter being translated, but the process itself is mundane - even if it is being done in varying degrees of clandestineness. So we have a large cast of characters who brush up against Salvo - none of them deeper than a sheet of veneer - and quite a bit of technical explanation of the process of translating. Along with some token attempt to create a passion for an African heritage. The negotiations are supposed to be key to the plot. But the setting (chiefly a table in a house on a no-name island) offers limited scope for action. Moreover, without background knowledge of Congolese politics, the characters are hard to tell apart - despite being given very different body shapes, dress styles, and a handy limp. And the revelation that the multinational corporations did not have entirely benevolent motives was an outcome that would not surprise a schoolboy. Thus, getting to the end of the negotiation meeting is rather a slow and claustrophobic process.The final third does pick up and offer a bit of intrigue, but it is hardly on a par with Le Carre s cold war classics. And the eventual outcome - although similar to many of Le Carre s endings - results in the merest shrug of the shoulders. The truth is, Salvo was not engaging enough for the reader to care much about his ultimate destiny.Three stars for the latter third - and partly in deference to Le Carre s reputation. But this really isn t a classic spy story, and neither is it engaging enough as a personal drama. Just rather introspective.
Whats it all about Salvo??? - I have read the book and heard the CD. Le Carre changes over time, and why not? so the fact that this book differs from the others is fine by me as long as essence of le Carre comes through, and it did. BUT as I really was brought up nearby the mansions Salvo lived in and now live in a road with so many ethnic minorities in it I should get an honourary degree in ethnic studies it seemed to me that this book was more about Salvos identity crises than anything else. He does go on about being half and half rather than a Salvo whole, me thinks he does protest to much. Yes we all know that some high class white women like a black handbag but in real life they go the whole Salvo. Then there is the incident on the stairs when the neighbours asks Salvo for sex. Now this bit is in the book but severly cut on the CD. Why? Was this put in for the sake of titivation in a film? Genuine le Carre fans dont need this sort of titivating in the books. The scene has no relevance to the story line so it has to have relevance to Salvo. I think the book was about Salvo having severe psychological problems re an identity crisis due to the fact that he is half and half, i.e., a zebra. Of course it is all the fault of the English establishment who find out Salvo is no way connected to GB so he gets deported? COME OFF IT LE CARRE. If le Carre wants to write about my side of the street he should try living it first.
worth reading - Don t be put off reading this book by those who have denigrated it. It s not as good as the Constant Gardener but a book like that is very hard to follow. As a love story The Mission Song offers an interesting insight into the many complexities of one man s life. As a study on the political instability of the DRC it is less impressive.I always enjoy Le Carre s observations that demonstrate an uncanny attention to detail and enable the reader to build up a relationship with the characters. This I was able to do as per usual. The plot might have lacked the sort of depth redolent of previous novels but it ticked over nicely and did not disappoint.
Empathy, yes, substance, lacking - From Eastern Congo in Central Africa to these fair Isles and London itself, onwards to a no name island somewhere in the North Sea and then the whole journey in reverse The Mission Song follows a section of the life of our chief protagonist Bruno Salvador aka Bruno. Well aka to his friends anyway. Bruno has a gift, a gift for languages. Not only is he a gifted interpreter he has an ear for the way people articulate themselves, an ear that has impressed itself upon none other than the security services themselves, I mean working in central Africa having someone who is able to speak Swahili, Lingala, Shi, Kinyarwanda, French and English amongst others could be considered advantageous. The early part of the book regales us of Salvo s current life with the love of his life Penelope. She from a high class English family who looked to rebel from her family in marrying Salvo is clearly (as is Salvo) becoming bored with the arrangement as it stands. These flashbacks are interspersed with Salvo s early years growing up in Africa and on his way to the well to do schools of England. The one thing we can say about these early sections is that they are certainly not taken quickly, it is like a slow burning oven that seeks us to really get under the skin of the character and I feel it is very deliberately done that during these passages it is really only Salvo himself who we get to understand as the book is essentially only from his point of view and at this time during his life the people around him are meaning less and less to him.Salvo s life changes so drastically during a spell of a few days when he meets Hannah, a nurse from his native Congo, over the death bed of a man whom by all right she should despise. Called into to translate the mans last words Salvo is mesmerised by the women that he sees caring for him and the compassion she can show, a love affair quickly ensues. However if that wasn t enough Salvo is quickly drawn into a world of espionage and subterfuge in the name of some no-name syndicate seeking a better Congo. Better for whom though?The characterisations (especially of Salvo) I feel are first rate and clearly from a master but I feel the book is overly dependent on this given the size of it. It isn t a hugely long novel but a good proportion of it is dedicated to padding out Salvo which although interesting doesn t move the story along at any great pace. I also felt that some of the directions the book goes in are somewhat aggressive. I don t mean this in terms of being an aggressive storyline I mean it in terms of how hard the story turns from being one about an innocent but gifted translator to that or a political thriller. Overall it felt as if the thriller element was more of an adjunct to the story of Salvo rather than the other way round. I liked the style of the ending, John Le Carre treats us like adults in not tying up all the loose ends as lets face it - who does it for us in life? This book is a great book on one level but I feel that its short comes outweigh its positives. I don t know if this is because of some over eager editing or else and flaw in the concept but it was disappointing nonetheless.