The Mission Song

A Novel

By: John le Carré

Narrated by: David Oyelowo

Full of politics, heart, and the sort of suspense that nobody in the world does better, The Mission Song turns John Le Carre's laser eye for the complexity of the modern world on turmoil and conspiracy in Africa.

Abandoned by both his Irish father and Congolese mother, Bruno Salvador has long looked for someone to guide his life. He has found it in Mr. Anderson of British Intelligence. Bruno's African upbringing, and fluency in numerous African languages, has 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 (as he's known) translates intercepted phone calls, bugged recordings, and snatched voice mail messages.

When Anderson sends him to a mysterious island to interpret during 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 hears something he should not have...

By turns thriller, love story, and comic allegory of our times, The Mission Song is a crowning achievement, recounting an interpreter's heroically naive journey out of the dark of Western hypocrisy and into the heart of lightness.

Strong story presented by an outstanding narrator

Where does The Mission Song rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

David Oyelowo's magnificent performance brings this complex LeCarre book to life. This may be the single best performance I've heard in 10 years of Audible membership. Oyelowo should be narrating more Audible selections - he's brilliant.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

The Mission Song story line is much too complicated to listen to in one sitting. To properly understand the narrative it helps to have some background on Congo history and African geography, but it's worth the effort.

Best performance ever

I’ve listened to many audio books, some with terrible narrators and som good- this is beyond good- it’s excellent!

One of the best Le Carre stories in a long time

The cross and double crosses are abundant. The allies and enemies hard to spot. It is a story of a man's character and what he does to remain true to himself.

hard to follow

Interesting story and you learn a lot about Africa, but the storyline is often hard to follow

So Sad

I was very disappointed in the ending. This is the first time I didn't enjoy a John le Carre book.