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Septuagenarian John le Carré, master of political thrillers and historical suspense novels, has penned yet another high-stakes thrill ride full of espionage, global meddling and inter-character intrigue. Like his highly praised THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD and his most recent novel turned award-winning blockbuster film, THE CONSTANT GARDENER, THE MISSION SONG rummages underneath the surface of shady intercontinental government dealings --- this time on Eastern Congolese soil.
The story's 29-year-old protagonist, Bruno Salvador (referred to as Salvo), is a somewhat naïve and painfully overzealous (but quite gifted) interpreter, employed by many a prominent party, including a secret branch of the British government. The bastard child of an Irish Catholic priest and a no-name Congolese peasant, he has a background that is as eclectic as his gift for learning languages. So, it is of no surprise to him (or anyone else, for that matter) that his climb up the translating ranks is smooth and swift.
Like many of le Carré's previous do-gooders, Salvo is a diehard idealist with few flaws, save his previously mentioned naiveté; his "streak of mulishness that asserts itself at inopportune moments"; and his lust for Hannah, a voluptuous Congolese woman who is not his wife. Therefore, when he is called away to a remote island in the North Sea from a party for his wife (a white celebrity journalist) in London in order to serve as the sole interpreter at a top-secret conference between various Congolese tribal leaders and a few white businessmen (known as the Syndicate), he doesn't give the vague details and veiled instructions a second thought, and immediately accepts the offer.
In true le Carréan fashion, the valiant Salvo soon finds himself in over his head and privy to a devious and potentially catastrophic scheme. What he thought was the purpose of the meeting ("to create an inclusive, united, democratic Kivu, north and south" by figuring out a plan to put Mwangaza --- a moderate leader --- in power ahead of the elections), is of course not what was really intended ("to milk the Eastern Congo of all minerals the Syndicate can get its hands on...thereby notching up untold millions for the investors, and absolutely nothing for the people of Kivu"); thus, Salvo's conscience is left to battle it out with his sense of professional duty. Will he spill the beans on the conspirators in the name of what's Right, Noble and True for the Congolese people (in the back of his mind, always, the illustrious Hannah), or will he take the paycheck and run, swallow his guilt and feign surprise when a military coup overthrows the ruling power in the Congo?
All in all, THE MISSION SONG boasts all the veritable thematic players that frequent novels of its ilk: global injustice, racial discrimination and interracial conflict, moral and ethical codes, marital infidelities, corruption on all levels. Likewise, its language is riddled with le Carré beauties such as: "a Who's Who of American corporate and political power...A-list neo-conservatives, geo-politicians on the grand scale. The sort of fellows who meet in ski resorts and decide the fate of nations" and "who gives a s--- about a small war anyway... I mean what's a small death? Pfui. Nothing. Like being a little bit pregnant."
What it lacks, however, is clarity and the necessary pulse-racing pace. The plot, separated into three "acts" of sorts, is slow to build and only picks up momentum in the last third of the book. The conference scenes seem bogged down with incessant spy-related details and the constant back-and-forth between descriptions of what's actually going on --- and Salvo's interpretations of what's going on --- make the plot (and message) seem somewhat confusing. Salvo's intense love affair with Hannah feels rushed and flat, which may cause readers to question (or not care either way about) Salvo's judgment, especially as the plot twists and turns at the end.
If readers can work to overlook these inconsistencies, as they might when renting a B+ thriller at home rather than watching it on the big screen, they will be mostly pleased with the outcome.
--- Reviewed by Alexis Burling
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