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"THE CONSTANT GARDENER" by John LeCarre Book Review by Stephen Trapnell
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To classify John LeCarre as an espionage writer may be a little too limiting, especially in the wake of his latest novel, "The Constant Gardener." Sure, it packs the standard dose of international intrigue, but this book is as much an exploration of the human psyche as it is a murder mystery. The story opens with news that Tessa Quayle, the beautiful wife of a British diplomat in Kenya, has been murdered -- along with the African doctor who was her frequent traveling companion and alleged lover. His wife's murder transforms Justin Quayle. The diplomat once puttered about the gardens of his Kenyan home while his wife and her friend Dr. Arnold Bluhm secretively discussed the alleged misdeeds of pharmaceutical giant Three Bees. Now he travels from Africa to Europe to North America trying to determine just what his wife and Bluhm were doing that got them killed -- and to avoid the same enemies who are willing to kill to preserve their secrets.
However, "The Constant Gardener" is not simply the story of a husband's obsessive mission to find out why his wife died. It's more than an exploration of whether or not the Three Bees company was using patients in Africa as unwitting medical guinea pigs as it refined new drugs to sell in more lucrative markets, such as the United States. It's a story about Justin Quayle's search for the truth about his own life and relationship, in the face of near universal skepticism about whether his murdered wife had been faithful to him. And it's a story about other characters' re-evaluating their own roles as the aftermath of Tessa's death ripples across several continents.
One of Quayle's colleagues worries that his impulsively written love letter to Tessa will be discovered, revealing his longtime obsession to his own wife and the world. Medical research doctors live in secrecy, burdened with guilt at the way their discoveries have been used. Through it all runs LeCarre's deft style, his mastery of the power of understatement. The conclusion of "The Constant Gardener" may not contain any stunning revelations. It may simply be an affirmation of the plot that was developing throughout the novel. But that doesn't dim its power.
This author's greatest strength lies not necessarily in what he says in his stories, but in the way he says it. The art is in the story telling. "The Constant Gardener" proves LeCarre is still at the top of his game when it comes to cultivating a tale.
Grade: A-
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