Mission Song by John Le Carre - Book Club Discussion Questions

John Le Carre is considered the master of the literary thriller; some of his previous spy novels have even reached classic status (The Spy Who Came Out from the Cold). His 20th novel, The Mission Song is a timely narrative, with an empathetic eye into the open mind of Bruno Salvador, an orphaned child of a Catholic Irish missionary and a Congolese woman, and the state of Africa in world politics. Use these book club discussion questions on The Mission Song to delve into Carre's Song

Spoiler Warning: These book club discussion questions reveal important details about The Mission Song by John Le Carre. Finish the book before reading on.

1. Bruno Salvador introduces himself by saying “my friends call me Salvo, so do my enemies.” What does this say about Salvo’s character from the beginning? What does this introduction potentially foreshadow?
   
   
2. What does Salvo’s name relate to his past? His present? His future?
   
   
3. Why do you think Salvo is so naïve? How does this help him? How does it hinder him?
   
   
4. Names are just one of Le Carre’s metaphors throughout The Mission Song. How do certain other characters’ names hint at their nature or foreshadow their lives?
   
   
5. At the beginning of the book, Salvo loves two women. What, in many ways, do these two women represent to Salvo? What is Le Carre using these two women to represent metaphorically of the world at large?
   
   
6. How does Salvo’s choice to be with one woman foreshadow his future actions?
   
   
7. There are many great passages throughout The Mission Song. What is one of your favorites? Why?
   
   Ex. “ Do I fail the test twice over – first as an African, then again as a European? Are we Congolese exceptionally violent, murderous, stupid? Are we British exceptionally callous? And who, please is more primitive? The Hutu who chops off a baby’s arms and legs, or the Western bureaucrat who consigns half a million dying Tutsis to his out-tray?”
   
   
8. What did you think about Haj when you first meet him in the story? What did you think of him at the end? Why do you think he sang the song when he did?
   
   
9. The Mwangaza is a unique character. He is seen both as a potential Savior or as a puppet. Salvo sees him in each light at different times throughout the story. Why? Was the Mwangaze either? What is Le Carre trying to say about the salvation of Africa with this character? What is he trying to say about the salvation of Africa with this novel?
   
   
10. Salvo ends The Mission Song with the quote:
    
    “Each morning my heart rises with the autumn sun. Each evening it sinks. But if I bring my chair to the window, and there’s a good moon shining, I can just make out a sliver of sea a mile beyond the wire. And that’s where their England ends and my Africa begins.”
    
    What do you think he means? Why does Le Carre end the novel with this statement?