Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
by Paul Torday
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This is the story of Dr Alfred Jones, a fisheries scientist - for whom diary-notable events include the acquisition of a new electric toothbrush and getting his article on caddis fly larvae published in 'Trout and Salmon' - who finds himself reluctantly involved in a project to bring salmon fishing to the Highlands of the Yemen - a project that will change his life, and the course of British political history forever. With a wickedly wonderful cast of characters - including a visionary show more Sheikh, a weasely spin doctor, Fred's devilish wife and a few thousand transplanted salmon - SALMON FISHING IN THE YEMEN is a novel about hypocrisy and bureaucracy, dreams and deniability, and the transforming power of faith and love. show lessTags
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Cecilturtle Similar outlook on cultural differences and prejudice
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There’s certainly something fishy about mentioning politicians and salmon in the same sentence. Politicians will kiss babies, yes - but why would the British Prime Minister be so hell-bent on getting involved in the introduction of salmon fishing to the remote Arabian countryside?
This is the story of a wealthy and charismatic Yemeni sheik whose long held dream is to introduce salmon fishing into the arid highlands of his homeland, so his fellow countrymen can share in his love of this 'divine sport'.
Dr Alfred Jones, a fisheries scientist - for whom diary notable events include the acquisition of a new electric toothbrush and getting his article on caddis fly larvae published in 'Trout and Salmon' - finds himself reluctantly involved show more as a scientific advisor in this seemingly hopeless project. Dr Jones is a man every bit as dull and nondescript as his name – sitting next to him at a dinner party would be the evening from hell. Fred is reluctantly forced out of his comfort zone in England to become a key player in this unlikely project that will change his life, and the course of British political history forever.
There is, of course, a problem. As Fred so succinctly puts it, "fish need water", and why would anybody worth their scientific salt chose such an arid landscape as a habitat for these salmon?
The answer is multi-layered: with the right publicity and media coverage, salmon could increase Westernisation and abate criticism of Britain's involvement in Iraq, while also being used by the sheikh as a way of proving to his people that religious miracles are possible.
With a wickedly wonderful cast of characters - including a visionary Sheikh, a weasely spin doctor, Fred's devilish wife and a few thousand transplanted salmon - Salmon Fishing in the Yemen is a novel about hypocrisy and bureaucracy, dreams and deniability, and the transforming power of faith and love.
Presented like an archive, the story of the rise and fall of the project and the people involved comes together through interviews, newspaper clippings, emails, even intercepted al-Qaeda e-mail traffic and - most notably - Fred's journal.
One of the most delightful and original satires I've read in ages, Torday pokes fun at every aspect of British society, from government spin-meisters and crass politicians to marriages of convenience, TV interview programs, consumerism, and the belief that many of the world's problems would be solved if only other people were "more like us." This is particularly refreshing, however, since the author writes it with a smile on his face, preferring to prick balloons with his witty needling, rather than wield a rapier in a slashing attack.
Paul Torday's amazing debut novel is an extraordinary tale that surprises in its warmth and simplicity. It is one of the best reads I’ve had this year. show less
This is the story of a wealthy and charismatic Yemeni sheik whose long held dream is to introduce salmon fishing into the arid highlands of his homeland, so his fellow countrymen can share in his love of this 'divine sport'.
Dr Alfred Jones, a fisheries scientist - for whom diary notable events include the acquisition of a new electric toothbrush and getting his article on caddis fly larvae published in 'Trout and Salmon' - finds himself reluctantly involved show more as a scientific advisor in this seemingly hopeless project. Dr Jones is a man every bit as dull and nondescript as his name – sitting next to him at a dinner party would be the evening from hell. Fred is reluctantly forced out of his comfort zone in England to become a key player in this unlikely project that will change his life, and the course of British political history forever.
There is, of course, a problem. As Fred so succinctly puts it, "fish need water", and why would anybody worth their scientific salt chose such an arid landscape as a habitat for these salmon?
The answer is multi-layered: with the right publicity and media coverage, salmon could increase Westernisation and abate criticism of Britain's involvement in Iraq, while also being used by the sheikh as a way of proving to his people that religious miracles are possible.
With a wickedly wonderful cast of characters - including a visionary Sheikh, a weasely spin doctor, Fred's devilish wife and a few thousand transplanted salmon - Salmon Fishing in the Yemen is a novel about hypocrisy and bureaucracy, dreams and deniability, and the transforming power of faith and love.
