After a confrontation with his wife in which he realises that their marriage is over and that he is in love with Harriet, Alfred convinces the Sheikh to give the farmed salmon a try. As the two are fishing, a Yemeni radical attempts to assassinate the Sheikh, who is saved by Alfred casting his fishing line towards the assassin. Soon after, they return to the Yemen, where Harriet and Alfred continue to grow closer. After a moonlight swim, he asks her if there was a "theoretical possibility" of the two of them ending up together. She accepts with a kiss on his cheek, but says she will need some time. 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. The relationship issues between Fred and his wife (who comes off as a very silly cow indeed), as well as Harriet and her fiancé (who apparently winds up on a covert mission in Iran, making for yet another complication) in particular aren't well integrated into the story. In his review for The Telegraph, Robbie Collins gave the film three out of five stars, calling it "cinema at its most easily digestible" with a cast that is as "unthreateningly attractive as its sense of humour is cosily inclusive." [19] Collins concluded that Salmon Fishing in the Yemen is a "disarmingly nice hour and three-quarters of gentle romance and even gentler comedy." [19]

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen: A Novel - Google Books

Likewise with interview responses. I’ve seen extracts from the kind of interviews that are portrayed in the book. I’ve seen high-profile characters being grilled by commons select committees. They often have something to hide. They’re generally guarded, cautious, nervous, indignant, untrusting. I’ve never seen them chatty. 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. All of this did what for me is a cardinal sin for a writer of fiction – it disturbed my willingness to suspend my disbelief. Then the prime minister had better send a couple of regiments as well, if he wants our salmon. In either case, over my dead body.

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But when money is involved, the genius people like Dr Alfred have to give up to the pressure and make things work. Her career is very important to her -- but she also expects quite a bit from Fred (who doesn't earn as much as she does).

Book v Movie: Salmon Fishing in the Yemen – AnnaBookBel Book v Movie: Salmon Fishing in the Yemen – AnnaBookBel

Seriously, this book is boooooooring. I can see what Torday was going for, and there was clearly a great deal of research that went into the writing of 'Salmon Fishing in the Yemen'. But unfortunately a well-researched subject matter and good literary intentions do not, a good novel, make. My Dad read a lot. But he read things you could learn stuff from (gardening, wildlife, natural history, woodworking, diy, history, military, politics, etc books) or biographies/autobiographies of sportsmen or military persons. So much so that when he passed away and my Mum came with us to his flat, she remarked that copy of The Bourne Identity was the first novel she had ever seen in his possession. And she had been married to the man for 15 years at one time. The introduction of a gentle, tolerant sport that unites us and our Arab brethren in a new and deep way. The book progresses towards the unveiling of the project, the releasing of the salmon -- with no one knowing what will happen then.But ultimately the idea of salmon fishing in the Yemen is too far-fetched, and that's what sinks the book as a whole. There is also a cultural war going on in the book. The Yemen people think bringing the Western fish to Yemen means getting their culture to Wadi. 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. And yet, there is more than mere farce in the developing faith our fisheries expert has in the doomed project, and in his blossoming love for his “estate agent” colleague. I listened to the 2007 Orion production of the audiobook supported by a full cast including Downton Abbey star Samantha Bond (you’ll recognize her voice immediately) along with John Sessions, Andrew Sachs, Andrew Marr and many more. The audiobook is a brilliant success as each character is enunciated by actors with great skills. This audiobook production ranks among the best I have heard in recent years and is well worth seeking out.

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen by Paul Torday | Goodreads Salmon Fishing in the Yemen by Paul Torday | Goodreads

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. a b Turan, Kenneth (9 March 2012). "Movie review: 'Salmon Fishing in the Yemen' ". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 2 December 2012. In her review for The Washington Post, Ann Hornaday gave the film two and a half out of four stars, calling the film an "absurdist but gently winning romantic comedy" that "works a strange kind of wonder". [18] Hornaday praised the director's "assured hand and feather-light touch", as well as the acting performances by Ewan McGregor and Emily Blunt, who finds "an easygoing rhythm with her leading man". [18] Hornaday continued: 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. It’s true now, and it will have been true in 2007, when Salmon Fishing in the Yemen was first released.

