Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

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After his wife accepts a position in Geneva, Alfred devotes himself to the salmon project. Although painfully shy, [Note 1] he enjoys working with Harriet and they begin to make progress. Their enthusiasm is interrupted, however, when Harriet learns that her new boyfriend, British special forces Captain Robert Meyers, is missing in action. Devastated, Harriet withdraws to her apartment. When Alfred visits her, she gets upset, thinking he just wants her to return to work, but then she realises he has come to comfort her, and the two embrace. Certainly, the National Centre for Fisheries Excellence and the government come of looking realistically silly.

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (novel) - Wikipedia

But thankfully, I was never asked to do anything as outlandish as introducing salmon into the Yemen...When Torday gets too specific about the political situation of the day -- for example, when he posits an energy crisis leading to gas supplies in the UK "turned off for most of December and January" -- the book loses almost any link to reality -- but he also doesn't go all out, once down that road, and take it to all extremes. Things are still going badly in the Middle East, and this sort of project could be just the thing to impress the British public (bringing something very British to the Middle East, and doing so by using British expertise and know-how) as well as win friends in that area of the world:

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen - Paul Torday - Complete Review Salmon Fishing in the Yemen - Paul Torday - Complete Review

Of course it is up to the agency to say how best this might be achieved, but I would have thought—if you don’t mind a suggestion from an old friend!—that you might consider netting an agreed percentage of the average salmon run from a number of the main English and Welsh rivers and transporting them to a collection centre we would set up for this specific purpose with specially designed holding tanks.

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Please consider this correspondence at this stage as informal and off the record, but we are preparing a request for the agency to supply us with ten thousand live Atlantic salmon, for shipment to the Yemen some time next year (dates to be agreed). A fascinating tale of dreams and how they can sometimes consume us but most often will set us free, if only we let them! Suddenly, Dr. Jones is swept up in an outrageous plot to attempt the impossible, persuaded by both the sheikh himself and power-hungry members of the British government who want nothing more than to spend the sheikh’s considerable wealth. But somewhere amid the bureaucratic spin and Yemeni tall tales, Dr. Jones finds himself thinking bigger, bolder, and more impossibly than he ever has before.

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen - Wikipedia Salmon Fishing in the Yemen - Wikipedia

So the author, Paul Torday, decided that he wanted to make a film starring Hugh Grant and a younger woman. Hmmm, what can the story be about? Must have a catchy title so that the plot can be developed from that. Something, unusual like those tractors in Ukraine perhaps, or the fridge in Ireland..... that's good, an odd object and an intriguing country. So Salmon Fishing and the Yemen ..... was this a bet? Good start. Now ... Hugh Grant .. how can we work him into this title? He is a caricature, though too many of even the absurdest exchanges don't sound that different from what has gone on at 10 Downing Street in recent years ..... To conclude, it's safe to say I did not enjoy this book. I cannot explain why I find it SO difficult to DNF books, even when I'm not enjoying them. I think with 'Salmon Fishing' I did what I always do in this situation. I keep telling myself that it will get better, and that I just need to "get into it" and then it will be great (it was, after all, highly acclaimed by the Guardian), until I'm about two thirds of my way into the book, at which point I find it impossible to give up reading. Though, admittedly, I did skim read most of the last third, paying only just enough attention to catch the revelation at the end - a dramatic event which was incredibly incongruous with the rest of the book.You might find the prose annoying, as it is not linear storytelling, but a collection of diary, interviews, and letters. But for the sake of capitalism, and industrialists, who need cheap minerals of the foreign land, are above everyone. Genius people around them have to make it work. a b c d Spence, J.P. (22 March 2012). "Film Interview: Salmon Fishing in the Yemen". Topanga Messenger. Archived from the original on 18 May 2013 . Retrieved 5 December 2012. The film was also nominated for three Golden Globe Awards: Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for McGregor, and Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for Blunt. Salmon Fishing in the Yemen is an entertaining and successful debut, but beneath the light humour are deeper currents that suggest Torday's next book will be more substantial. His skill with character is hindered slightly by his overly schematic structure, and the novel would have benefited from a tighter edit as several sections feel superfluous to the main action. But its considerable charm more than compensates for these small flaws, and it is warmly recommended to anyone searching for feelgood comedy with surprising bite." - Matt Thorne, The Telegraph