Presented like an archive, the story of the rise and fall of the project and the people involved comes together through interviews, newspaper clippings, emails, even intercepted al-Qaeda e-mail traffic and - most notably - Fred's journal.
One of the most delightful and original satires I've read in ages, Torday pokes fun at every aspect of British society, from government spin-meisters and crass politicians to marriages of convenience, TV interview programs, consumerism, and the belief that many of the world's problems would be solved if only other people were "more like us." This is particularly refreshing, however, since the author writes it with a smile on his face, preferring to prick balloons with his witty needling, rather than wield a rapier in a slashing attack.
Paul Torday's amazing debut novel is an extraordinary tale that surprises in its warmth and simplicity. It is one of the best reads I’ve had this year. show less
This is a strange and wonderful book with heart and deep wicked humor. Told with a series of memos, diary extracts, parliament records and other "documents" a story of vision and political turbidity, which bizarrely includes an interview, fictitious, by Boris Johnson in which he comes off as educated and alert. I don't think any other real person enters the story.
I approached this book with a little trepidation as I have heard a lot of praise for it and when that happens I am often left disappointed. This book however did not disappoint.
Dr Alfred Jones is a pretty unimaginative man as a fisheries expert working for an anonymous Government and living in a loveless marriage. When he is approached by representatives of a wealthy Arab to introduce salmon to the deserts of Yemen he is initially dismissive but when he is forced by his boss to so he gradually believes that he can make it work. When the British PM's spin doctor gets wind of the project he realises that this is an opportunity for the Government, battered by bad press due to wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, to gain some good press within the show more Middle East and maybe win some extra voters back home he also encourages Fred to complete the development with devastating outcome.
The book is written in the form of a Government overview report using diary entries,letters and emails as sources and for me it would not have worked if written in any other manner.
The basic premise of this book is a little absurd but at the heart of it is the difference between the secular West and faith-based societies of the Middle East. Fred no longer goes to church on a Sunday instead he goes to Tesco whereas the sheikh believes that their plan will work only if God wills it. The book also takes a satirical dig at the materialistic West where wealth is measured in belongings whereas the Middle East inhabitants have less but are more open and generous. However, the author's most savage satire is aimed at the bureaucratic and spin doctor centred British political system. I particularly loved the spin doctor's idea of the a TV station 'The Voice of Britain' where the poor of the developing world can win dishwashers despite not having electricity.
I read most of this book with a smile on my face yet despite this was tempted to give it only 4 stars as the satire is very heavy handed at times. However, I finally plumped for 5 stars as it is one of the most original that I've read in quite a while. show less
Dr Alfred Jones is a pretty unimaginative man as a fisheries expert working for an anonymous Government and living in a loveless marriage. When he is approached by representatives of a wealthy Arab to introduce salmon to the deserts of Yemen he is initially dismissive but when he is forced by his boss to so he gradually believes that he can make it work. When the British PM's spin doctor gets wind of the project he realises that this is an opportunity for the Government, battered by bad press due to wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, to gain some good press within the show more Middle East and maybe win some extra voters back home he also encourages Fred to complete the development with devastating outcome.
The book is written in the form of a Government overview report using diary entries,letters and emails as sources and for me it would not have worked if written in any other manner.
The basic premise of this book is a little absurd but at the heart of it is the difference between the secular West and faith-based societies of the Middle East. Fred no longer goes to church on a Sunday instead he goes to Tesco whereas the sheikh believes that their plan will work only if God wills it. The book also takes a satirical dig at the materialistic West where wealth is measured in belongings whereas the Middle East inhabitants have less but are more open and generous. However, the author's most savage satire is aimed at the bureaucratic and spin doctor centred British political system. I particularly loved the spin doctor's idea of the a TV station 'The Voice of Britain' where the poor of the developing world can win dishwashers despite not having electricity.
I read most of this book with a smile on my face yet despite this was tempted to give it only 4 stars as the satire is very heavy handed at times. However, I finally plumped for 5 stars as it is one of the most original that I've read in quite a while. show less
This is a light fast enjoyable read. A satire that targets: politicians, government departments, career men and women, Al-Queda and rich Sheiks. About the only thing it does not satirise are the salmon and the people who fish for them.
