Starred review from December 4, 2006
Bruno Salvo, the illegitimate son of an Irish missionary father and a Congolese mother, is one of le Carré's most interesting lead characters—and one of the most difficult for an actor to bring to life using just his voice. Fortunately, Oyelowo, a veteran of everything from televised comedy to live Shakespeare, has the ability to quickly catch and transmit to listeners the many elements of Bruno's essence in this moving and surprisingly amusing audio version of arguably the author's least typical novel. Oyelowo never falters in presenting the many other characters who flesh out the story, from the Roman mentor who shapes the orphaned Bruno's future as a professional interpreter of African tribal languages to the British intelligence agents who eventually recruit him. Oyelowo positively shines with recognizable truth as he shrewdly recreates Bruno's growing awareness of the power this knowledge gives him—personally, politically and socially. It would be difficult for any other actor, even one with more star power, to take Bruno Salvo into film or television without us hearing Oyelowo's voice in our heads while we watch. Simultaneous release with the Little, Brown hardcover (Reviews, July 31).
Starred review from July 31, 2006
Bestseller le Carré (The Constant Gardener
) brings a light touch to his 20th novel, the engrossing tale of an idealistic and naïve British interpreter, Bruno "Salvo" Salvador. The 29-year-old Congo native's mixed parentage puts him in a tentative position in society, despite his being married to an attractive upper-class white Englishwoman, who's a celebrity journalist. Salvo's genius with languages has led to steady work from a variety of employers, including covert assignments from shadowy government entities. One such job enmeshes the interpreter in an ambitious scheme to finally bring stability to the much victimized Congo, and Salvo's personal stake in the outcome tests his professionalism and ethics. Amid the bursts of humor, le Carré convincingly conveys his empathy for the African nation and his cynicism at its would-be saviors, both home-grown patriots and global powers seeking to impose democracy on a failed state. Especially impressive is the character of Salvo, who's a far cry from the author's typical protagonist but is just as plausible.
August 1, 2006
When spies fought spies in the early le Carre novels, there were no real winners, but there was a sense that one system was better than the other. In later le Carre, however, individuals are pitted against institutions, and the institutions--each evil in its own way--always win. Le Carre's new heroes, unlike the melancholy George Smiley, are usually naive. This time the naif is an interpreter, Bruno "Salvo" Salvador, born in Eastern Congo of a white father and a black mother, both victims of African civil war. Salvo has remade himself as a British gentleman and serves his country by interpreting transcripts for the secret service. But now he's been promoted to the big leagues, live interpretation at an off-the-radar conference involving three African warlords and a much-revered Congo leader. Ostensibly, the British are helping put the revered leader in power, but, in fact, as Salvo soon learns, the real goal is very different: steal the mineral wealth of the region while establishing a puppet government--"democracy at the end of a gun barrel." Salvo and his lover, a Congolese nurse, are determined to thwart the planned coup, but they have little grasp of what they're up against. The opening half of this novel is a bit static--the dynamics of multilingual interpretation are difficult to convey in print--but the power of the human drama takes hold toward the end. As in " The Constant Gardner " (2000) and " Absolute Friends" (2003), le Carre's belief in the worth of individual human lives remains strong, even as his despair grows over the prospect of governments ever being a force for good. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)