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The Mission Song by John Le Carré
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The Mission Song

by John Le Carré

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846234,957 (3.39)19
Recently added byAvalonPress, evening, Minthe, freudslip, moukayedr, private library, dfoott, grenade, Flit, tdrussell
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English (21)  Danish (1)  Finnish (1)  All languages (23)
Showing 1-5 of 21 (next | show all)
Not his best, but a great read nonetheless. Sort of fizzles out, with a disappointing denouement, but the style is tight and I couldn't put it down. ( )
  EricPMagnuson | Nov 12, 2009 |
This is Le Carré at his usual trick of building a thriller out of the low-key, banal and bureaucratic. Tinker, Tailor... was all about files; this one focusses on a conference interpreter. (Didn't Nicholas Freeling write a thriller about an interpreter a long time ago?) Unfortunately, Salvo's character is a bit unconvincing, while the plot is too implausible for words. There is no sensible reason for the organisers of the conspiracy to use the same interpreter for translating the delegates' bugged conversations and at the conference table. Especially an interpreter with no previous experience of clandestine work, who may well be known to the delegates (how many specialists in East Congolese languages can there be in London?). Oh, and he has a sentimental affection for the region the conspirators are plotting to exploit, and his wife is a newspaper reporter. The obvious man for the job!
Anyway, why have an interpreter at the conference table, interacting with the delegates, at all? In real life they sit anonymously in little glass boxes and talk into microphones.
Le Carré can do better than this, and you wouldn't have thought that he has any need to churn out pot-boilers at this stage in his career. ( )
  thorold | Sep 29, 2009 |
Engaging and very well written. ( )
  Clara53 | Feb 10, 2009 |
Pleasant book on Africa but far from Le Carré at his best...
Not everything is gone with cold war as The constance gardener proved it, but Smiley's books are surely more compelling than this one! ( )
  sinaloa237 | Jan 28, 2009 |
A well-told thriller. The story of interpreter Bruno Salvador and his bid to be David to the British government's Goliath as they meddle in African affairs. Smooth reading. ( )
  Hagelstein | Jan 8, 2009 |
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Epigraph
'The conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it away from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves, is not a pretty thing when you look into it too much.' - Marlow.
Joseph Conrad Heart of Darkness
Dedication
First words
My name is Bruno Salvador.
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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
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Book description
Jun-Jul 09

Amazon.com Book Description (ISBN 0316016748, Hardcover)

A naive young interpreter stumbles into the heart of an outrageous British plot in the astonishing new novel by the master of the literary thriller.

Abandoned by both his Irish father and Congolese mother, Bruno Salvador (alias Salvo) has long looked for someone to guide his life. Enter Mr. Anderson of British Intelligence. Bruno's African upbringing and fluency in numerous African languages have 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 translates intercepted phone calls, bugged recordings, and snatched voice mail messages. When Anderson sends him to a mysterious island to interpret 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 begins to hear things not intended for his ears...

(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:57:53 -0400)

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