In a satire ; vices, foibles, abuses and short comings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals and society itself into improvement. How effective or sharp this is depends on the nature of the satire. One that uses scorn, outrage and savage ridicule is more likely to grab our attention than one based on exaggeration, folly and irony. Torday's satire is of the latter variety, it is mild and gently humorous. As I was reading It became difficult at times to separate the satire show more from actuality, which certainly gave me pause to think.
Alfred Jones a scientist working in the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is asked for a feasibility study on introducing salmon and salmon fishing into the Yemen. He correctly points out that such a project would be laughable; there are no suitable rivers, the climate is too hot for the fish and they would not be able to reach their breeding grounds in the North Atlantic. Poor Alfred is blissfully unaware that a powerful Sheikh will bankroll such a project and the British Government desperate for a good news story in the Middle East see it as a vote winner. Alfred is made to change his mind and his scientific pride leads him to involve himself fully in the impossible project. He is spurred on by the charismatic Sheik and his crush on Harriet who works for the company that represents the Sheik's interest. What happens when a crazy project is fueled by enough money and the political will? It succeeds of course.
The story is told in a series of diary entries, correspondence, e mails, interviews by a parliamentary subcommittee, an unpublished novel and extracts from Hansard. Torday is skillful enough to weave these disparate elements into a very readable narrative format. Torday has a lightness of touch about everything he writes here and never loses sight of his story or his need to make the reader smile.
The novel succeeds for me because there is very little exaggeration in the workings of a government department. I kept thinking I have seen these sorts of things happen or worse. Almost everything else has a ring of credibility about it. Tordays most savage satire is reserved for Peter Maxwell who is a Director of Communications (spin doctor) and works closely with the Prime Minister. This characteris probably based on Alastair Campbell and his work with Tony Blair. One scene stands out particularly for me. Maxwell desperate for a good news story to offset the casualties being reported from Iraq has an idea for a new TV game show. It will be set in one of the villages partially destroyed by rocket and mortar fire and will feature actual villagers as contestants, who will stand to win glamorous prizes. He presents this idea to the usual Friday evening get together of the PM and his cabinet cronies who are sipping wine. After the presentation one of the members remarks "Peter you ought to get out more". Maxwell is close to tears he can't believe that his brilliant idea has been given such short shrift. Torday I think has been cever hear, he finally presents a scenario that is ridiculous and has his characters reject it out of hand. This leads the reader to think that all the other stuff that has gone before could well happen in real life.
This is a funny humorous book, but the sting in the tail for me is that so much of it could and probably does happen and we all blithely have to accept it. This novel should be read by all government workers, lets just hope you don't see yourselves here show less
In a satire ; vices, foibles, abuses and short comings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals and society itself into improvement. How effective or sharp this is depends on the nature of the satire. One that uses scorn, outrage and savage ridicule is more likely to grab our attention than one based on exaggeration, folly and irony. Torday's satire is of the latter variety, it is mild and gently humorous. As I was reading It became difficult at times to separate the satire show more from actuality, which certainly gave me pause to think.
Alfred Jones a scientist working in the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is asked for a feasibility study on introducing salmon and salmon fishing into the Yemen. He correctly points out that such a project would be laughable; there are no suitable rivers, the climate is too hot for the fish and they would not be able to reach their breeding grounds in the North Atlantic. Poor Alfred is blissfully unaware that a powerful Sheikh will bankroll such a project and the British Government desperate for a good news story in the Middle East see it as a vote winner. Alfred is made to change his mind and his scientific pride leads him to involve himself fully in the impossible project. He is spurred on by the charismatic Sheik and his crush on Harriet who works for the company that represents the Sheik's interest. What happens when a crazy project is fueled by enough money and the political will? It succeeds of course.
The story is told in a series of diary entries, correspondence, e mails, interviews by a parliamentary subcommittee, an unpublished novel and extracts from Hansard. Torday is skillful enough to weave these disparate elements into a very readable narrative format. Torday has a lightness of touch about everything he writes here and never loses sight of his story or his need to make the reader smile.
