BOOK REVIEW
by Brooke Robinson
reviewed by Daniel Collado Sanz
‘ We may sometimes forget how important our role is for others: how we connect strangers …’
The Interpreter is a 336-page thriller that grabs you by the guts and never lets go.
As an interpreter myself, I can assure you that it paints an accurate picture of the hurdles we go through daily, and those details only add to how real it all feels. As I read I found myself repeatedly thinking, ‘This could so easily happen to me!’ and asking myself, ‘Have I ever been in such a situation and not realised?’
Our main character, Revelle Lee – a London-based full-time ‘terp’ who is trusted and valued by her clients – is getting used to also being a full-time mum. When she becomes involved in a high-profile case she is tempted – despite years of practice and an immaculate record so far – to let her own morals (and an unknown party) influence her work.
We get to know about Revelle’s past, one bite at a time, whilst watching as the consequences of her choices unravel in the present and endanger what she cherishes the most. Her struggles with the legal system, with her irregular sources of income, and with the misconceptions about her role that are held by almost every single person she encounters, all strike close to home – and those are only the problems that she is aware of.
In terms of ambience, the action takes place all over London. Having spent time working there myself, I especially enjoyed the star appearance by my favourite borough, Greenwich. Australian author Brooke Robinson does a great job of painting the city, recreating it as a background that pairs with the story as well as an Adelaide Hills chardonnay does with a serving of barramundi. As I read I was transported back to my own days in the historic city, and found myself longing to go for a wander past the Old Bailey, through Temple, or around the Royal Observatory.
We may sometimes forget how important our role is for others: how we connect strangers, and prevent language barriers from becoming wider barriers – walls that block access to health services, a fair trial, or even electricity and gas at home. Throughout the book, I feel, the author makes sure she conveys this one fact in particular. Revelle is shown to be a key worker for dozens of citizens, and we can see that her work matters, and her doing the best that she can makes a difference every time.
For this reason, I would strongly recommend that policymakers and other stakeholders who deal daily with interpreters and/or translators read this book, and (I hope) ponder: ‘Should we really be cutting funds and lowering rates? Or should we instead be supporting these armies of one, so that they can focus more on the work and less on where the next paycheck will come from?’
Be ready to gasp, wow, and feel for Revelle. The interpreter in you will not be left indifferent.
You can read author Brooke Robinson’s letter to readers of her debut novel The Interpreter here.
Cover reproduced courtesy of Penguin Random House
Daniel Collado Sanz is a Madrid-based (formerly Sydney-based) Spanish–English T/I. He currently works freelance in T&I, and also as a Spanish content and localisation specialist with the tele- and cloud communications platform Sinch, and produces weekly articles for their blog. Daniel is also an avid reader, and has published a few short fiction stories under a pen name.
