That's the dilemma that Bruno Salvador (called Salvo) faces in John Le Carre's latest novel, The Mission Song.
Salvo, Master of African Languages
Salvo, of mixed African and British Colonial parentage, was raised in the East Congolese province of Kivu, known for its natural beauty and uneasy politics. The orphaned Salvo was trained in Catholic mission schools and acquired a genius for languages, particularly the varied dialects of Central Africa.
Now working in Britain as a freelance translator, who sometimes helps British Intelligence, Salvo is married to a white, upper-class, high-profile (and high maintenance) reporter for one of the leading tabloid papers. Although he has made great efforts to "fit into" British culture and society, his mixed race ancestry and culture make him a self-described "zebra" in England.
In Her Majesty's Service
At the beginning of the novel, Salvo is summoned by British Intelligence for an urgent assignment and dispatched by helicopter to an unnamed island in the North Sea, complete with a new name, new clothes, and a new identity. This is unexplored territory for Salvo who usually listens to recorded voices for the British in their "chat room."
Salvo is told that he is the only translator for an important conference -- one that hopes to bring peace to the unsettled Congo, the region in which he grew up. At first he is honored to have been given such an assignment, but it gradually becomes clear that all is not what it seems.
Moral Dilemma
As the conference continues, Salvo is faced with a choice between what is right for the region he loves and obeying the masters of his adopted homeland. Le Carre's Salvo is "everyman." He could easily be you or me thrust into extraordinary circumstances. That is the genius of the book, one of the author's best in recent years. The reader may sometimes cringe at Salvo's naivety, but that's because he sees himself too clearly in the translator's shoes.
Related Links
- Shop for your own copy of The Mission Song.
- The Mission Song Discussion Questions
- Review of John le Carre's Constant Gardener
