Book Log 2006 #51: The Mission Song by John LeCarre

I'm not sure if this is LeCarre's best post-Cold War book, but it's pretty close. Bruno Salvador, the son of a missionary priest and a Congolese woman, is an interpreter specializing in local languages of East Africa. Now living in London, he is chosen to interpret a secret meeting between some locally powerful players in a section of the DR Congo (formerly Zaire) and a British group that may or may not be an official government delegation. From there, his background and involvement with a nurse originally from the area being discussed leads him in some very unexpected directions (I know that's a little vague and blurbish, but I'm not going to get into specifics).

LeCarre has done very well making the transition from the Cold War to a much grayer world (with some less savory forays), and his focus on Africa (between this book and The Constant Gardner) throws some welcome light on to what are generally unknown issues and conflicts. Recommended.