The Constant Gardener
(John le Carre)
The problem with books by John le Carre is that one cannot put them down. This means that, if we are to suck out their rich and enticing marrow, they must be read more than once. So they exist on two levels at least: one, the rollicking, unputdownable story that keeps you riveted until you reach the final page; the other the pellucid and subtle implications and innuendos that are so essential a part of the way he weaves his stories. Without a second read, you miss these underpinnings; without a second read, you also miss the dry, wry Le Carre humour.
Justin Quayle, a shy, quintessentially ordinary diplomat, marries a captivating young woman (Tessa) who quickly attracts the censure of the insular diplomatic community. Far from joining her compatriots for their evening G & Ts and traded gossip, she is brutally murdered on the shore of Lake Turkana in Kinya.
Le Carre?s style as a writer is to lead us through a labyrinth of clues, insinuations and false trails. In this novel, Justin leaves his garden and the ever-widening conspiracy of rumour and deception that he must follow, if he is to find out why Tessa died. Justin perseveres and so do we: following the clues that will lead to the truth about Tessa.
But, as Justin looks for answers, he becomes passionately involved in Tessa?s dangerous campaign against the mighty power of pharmaceutical companies, doing what they do best: making money at any cost. And lest anybody should dismiss the extreme cynicism of feeding pharmaceuticals rejected by rich countries to the poor and underdeveloped, we have only to go back to the well-publicised story of thalidomide and the way it was promoted in the third world.
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