The Mission Song

By: John le Carré

Narrated by: David Oyelowo

Length: 11 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

Abandoned by his parents, Bruno Salvador has long looked for guidance. He found it in Mr. Anderson of British Intelligence. Working for Anderson in a clandestine facility, 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, Bruno thinks he is helping Britain--but then he hears something he should not have.

©2006 David Cornwell. All Rights Reserved (P)2006 Hodder & Stoughton Audiobooks. All Rights Reserved

Critic reviews

"Amid the bursts of humor, le Carré convincingly conveys his empathy." (Publishers Weekly)
"His prose is as lovely and expressive as ever; his ear for dialogue remains wonderfully acute." (Washington Post)

Remarkable story, author and narrator.

I most enjoyed the narration. Having read the book previously, the narration really brought the story to life. John le Carrre plus David Olewowo; an unbeatable combination.

Tough listen for me

Would you try another book from John le Carre and/or David Oyelowo?

Maybe.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

I like spy stories, and I like the idea of this one. Maybe a good read, but as a listen it just frustrates me. I've tried it twice, and I have failed twice to finish it. By early in the second half, I just want to give up.

Any additional comments?

If you like le Carre's books, buy the book. The story is probably very good. The performance of this audiobook is fairly good, but I cannot recommend it as enjoyable.

Great actor, Narrator not so much

I am an enormous fan of Le Carre' and looked forward tremendously to this audiobook. However Mr. Oyelowo mumbles throughout the entire production, making it nearly impossible to make out what he is saying. Sometimes he trails off entirely, it is almost like he had taken a valium before recording this, a good number of the words are slurred. Is this part of the character he is portraying? If so he was fabulous. Either way I cannot listen to or understand more than half of it so I will be returning. This brings to question the fawning adulation of the narrators by other so-called 'reviewers'. Almost universal love for the recording and narrator. I have been an audible member for 8 years and have never seen such a disparity between the reviews and actual quality of product. Something is going on that is not in our the consumer's best interest it seems. Perhaps the pc monster has struck again.

Far from my favorite John le Carre novel

Five hours into this novel, I had no idea why I was continuing to listen. Even the narrator sounded bored with the plot line.

Least favorite so far of his works

I’ve read and thoroughly enjoyed 10 of his books and this one was so disappointing!!

By far the worst le Carré

This one definitely feels like it was either ghost written, or phoned-in. Nothing convincing or vivid, or believable in this story. Also -boring. The low point of a great oeuvre.

When audio goes bad

A good audiobook is dependent upon two factors: first, the quality of the original work, and second, the quality of the translation into its new, spoken word format. Unfortunately, the reader for this book was not up to the task, slurring his words together and making the piece all but unbearable. I couldn't come near to finishing it.

For the money?

Ordinarily I am a fan, but this book must have been written over a single weekend to meet a contract deadline. I found myself saying, "who cares" about a hundred times during my read...I found no enthusiasm for the characters, little action, no suspense, and had to labor my way through it so as to not completely waste my listener credit...don't waste your time on this title.