The Mission

by Robert Bolt

Book Overview

In order to come to terms with his violent past, soldier-of-fortune Rodrigo Mendoza joins forces with a priest, Father Gabriel, leader of a Jesuit mission deep in the South American jungle, to battle... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0515088773
• ISBN13: 9780515088779
• Release Date: November 1986
• Publisher: Jove Books
• Length: 265 Pages
• Weight: 0.33 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Huge, damning and incredible

If you've seen the excellent Roland Joffe film with Robert de Niro and Jeremy Irons, you'll understand the theme of guilt and redemption that runs like a wound through this book, but you won't be prepared for the detail of the book. It tells the story of Mendoza, a fiercely protective elder brother, strong and disciplined worker, and experienced rapist/murderer--all roles he squirms away from, but has to acknowledge. When he kills his brother in a moment of passion he tries (horribly, painfully) to gain redemption through the Jesuit order. Father Gabriel, his spiritual protector and friend, also has a struggle, not as obvious but no less difficult.Read it well and then see the film, which is not an adaptation of this book but a re-working of the story (the film is not really about Mendoza or Gabriel--it's a commentary on regret through the eyes of a minor character in the book, Altamirano). Both are challenging and well worth the effort.