The novel succeeds for me because there is very little exaggeration in the workings of a government department. I kept thinking I have seen these sorts of things happen or worse. Almost everything else has a ring of credibility about it. Tordays most savage satire is reserved for Peter Maxwell who is a Director of Communications (spin doctor) and works closely with the Prime Minister. This characteris probably based on Alastair Campbell and his work with Tony Blair. One scene stands out particularly for me. Maxwell desperate for a good news story to offset the casualties being reported from Iraq has an idea for a new TV game show. It will be set in one of the villages partially destroyed by rocket and mortar fire and will feature actual villagers as contestants, who will stand to win glamorous prizes. He presents this idea to the usual Friday evening get together of the PM and his cabinet cronies who are sipping wine. After the presentation one of the members remarks "Peter you ought to get out more". Maxwell is close to tears he can't believe that his brilliant idea has been given such short shrift. Torday I think has been cever hear, he finally presents a scenario that is ridiculous and has his characters reject it out of hand. This leads the reader to think that all the other stuff that has gone before could well happen in real life.
This is a funny humorous book, but the sting in the tail for me is that so much of it could and probably does happen and we all blithely have to accept it. This novel should be read by all government workers, lets just hope you don't see yourselves here show less
“Even if only one hundred fish run, if only one fish is ever caught, think what we will have achieved. Some men in my position, with great wealth and freedom to spend as they like, have built mosques. Some have built hospitals or schools. I, too, have built hospitals and schools and mosques. What difference does one more mosque or one more hospital make? I can worship God outside my tent on the sands as well as in a mosque. I want to present God with the opportunity to perform a miracle, a miracle that he will perform if he so wills it. Not you, not Dr. Alfred, not all the clever engineers and scientist we have employed. You and they have prepared the way, but whatever happens will be God’s will. You will have been present at the show more delivery of the miracle and you will have been of great assistance too me, but the miracle is God’s alone. When anyone sees a salmon swimming up the waters of the Wadi Aleyn, will they any longer be able to doubt the existence of God?” p196
When Dr. Alfred Jones of the British Department of Fisheries is approached by a Yemeni Sheikh about introducing salmon into the deserts of Yemen, he can do nothing but laugh it off as a joke.
But to the sheikh who wants it, it isn’t a joke. It's an opportunity to create a miracle, as well as introducing a sport that rich and poor, Muslim and Jew can enjoy together.
Dr Jones begins a serious engineering task to undertake the project.
The results are quite unexpected.
This epistolary novel has laughter, relationships, and a serious look at attempting the impossible. I found it strangely uplifting. It is one to read if you’re looking for something lighter yet inspirational in this time of trouble. show less
When Dr. Alfred Jones of the British Department of Fisheries is approached by a Yemeni Sheikh about introducing salmon into the deserts of Yemen, he can do nothing but laugh it off as a joke.
But to the sheikh who wants it, it isn’t a joke. It's an opportunity to create a miracle, as well as introducing a sport that rich and poor, Muslim and Jew can enjoy together.
Dr Jones begins a serious engineering task to undertake the project.
The results are quite unexpected.
This epistolary novel has laughter, relationships, and a serious look at attempting the impossible. I found it strangely uplifting. It is one to read if you’re looking for something lighter yet inspirational in this time of trouble. show less
A light-hearted, warm-hearted novel with (as one reviewer puts it) surprising bite. The narriative is all in the shape of letters, diary excerpts, newspaper articles, autobiographies and interviews. Salmon Fishing in the Yemen is an ironic take on British politics, but it is also a sweet love story, and a story about what matters most in our lives and about faith in the broadest sense of the word. Dr Jones, the Sheik and Harriet are all loveable, not-to-unbelievable characters, with some more one-dimensional characters like Dr Jones' wife Mary and Colin, the Scottish gillie, thrown in for comedy.
This is the story of Alfred (Fred) Jones, a middle-aged scientist working for the government fisheries agency, and his experiences in a project to bring – yes – salmon fishing to the Yemen. An idealist Shiekh wants to do the best kind of fishing there is in the mountain wadis of his home country. He has the money to make it happen, the UK government is initially happy to supply expertise to see if the project is feasible. Fred is assigned, thinks the whole idea is absurd, and ends up being sacked, whereupon he gets employed by the Sheikh’s agents and begins to see the light – mainly thanks to his new colleague, the lovely Harriet Chetwode-Talbot. Meanwhile, Fred’s home life is not good. His wife Mary works for an international show more bank, and is going places – without Fred, but he’s seemingly stuck in this sterile marriage…
"The rest of the evening was a bit of a frost, but when we went to bed, I think Mary must have felt a little guilty about the way she had changed her plans. Suffice to say, my new Marks & Spencer pyjamas were not required for the early part of the night! A relatively rare event in our marriage of late.