The Sheikh's vision is compelling because he truly believes in it -- and gets Fred to believe in it (at least to the extent that something -- and possibly something glorious -- can be accomplished), too. To write a novel lampooning the looking-glass world of Blairite government must have given Torday as much gruesome fun as he gives his readers. But to take the victims of his satire and make them players in a parable about the mystery of belief and its transforming power - this was in itself an act of faith. Salmon Fishing is extraordinary indeed, and a triumph. As an arabist and resident of Yemen, my few criticisms are too pedantic to mention. Except, perhaps, one: khat (or qat) is not a narcotic but a stimulant. I chew it every day, and read the book on it in two vertiginous goes. Not that I needed the qat; the story is stimulant enough. It's a tongue in cheek look at the most boring man in British history who has been commissioned against his will through his civil service job to see if salmon fishing in the Yemen is possible. The book then follows him and his colleagues through the project and it's misadventures, and how it changes them. This is an unusual novel. It starts out as a hilarious satire but the tone becomes more pensive towards the middle. It’s written in epistolary format, which is a brilliant touch from the author: it allows him to introduce so many unreliable narrators, and sketch a character through his/ her authorial voice. And he has done an excellent job of characterisation. I liked Alfred Jones and Harriet Talbot; disliked Mary, Jones’s wife; despised Peter Maxwell, the PM’s Director of Communications (though he is funny!); and absolutely loved the eccentric sheikh, who succeeded in making the crazy idea of introducing salmon to Yemen almost spiritual. The low-key love affair between Dr. Jones and Harriet is also superbly handled - I had thought such subtlety had died out in literature. Alfred meets Harriet to discuss the project, but despite Harriet correcting his misconceptions of the Yemen environment, Alfred is convinced that the project is foolhardy. Alfred's boss, under pressure from Patricia, forces Alfred to accept a position on the project. Alfred considers resigning rather than ruin his reputation in the scientific community, but is convinced by his wife that they need his income and pension.

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen by Paul Torday | Book Review Salmon Fishing in the Yemen by Paul Torday | Book Review

In a way, when you are ready to lose, it gives you the confidence to do things. To accept the defeat could be a way to overcome the fear of losing. 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 At a press conference in the Yemen, with the Foreign Secretary, Patricia reunites Harriet with her boyfriend Robert who has survived the counter-terrorism operation. The PR stunt leaves Alfred heartbroken. That night, Harriet realises her feelings for Robert have changed, and when Alfred gets a text message from his wife asking him to return, he declines. And you enjoy it because, despite being so decadent it is also a bit surreal (salmon in the Yemen!), ironic in a funny haha way, and hopeful. I really can do with Fred and Harriet ending separate ways (I would have believed it even in the film, which has much more rom-com elements, but still), but it's all so tragic. The fact Harriet is not in the Yemen the day they launch the project, that it works for only some minutes, that the sheikh dies, that Harriet ends up in France working in a similar job and MOST OF ALL: FRED. Not only he loses his job and reputation, but, god, couldn't you (I'm talking to Mr. Torday) let him divorce Mary? That's, actually, the only thing I ask. It broke my heart to imagine him dying as an old man with Mary by his bedside (of course he'll die first).Born in 1946 in Croxdale, County Durham, [3] and educated at the Royal Grammar School, Newcastle and Pembroke College, Oxford, Torday turned to fiction writing only later in life, and his first novel was published at the age of 59. Prior to that he was a successful businessman living in Northumberland. The inspiration for the novel stemmed from Torday's interest in both fly fishing and the Middle East. From these two strands, he weaves a political satire that centres on the world of political spin management. Torday was particularly amused by the fact that, shortly after the film's release, British holidaymakers made enquiries to Yemeni tourism organisations asking about their real-life non-existent salmon fishing industry. [1] [3] See also [ edit ]