Bruno Salvador has worked on clandestine missions before. A highly skilled interpreter, he is no stranger to the Official Secrets Act. But this is the first time he has been asked to change his identity - and, worse still, his clothes - in service of his country.
Whisked to a remote island to interpret a top-secret conference between no-name financiers and Congolese warlords, Salvo's excitement is only heightened by memories of the night before he left London, and his life-changing encounter with a beautiful nurse named Hannah.
Exit suddenly, the unassuming, happily married man Salvo believed himself to be. Enter in his place, the pseudonymous Brian Sinclar: spy, lover - and perhaps, even, hero.
John le Carre was born in 1931. His third novel, THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD, secured him a wide reputation which was consolidated by the acclaim for his trilogy TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY, THE HONOURABLE SCHOOLBOY and SMILEY'S PEOPLE. His other novels include THE CONSTANT GARDENER, A MOST WANTED MAN and OUR KIND OF TRAITOR.
Title: The Mission Song
Author: John le Carré
ISBN: 9780340921999
Binding:
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Publication Date: 2007-08-09
Number of Pages: 384
Weight: 0.2813 kg
'I imagine this is the first time that le Carre has been mentioned in the same breath as Updike and Roth. They, after all, are Literary Novelists with a capital L and N, whereas Le Carre is . . . well, what is he? Actually he is sui generis. Or, rather, he is his own genre. Quite an achievement that.' * Sunday Telegraph *
'THE MISSION SONG is meticulously researched, and the tricks and tactics of being a top interpreter are convincingly rendered. You're left with the uncomfortable feeling that perhaps politicians, journalists, civil servants and the businessmen really are the lying, amoral bastards portrayed here. Perhaps it isn't only in le Carre's world, but in the real world too, that we're unwise to believe what we are told.' * Independent on Sunday *
'Fast-paced and entertaining' * Times Literary Supplement *
'Exquisitely crafted' * Daily Mail *
'Le Carre's eye is undimmed, his passion for his craft as strong as it ever was. He delivers a tale that few could equal and none will surpass.' * Observer *
'le Carre shows no sign of slowing up or losing touch.' * Spectator *
'This thriller exhibits his familiar strengths: superbly realised characters; a succession of knockout scenes nobody else could produce; and a distinctive ability to fuse social comedy and moral anger . . . Mesmerising.' * Sunday Times *
'Bold, vigorous and extremely funny.' * Evening Standard *
'I think it's very good' * John Sutherland, 'Front Row', BBC Radio 4 *
'A formidably sophisticated work of fiction, full of energy, rage and great humour. All the qualities for which le Carre's fiction has been admired - his descriptive powers, his electrifying dialogue, his cynicism in the presence of corporate greed and government power - are visible in THE MISSION SONG. That this great English novelist continues to produce work of this calibre with such frequency is simply astonishing.' * Charles Cumming, Mail on Sunday *