Afterwards Mary said, ‘There now, darling, that should keep you going for a bit,’ and turned on her side and seemed to go to sleep. For a moment I felt a bit like a dog that has just been given a biscuit, but then drowsiness swept across me and I began to doze."
You can understand why when offered a bit of adventure, that Fred will take it. The whole scheme escalates, as they begin to work out how to make it work – will it ultimately be a triumph or a disaster?
This novel worked for me on several levels. Firstly, there was the satire on bureaucracy – with the civil servants all toadying up, and passing the blame down, the governmental food chain of which Fred is near the bottom. This immediately reminds one of the wonderful TV comedy, Yes Minister with the sublimely manipulative Sir Humphrey Appleby completely controlling his Minister; but also to the antics of real spin doctors in recent times. It’s also about following your dream. The Shiekh has a simple one: he wants his people to be able to fish salmon. He realises that his ‘grand projet’ is idealist, but he has faith, he believes it can happen -even if it puts his life in danger from opposing factions within his region. But dreams can also be shattered. Harriet’s fiance is a soldier, fighting in Iraq, and here the story veres away from comedy into something quite dark.
What I haven’t mentioned yet is the format of the novel. It combines two similar but differing forms into one seamless whole. The main body of the text, certainly during the first half of the novel is written in letters – varying from e-mails to interdepartmental memos, and including the occasional press release or bit of reportage. Then Fred’s diaries are introduced, and these gradually overtake the comedy of the epistles, with their more meditative and serious tone, which makes the farce of the inevitable ending a real shock.
The characters are great. Fred starts off as a typical boffin, but grows in stature throughout the book; Harriet begins as an immensely capable young woman who gets to reveal her vulnerable side; the Sheikh is lovely and mysterious; and Mary – she sacrifices life for work, but she is so unsympathetic, so you can’t feel sorry for her for long. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, loving both the format and characters giving it 9/10, and I’m looking forward to reading more of Torday’s novels. show less
"The rest of the evening was a bit of a frost, but when we went to bed, I think Mary must have felt a little guilty about the way she had changed her plans. Suffice to say, my new Marks & Spencer pyjamas were not required for the early part of the night! A relatively rare event in our marriage of late.
Afterwards Mary said, ‘There now, darling, that should keep you going for a bit,’ and turned on her side and seemed to go to sleep. For a moment I felt a bit like a dog that has just been given a biscuit, but then drowsiness swept across me and I began to doze."
You can understand why when offered a bit of adventure, that Fred will take it. The whole scheme escalates, as they begin to work out how to make it work – will it ultimately be a triumph or a disaster?
This novel worked for me on several levels. Firstly, there was the satire on bureaucracy – with the civil servants all toadying up, and passing the blame down, the governmental food chain of which Fred is near the bottom. This immediately reminds one of the wonderful TV comedy, Yes Minister with the sublimely manipulative Sir Humphrey Appleby completely controlling his Minister; but also to the antics of real spin doctors in recent times. It’s also about following your dream. The Shiekh has a simple one: he wants his people to be able to fish salmon. He realises that his ‘grand projet’ is idealist, but he has faith, he believes it can happen -even if it puts his life in danger from opposing factions within his region. But dreams can also be shattered. Harriet’s fiance is a soldier, fighting in Iraq, and here the story veres away from comedy into something quite dark.
What I haven’t mentioned yet is the format of the novel. It combines two similar but differing forms into one seamless whole. The main body of the text, certainly during the first half of the novel is written in letters – varying from e-mails to interdepartmental memos, and including the occasional press release or bit of reportage. Then Fred’s diaries are introduced, and these gradually overtake the comedy of the epistles, with their more meditative and serious tone, which makes the farce of the inevitable ending a real shock.
