The power behind all things

In the increasing throng of novels that we find time to read nowadays (whether because they are forced upon us through our coursework or in a rare moment of free time), few stories are able to construct a contemporary and intelligent narrative whilst still keeping readers engaged after every page. Thankfully, not all is lost: John Le Carré’s The Constant Gardener is one novel that will keep you turning its pages well into the early hours of the morning, and will be well worth the subsequent exhaustion at your 9am lecture.

Additionally, it’s one of those rare beasts within contemporary literature: an intelligent thriller unafraid to expose the violent and unpleasant truths that characterize the first world’s relationship to developing countries. Whether you have seen the popular film adaptation or not, the book offers a complete story and weaves an intricate and inspiring tale that won’t be easily forgotten by its readers.

The Constant Gardener tells the story of Foreign Office diplomat Justin Quayle, whose job placement in Kenya takes a turn for the worse when his young wife Tessa is found dead after leaving on a humanitarian trip with her close friend Arnold. Aside from having to endure rumours about Tessa and Arnold’s close relationship and Arnold’s convenient disappearance from the crime scene, Justin finds himself at the centre of a barrelful of unanswered questions about his wife’s involvement in aid work and the cases she pursued as a lawyer.

While trying to avoid the watchful eyes of the police and the Foreign Office’s overly repressive concern, Justin slowly uncovers the peculiarities of Tessa’s death and realizes that her charitable activities were a lot more dangerous than she was willing to disclose. In tracing her ephemeral footsteps, Justin investigates the well-kept secrets of pharmaceutical companies operating in Kenya that Tessa aimed to expose and comes to fully understand his wife for the first time. Yet his efforts render him vulnerable to the same perils that claimed her life, and the global chase that follows acts as an illustration of how far corporations are willing to go to preserve their reputations in a capitalistic world.

Known for his acclaimed Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, which has also recently been adapted into a film, John Le Carré is a renowned master of thrillers and novels unafraid to criticize the corrupt and inhumane nature of modern capitalist society. His novels aim to move and provoke, inciting in his readers the same fervour for justice and awareness he instils in every page. Le Carré creates fictional narratives centred on very real places and concerns, exposing his readers to the facades and secrets we are oblivious to in our daily lives.

More impressively still, his denunciations are not even the tip of the iceberg. For instance, the afterword he includes in The Constant Gardener claims that compared to the reality he discovered about the pharmaceutical industries of the world, the narrative is “as tame as a holiday postcard.”

Le Carré is also extremely adept at bringing his characters and environments to life. Through his meticulous attention to detail and complex character constructions, Tessa and Justin are reunited after her death and their relationship is conveyed to readers through a mixture of flashbacks and amalgams of fantasy and reality. Their previously separate lives become conjoint as Justin takes up her cause and leaves his standard passivity behind. Moreover, the shifting points of view Le Carré includes ensures that we are given access to different characters’ psyches and are able to receive a more complete picture of the narrative. The settings shift from Kenya to England, to Italy, Germany, and more, as Justin tries to collect every piece of the international puzzle surrounding his wife’s death.

Prose is combined with extracts from articles, letters, police interviews, and medical reports, so that readers are exposed to the same material Justin finds and are encouraged to connect the dots based on what is found. Le Carré has a precise manner of writing that combines sensory detail with streams of consciousness to construct a picture of settings in readers’ minds that becomes accessible to everyone, including those who may not have experienced the locations he depicts.

On the other hand, I was extremely lucky to have been doing an internship in Kenya at the time I read The Constant Gardener, and found that the story spoke particularly strongly to me as I was immersed in the environment and culture at the time. Seeing in person the conditions of life in a developing country and recognizing the continuous influence that developed countries, corporations, and (seemingly innocent) aid programs have on the damage done, truly aligned my sympathies with the cause Le Carré puts forth. He manages to refreshingly counteract the prevalence of indifference to suffering in the modern world.

Additionally, Le Carré captures perfectly the paradox of optimistic sadness that permeates the Kenyan people’s attitudes, and pays special attention to the nuances of detail necessary to describe the slums, the foreign office, and the stunning natural scenery that makes the country such a haven for tourists visiting Africa. Even so, Le Carré’s writing never ceases to be accessible and appealing in general, and the energetic suspense he wires into the narrative ensures that readers from any background will be hooked.

Essentially, readers looking for an intelligent and passionate work that is both thrilling and contemporary will not be disappointed when they turn to The Constant Gardener. The book strikes a perfect balance between action and thought, between denouncing political and corporate injustice and weaving a poignant love story. It raises difficult questions that few people are usually aware of or willing to discuss, provoking a hard look at the way the first world has influenced and damaged the third world, and continues to do so.

But more than anything else, it is a story of the importance of holding onto our humanity in the turbulent times of cynicism and corruption that we live in.

a.souza@warwick.ac.uk