Friday, August 08, 2008
The Mission Song by John le Carre .
This is John le Carre's 20th novel and was published in paperback in 2007. I have not read any of his books before and I can see from this novel just why he is such a successful and prolific author.
The story is told from the viewpoint of Bruno Salvador, an interpreter of mixed race. The pace of the story is good and the humour is appropriate. It is a spy thriller that involves a conspiracy. The research behind the story is first rate and John le Carre tells a good tale. I wonder if the inspiration for this novel came from the real life 2004 Equatorial Guinea coup d'état attempt which involved a certain Mark Thatcher ? John includes recognisable locations within London and captures the mood of the times after the 7/7 London bombings. The plot has many good twists that keep you guessing. The story ends in the way that in real life a similar tale would have done. John has written a realistic tale that questions morals in life, the home and the workplace.
Outside of this novel the reader may question their views on identity. What makes people believe they belong to a certain group? Can people belong to more than one group? Are groups of people important or are the boundaries meaningless? Who should you trust in life, should you trust them all of the time or just part of the time?
I vote this novel a hit although I did not like the lead character Bruno Salvador for 2 reasons. The main reason is because he committed adultery - a crime I cannot condone - the thought of this act makes the shiver. The second reason is that most employees would take the money and keep their mouths shut. Their silence and loyalty would have been paid for in full. Still you do not have to totally like the lead character to thoroughly enjoy a good book. It takes all sorts in this world and there are a lot of villains out there!
This is John le Carre's 20th novel and was published in paperback in 2007. I have not read any of his books before and I can see from this novel just why he is such a successful and prolific author.
The story is told from the viewpoint of Bruno Salvador, an interpreter of mixed race. The pace of the story is good and the humour is appropriate. It is a spy thriller that involves a conspiracy. The research behind the story is first rate and John le Carre tells a good tale. I wonder if the inspiration for this novel came from the real life 2004 Equatorial Guinea coup d'état attempt which involved a certain Mark Thatcher ? John includes recognisable locations within London and captures the mood of the times after the 7/7 London bombings. The plot has many good twists that keep you guessing. The story ends in the way that in real life a similar tale would have done. John has written a realistic tale that questions morals in life, the home and the workplace.
Outside of this novel the reader may question their views on identity. What makes people believe they belong to a certain group? Can people belong to more than one group? Are groups of people important or are the boundaries meaningless? Who should you trust in life, should you trust them all of the time or just part of the time?
I vote this novel a hit although I did not like the lead character Bruno Salvador for 2 reasons. The main reason is because he committed adultery - a crime I cannot condone - the thought of this act makes the shiver. The second reason is that most employees would take the money and keep their mouths shut. Their silence and loyalty would have been paid for in full. Still you do not have to totally like the lead character to thoroughly enjoy a good book. It takes all sorts in this world and there are a lot of villains out there!
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