The characters are great. Fred starts off as a typical boffin, but grows in stature throughout the book; Harriet begins as an immensely capable young woman who gets to reveal her vulnerable side; the Sheikh is lovely and mysterious; and Mary – she sacrifices life for work, but she is so unsympathetic, so you can’t feel sorry for her for long. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, loving both the format and characters giving it 9/10, and I’m looking forward to reading more of Torday’s novels. show less
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The impossible title of this extraordinary book took me back to a moment nearly 20 years ago. I had walked for three days down Wadi Surdud, one of the great seasonal watercourses that cut their way towards the Red Sea through the western highlands of Yemen. The scenery was extravagant - deep chasms sculpted by floodwater, pinnacles where lightning licked at high-perched castles, the seats of show more South Arabian lairds. At last, the gradient decreased, and as I rounded a bend I saw in one of the occasional pools that lay in the wadi bed something I have never seen in Yemen before or since: a man fishing with rod and line. Not, of course, for salmon: this was the coarsest of coarse fishing, for minnow-sized awshaj - I think a type of barbel - with a stick for a rod and a grain of maize for bait. The incongruous scene remains in my memory, and always will. Yemen is a memorable country: "Not a day will pass in your life," wrote the Master of Belhaven, a laird from the distant north, "but you will remember some facet of that opal-land."
Here, as well as lairds and castles, we have mists and glens, kilts, dirks and the odd feud or two. But unlike in Scotland the rain is considerate, coming at known seasons and times of day. It is also somewhat sparing, and there are no natural lochs or permanent rivers, and certainly no salmon (except smoked, on HBM ambassador's canapés). So Paul Torday's debut novel is about an impossibility. It is also about belief in the impossible, and belief itself. And the remarkable thing is that a book about so deeply serious a matter can make you laugh, all the way to a last twist that's as sudden and shocking as a barbed hook.
As with all good comedy, there's a tragic underside, a story of love and loss and another of love that never was. And there is satire. Torday's aim is deadly; but then, his targets are big. Jay Vent, the British prime minister, has taken his country into wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (and elsewhere in the region: the story is set in the nearish future . . .) and has dug himself into the deepest of holes. So what does he do? Of course: he goes on digging. "We're pretty much committed to going down a particular road in the Middle East," says Vent, a graduate, like his real-life counterpart, of the White Queen's school of logic, "and it would be difficult to change that very much without people beginning to ask why we'd started down it in the first place." . . . show less
Here, as well as lairds and castles, we have mists and glens, kilts, dirks and the odd feud or two. But unlike in Scotland the rain is considerate, coming at known seasons and times of day. It is also somewhat sparing, and there are no natural lochs or permanent rivers, and certainly no salmon (except smoked, on HBM ambassador's canapés). So Paul Torday's debut novel is about an impossibility. It is also about belief in the impossible, and belief itself. And the remarkable thing is that a book about so deeply serious a matter can make you laugh, all the way to a last twist that's as sudden and shocking as a barbed hook.
As with all good comedy, there's a tragic underside, a story of love and loss and another of love that never was. And there is satire. Torday's aim is deadly; but then, his targets are big. Jay Vent, the British prime minister, has taken his country into wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (and elsewhere in the region: the story is set in the nearish future . . .) and has dug himself into the deepest of holes. So what does he do? Of course: he goes on digging. "We're pretty much committed to going down a particular road in the Middle East," says Vent, a graduate, like his real-life counterpart, of the White Queen's school of logic, "and it would be difficult to change that very much without people beginning to ask why we'd started down it in the first place." . . . show less
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This is an odd artefact. It depicts an attempt to introduce salmon to rivers in the Yemeni Highlands via the largesse of a local sheikh and the expertise of a UK government agency.
The book - it can scarcely be described as a novel - is constructed from supposed diary entries, letters, emails, extracts from Hansard, fragments of autobiography, a TV game show script, transcripts of television show more and press interviews, Select Committee Report conclusions and interrogations of the various participants in this madcap scheme. All have differing viewpoints and narrators. As such the whole becomes diffuse and bitty.
While there is an overall narrative thread the disparate voices too often fail to suspend disbelief. Instead of being presented with a convincing rendering of a diary extract or interview transcript we are given novelistic embellishments. The diary extracts contain information that we as readers ought to have but a diarist would not find it necessary to include. In one of the interviews a respondent states a person spoke mildly when surely they would report only the relevant conversation’s content, in another there is an (uncredited) interruption which reads, “The witness became emotional after the consumption of custard creams and was incoherent. The interview was resumed after a break of four hours.” This authorial interpolation is, I suppose, intended humorously but is, instead, bathetic, if not pathetic. The Hansard extracts do not quite reflect accurately the format of Prime Minister’s Questions. While it might be said that this is a comic novel and some licence is allowable, to get details such as this last example wrong detracts from the intended effect. Infelicities such as those above totally fail to create the necessary degree of verisimilitude. The name dropping of real people as interviewers - Andrew Marr, Boris Johnson - while the politicians and aides are fictional (yet recognisable) is also a mistake.
