So Harriet, a woman who works for the company that look after his many estates, enlists the help of fisheries expert Dr. Alfred Jones to plan the project and make it work. I get so little time to read nowadays, when I do choose a book I could do with a dead cert! Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (Book) : Torday, Paul : A middle-aged scientist working at London's National Centre for Fisheries Excellence, Dr. Alfred Jones takes on the outlandish--and ill-fated--task of introducing the sport of salmon fishing into the Yemen River at the behest of a mysterious sheikh. It’s true now, and it will have been true in 2007, when Salmon Fishing in the Yemen was first released. A visionary sheik believes his passion for the peaceful pastime of salmon fishing can enrich the lives of his people, and he dreams of bringing the sport to the not so fish-friendly desert. A lot of them do seem to read like the screenplay of a very weak sit-com. Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (Book) : Torday, Paul : Dr. Alfred Jones is a henpecked, slightly pompous middle-aged scientist at the National Centre for Fisheries Excellence in London when he is approached by a mysterious sheikh about an outlandish plan to introduce the sport of salmon fishing into the Yemen. They often have something to hide. I’ve seen extracts from the kind of interviews that are portrayed in the book. I followed the story as it progressed, and I wanted to know how it would end. Summary; Film adaptation; See also; References; External links; Torday was 59 when the book was published. Amusing, engaging, interesting narrative, but narrative all the same. Contents. A fisheries expert is approached by a consultant to help realize a sheik's vision of bringing the sport of fly-fishing to the desert and embarks on an upstream journey of faith and fish to prove the impossible possible. Sheikh Muhammad has a vision of importing the noble sport of salmon fishing to his native Yemen, and decides to throw some of his considerable fortune towards bringing it about. The story is based around a Yemeni sheik who loves salmon fishing, and enlists the (initially rather unwilling) help of a British fisheries expert to bring salmon to a river in the Yemen. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Based on the best-selling book Salmon Fishing in the Yemen by Paul Torday. Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. Learn why I think the film adaptation of "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen" is better than the book! The synopsis below may give away important plot points. by attempting to write within some narrow, quirky gimmick. It relies on literary ‘quirkiness’ rather like A Visit From The Goon Squad by Pulitzer Prize winner Jennifer Egan. Coming back (eventually) to the comedy value; I would say the book is rather more mildly amusing than full-on comedy. They ask; ‘Which world comes out with most credit, do you think?’ There is a growing strand of mysticism as the book progresses, but though the conflict between different outlooks and lifestyles is addressed, it isn’t pushed too hard – the author leaves the reader to think about it themselves. The Prime Minister in the book is certainly Tony Blair. Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (Book) : Torday, Paul : When he is asked to become involved in a project to create a salmon river in the highlands of the Yemen, fisheries scientist Dr Alfred Jones rejects the idea as absurd. The book tells of the heroic efforts to bring one man's dream to fruition. And I have to admit that wrapping up the story with a summary of the conclusions of a House of Commons Foreign Affairs select committee is rather cool. Your email address will not be published. Change ), You are commenting using your Google account. Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. Detailed plot synopsis reviews of Salmon Fishing In The Yemen Ewan McGregor plays a fisheries expert, while Emily Blunt plays a business consultant and both are thrown into a unique job assignment that sends them from London to Yemen under the orders of a very rich and enigmatic sheik. I can see what you mean. Synopsis. Required fields are marked *. Satirical themes in the novel focus on the 2000s Labour government of Tony Blair and its foreign policy dilemmas. I don’t know if that’s because my sense of comedy is lacking, or a damning indictment of the quality of comedy in so-called comedy novels. Based on the novel by Paul Torday. The Guardian described the book at the time as "lampooning the … Do I recommend Salmon Fishing in the Yemen? Diary entries, correspondence and answers to interview questions are all just thinly disguised narrative. And the remarkable thing is that a book about so deeply serious a … In my defence, I have read some genuinely funny novels (I would recommend anything by Douglas Adams or Ben Elton). If it launches into an explanation of how the writer’s marriage is going wrong, complete with real-time dialogue exchanges, then I can’t help noticing that’s just not how business correspondence works. Salmon Fishing in the Yemen is a debut comedy novel written by Paul Torday and published in 2007. The Sheikh is keen on fishing, salmon fishing to be exact because he feels it causes people to live harmoniously with each other. ( Log Out /  Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. More and more I see authors shackling themselves (or are they having it forced upon them by publishers?) A river that is dry for much of the year, in a desert climate. Salmon Fishing in the Yemen ( 2011) Salmon Fishing in the Yemen. