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)

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.

good book, good & appropriate narrator

These folk who complain about the narrator don't get it. If they can't understand his various accents, well, I'd say that they must not venture far from home. This narrator was completely appropriate for this book and the character he enacted.
I enjoyed the book. It wasn't my favorite le Carre book, but it was good. As those who have read him before know, he doesn't adhere to a formula and requires more of his readers than do the writers of most "airplane" mysteries. This is worth a listen.

Only a tease, a taunt of le Carré's brilliance

My basic take on 'The Mission Song' is similar to Alvy's old joke in Annie Hall:

"um... two elderly women are at a Catskill mountain resort, and one of 'em says, "Boy, the food at this place is really terrible." The other one says, "Yeah, I know; and such small portions."

Well, that's essentially how I feel about this book. Actually, wait no, I don't think 'The Mission Song' was terrible. I thought parts of it were actually brilliant and the potential for brilliance was huge. I loved the idea of Bruno Salvador, the interpreter, caught between two worlds. There JUST wasn't enough of THAT part. The plot was fairly simple and straightforward. Not bad, but again, only a tease, a taunt of le Carré's brilliance wrapped in an average le Carré just makes me sad.

It also suffers from being proximately sat next to (or nearly next to) The Constant Gardener; yes, two le Carré's African twin sisters: one brilliant (The Constant Gardner), and one that only has the hint of brilliance (The Mission Song). One just pales in comparison to the other, and will perpetually be overshadowed by her better looking, more talented colonial twin.

Speaking of Colonialism, le Carré just wasn't pissed enough in this novel. I kind of like it when his anger is turned up to 11. The anger was here, but it was diffuse and subtle and romantic and sometimes a bit misdirected (to me). He merely twirled the narrative knife instead of shiving and shanking.

sonorous and compelling.

this is a beautiful reading of a story to rival _the constant gardener_ yet more intimacy and even a streak of optimism. a delight to listen to!

mission accomplished

An absolute fantastic narrative! A totally worthwhile experience. David Oyelowo’s reading of the dialogs is as every character comes alive. Here’s where a good audio book is far better than the printed version.

Engaging study of humanity in postcolonial world.

Tremendously enjoyed THE MISSION SONG. A few flaws, perhaps, but maintains LeCarre's magical sensibility & elegant language.