The book is obviously meant to be a satire but its approach is so scattershot that it is difficult to tell exactly what or whom is the intended target. Is it the workings of bureaucracies, office politics, communications directors/spin doctors, career women, politicians, even Islamic terrorists? All are featured, but the focus never stays in one place for long. The only character who has any semblance of solidity is the supposedly mad sheikh; and he has no viewpoint narrative.
After the novel’s end we also have “Reading Group Notes” containing items “for discussion.” Some may find this condescending.
Salmon Fishing In The Yemen has its moments; but they are few. show less
The book - it can scarcely be described as a novel - is constructed from supposed diary entries, letters, emails, extracts from Hansard, fragments of autobiography, a TV game show script, transcripts of television show more and press interviews, Select Committee Report conclusions and interrogations of the various participants in this madcap scheme. All have differing viewpoints and narrators. As such the whole becomes diffuse and bitty.
While there is an overall narrative thread the disparate voices too often fail to suspend disbelief. Instead of being presented with a convincing rendering of a diary extract or interview transcript we are given novelistic embellishments. The diary extracts contain information that we as readers ought to have but a diarist would not find it necessary to include. In one of the interviews a respondent states a person spoke mildly when surely they would report only the relevant conversation’s content, in another there is an (uncredited) interruption which reads, “The witness became emotional after the consumption of custard creams and was incoherent. The interview was resumed after a break of four hours.” This authorial interpolation is, I suppose, intended humorously but is, instead, bathetic, if not pathetic. The Hansard extracts do not quite reflect accurately the format of Prime Minister’s Questions. While it might be said that this is a comic novel and some licence is allowable, to get details such as this last example wrong detracts from the intended effect. Infelicities such as those above totally fail to create the necessary degree of verisimilitude. The name dropping of real people as interviewers - Andrew Marr, Boris Johnson - while the politicians and aides are fictional (yet recognisable) is also a mistake.
The book is obviously meant to be a satire but its approach is so scattershot that it is difficult to tell exactly what or whom is the intended target. Is it the workings of bureaucracies, office politics, communications directors/spin doctors, career women, politicians, even Islamic terrorists? All are featured, but the focus never stays in one place for long. The only character who has any semblance of solidity is the supposedly mad sheikh; and he has no viewpoint narrative.
After the novel’s end we also have “Reading Group Notes” containing items “for discussion.” Some may find this condescending.
Salmon Fishing In The Yemen has its moments; but they are few. show less
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Paul Torday was born in in Croxdale, County Durham, England on August 1, 1946. He received a degree in English literature from Pembroke College, Oxford. He spent years in the engineering business before turning to writing. His debut novel, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, was published in 2007. The novel was adapted into a 2011 film starring Ewan show more McGregor and Emily Blunt. His other works include The Irresistible Inheritance of Wilberforce, The Girl on the Landing, and Light Shining in the Forest. He died on December 18, 2013 at the age of 67. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Awards and Honors
Series
Belongs to Publisher Series
BvT (0551)
Work Relationships
Has the adaptation
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title*
- Lachsfischen im Jemen
- Original title
- Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
- Original publication date
- 2007
- People/Characters
- Alfred Jones; Harriet Chetwode-Talbot
- Important places
- Yemen
- Related movies
- Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (2012 | IMDb)
- Dedication
- This book is dedicated to my wife Penelope, who can catch salmon in bright sunlight and at low water, to the friends I fish with on the Tyne and the Tay, and to the men and women of the Environment Agency, without whom there ... (show all)would be far fewer fish in our rivers.
- First words
- Dear Dr Jones, We have been referred to you by Peter Sullivan at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (Directorate for Middle East and North Africa).
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)This will be erected in the centre of Sana'a, if planning permission can be obtained.
- Publisher's editor*
- Zylberstein, Jean-Claude
- Blurbers*
- Hoffmann, Stéphane
- Original language*
- Englisch
- Disambiguation notice
- This is the book, don't combine with the film.
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
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