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. Emily Blunt interviewed in 2012 about Salmon Fishing in the Yemen. Salmon Fishing in the Yemen is a debut comedy novel written by Paul Torday and published in 2007.. Change ). Find Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (9780753821787) by Torday, Paul. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! What didn’t work so well for me was the conceit of telling the story from the perspective of the main characters through their letters and emails, through their responses to questions while being interviewed, and in the case of the protagonist, through his diary entries. 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 g… The … I’ve seen high-profile characters being grilled by commons select committees. ( Log Out /  Had this been followed faithfully it could have either made for an impossibly dry, tedious novel, or would have required a considerably higher and more sustained level of comedy than the book actually has (did I say I’ll come back to that later?). Queen’s speech an insult to most Britains, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen – Book Review, Why you should consider joining the National Secular Society, Book Review – ‘You Beneath Your Skin’ by Damyanti Biswas, Pandemic of Lunacy – Why we could be getting it wrong on Covid-19. ( Log Out /  But then, I’ve read so-called ‘comedy novels’ in the past without realising what I was reading was intended to be comedy until I’d almost finished. Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (Book) : Torday, Paul : HoughtonDr. But the proposal catches the eye of several senior British politicians. All of this did what for me is a cardinal sin for a writer of fiction – it disturbed my willingness to suspend my disbelief. With so many books being published, it’s no surprise that publishers are always on the lookout  for something new – something that will make a book stand out. I’ve never seen them chatty. For me, one of them was more successful than the other. The second is that there’s no conventional narrative – the story is told through letters, emails, interviews and excerpts from Hansard. I don’t know, maybe I’m too uptight, but if an author tells me they’re giving me a piece of business correspondence, I kind of expect it to read like a piece of business correspondence. Perhaps my taste in comedy is somewhat unusual. Fisheries scientist Dr. Alfred Jones is approached by an extravagantly wealthy sheik with a novel plan. Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (novel): | | Salmon Fishing in the Yemen | | | | | ... World Heritage Encyclopedia, the aggregation of the largest online encyclopedias available, and the most definitive collection ever assembled. Anyway, back to SFINTY. The book is about a project where the UK gets involved in a project that aims at introducing Atlantic salmon in the Arabic country Yemen, which is probably most known for its unfortunate role in terrorist enrolling and education as well as some less flattering involvement in the trade of rhinoceros horns used for handles on tribal knives. I’m quite sure that if Paul Torday had wanted, he could have written it as a fully credible serious piece. Paul Torday's original book (link Salmon Fishing in the Yemen) was written while New Labour were running Britain and first published in the UK in 2007. Written when he was 59 years old at the end of a successful business careeer, the book reportedly allowed him to write about what he knows best (as every teacher urges in Creative Writing 101). Salmon Fishing in the Yemen Critics Consensus Quirky and a little reserved, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen is nonetheless a charming little romantic drama sold by some strong central performances. Learn how your comment data is processed. It is based on his extensive experiences of industry and government, as well as his personal interests in salmon fishing and the Middle East. It is based on his extensive experiences of industry and government, as well as his personal interests in salmon fishing and the Middle East. Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (Book) : Torday, Paul : Dr. Alfred Jones is a henpecked, slightly pompous middle-aged scientist at the National Centre for Fisheries Excellence in London when he is approached by a mysterious sheikh about an outlandish plan to introduce the sport of salmon fishing into the Yemen. It's true now, and it will have been true in 2007, when Salmon Fishing in the Yemen was … I’ve never seen them go off on a ‘by-the-way’ tangent, relate a conversation (with complete word-for-word dialogue), give away personal secrets of the people they’re being asked about, tell a story they don’t absolutely have to tell, with all the descriptive ephemera of a novel. Salmon Fishing in the Yemen is the story of an extremely wealthy Sheikh who enjoys Salmon fishing in his Scottish home so much, he wants to introduce the sport back home in the Yemen. I did enjoy the book, but it could have been so much better had it been written straight. Salmon Fishing in the Yemen is the first of British author Paul Torday's six novels to date. So Paul Torday's debut novel is about an impossibility. Although, at first glance, neither of these conceits sound particularly exciting. Likewise with interview responses. It could have been a very short story, but in fact it made for a rather engaging novel. Last modified 13/02/2020, Your email address will not be published. I can’t see what the problem is with telling a story straight, without gimmicks. I had empathy with the main character, even if he is a bit dense at times. Paul Torday’s debut novel has not one but two characteristics that differentiate it from most other novels. Alfred Jones is a henpecked, slightly pompous middle-aged scientist at the National Centre for Fisheries Excellence in London when he is approached by a mysterious sheikh about an outlandish plan to introduce the sport of salmon fishing into the Yemen. Alfred Jones is a henpecked, slightly pompous middle-aged scientist at the National Centre for Fisheries Excellence in London when he is approached by a mysterious sheikh about an outlandish plan to introduce the sport of salmon fishing into the Yemen. I managed to put my difficulty with the format to the back of my mind, and I did enjoy the book, although there were a few times when it became  bit tedious (such as the extracts from the Prime Minister’s Press Secretary’s unpublished memoirs). Caught by Harlan Coben | Book Review | Accidental Death, The Most Notorious Jailbreakers by Abeer Kapoor | Short Book Review, To Skies and Waters by Sirjandeep Ubha | Book Review with Spoilers, If You Could See Me Now By Cecelia Ahern – Unique Fairy Tale, Jihadi Jane by Tabish Khair | Book Review | Inspired Fiction, Time Crawlers by Varun Sayal – Short Story Collection. The novel begins with Harriet Chetwode-Talbot, working for a private financing company contacting Jones on behalf of Sheikh Muhammad of the Yemen. Copyright for the cover of ‘Salmon Fishing in the Yemen’, in the absence of a credit within the book, presumably belongs to the publisher. Paul Torday’s debut novel, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen is the absurdist tale of a downtrodden Everyman finding his voice. Like telling their story through one day – the same day – of every year in the lives of their characters (that one didn’t work for me either). Two USPs in one novel can’t be bad. For me, the vehicle of the story (letters, emails, interviews, etc) doesn’t really work. Salmon Fishing in the Yemen by Paul Torday is what you get when you follow the bizarre plot, with twist and turns, and does not listen to any writing advice. They’re generally guarded, cautious, nervous, indignant, untrusting. Final Note: The book is published by Phoenix, who are (and I quote) ‘An Hachette Livre UK Company’ The fact that a publisher thinks it’s correct to put ‘an’ before a word beginning with ‘H’ tells you everything there is to know about what’s wrong with the publishing industry today! Author Paul Torday makes his debut with this clever absurdist novel. The reading group notes emphasise the contrast portrayed in the story between the secular west, and the faith-based societies of the middle east. Salmon Fishing in the Yemen by Paul Torday | Book Review, Top 10 In Five Years Quotes by Rebecca Serle from the Book, The Sunday Philosophy Club by Alexander McCall Smith | Book Review, A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki | Book Review, Best Shakeel Azmi Poetry in Hindi that Everyone Must Read, A Song for Issy Bradley by Carys Bray | Book Review, Make your Book Blog Look Pretty with these FREE Blogspot Templates, Zakir Khan Poetry, Poem and Shayari All at one Place, Best Jaun Eliya Poetry – 22 John Elia Shayari You Must Read, All Best WordPress Plugins for Book Bloggers, 35+ Book Blog Post Ideas that will bring Visitors. Not only the plot of the book (as you can understand from the title) is odd, the way Paul Tordy tells this funny story is itself peculiar. The first is the bizarre subject matter (salmon fishing in the Yemen?!) Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (Book) : Torday, Paul : HoughtonDr. The story is slightly ridiculous at times, but that’s because the book is a comedy, and the story is played for comedy value (I’ll come back to that later). It is also about belief in the impossible, and belief itself. Compare book prices from over 100,000 booksellers. And I wonder whether authors (and readers) aren’t having this foisted upon them by publishers’ misguided craving for anything different, however ridiculous it might be. With so many books being published, it's no surprise that publishers are always on the lookout for something new - something that will make a book stand out. He cheated. To avoid the book being either dull, or a prolonged stand-up routine, the author had a cunning plan. Ewan McGregor, Emily Blunt and Kristin Scott Thomas star in this romantic drama from the director of The Cider House Rules and the writer of Slumdog Millionaire, about an enthusiastic sheikh dedicated to the unlikely plan of bringing British salmon to Yemen. Credits summary… Enjoyed your review, the book I did not enjoy. To foster goodwill, the sheik would like to introduce salmon fishing to Yemen--the same Yemen that is largely a desert- … That said, I did enjoy SFINTY, even if the author did cheat with the format. ( Log Out /  Salmon Fishing in the Yemen is the first of British author Paul Torday's six novels to date. So if you haven’t already read it, I would recommend the book. Torday was 59 when the book was published. Written when he was 59 years old at the end of a successful business careeer, the book reportedly allowed him to write about what he knows best (as every teacher urges in Creative Writing 101). 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