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. Dr. Jones refuses, but the project, however scientifically absurd, catches the eye of British politicians, who pressure him to work on it. His diaries of the Yemen Salmon Project, from beginning to glorious, tragic end, form the narrative backbone of this novel; interspersed throughout are government memos, e-mails, letters, and interview transcripts that deftly capture the absurdity of bureaucratic dysfunction. With a wickedly wonderful cast of characters—including a weasel-like spin doctor, a missing soldier and his intrepid fiancée, and Dr. Jones’s own devilish wife—Salmon Fishing in the Yemen is the whimsical story of an unlikely hero who discovers true love, finds himself first a pawn and then a victim of political spin, and learns to believe in the impossible.
I have to give credit to Paul Torday for coming up with the idea of writing about salmon in the Middle East. I found it catchy, not to mention intriguing. It is a creative way of thematic storytelling in the likes of ambitious “producing snow in the desert”, or simpler terms -- making the impossible possible. The theme got me interested enough to finish the book quickly. One would wonder if this is possible or not.
Paul Torday used various correspondences via emails, diary entries, mails, and interviews of the characters in narrating the book. This is not new or unique to him of course. I have to give it to Torday for telling the story in the perception of each character without straying away from the story line.
In the story, Torday compared the theocratic government of the Middle East and the Democracy of the United Kingdom without being judgemental. The cultural differences were also touched without bias.
I found Salmon Fishing in the Yemen anticlimactic. Success and tragedy both happening at the same time was horrendous. I envisage the death of the sheikh, but what’s the need to include the prime minister in the mortality list? Worse is that all major characters did not have a happy ending so to speak.
I guess that is really the primary goal – introducing salmon in the Wadi Ayn even just for one day. But that success was not enough to give the book a justifiable ending.
Anybody with the wealth of the Sheikh could make things possible. It reminded me of Bruce Wayne who became a superhero known as Batman by being enormously rich. In real life, making salmons swim in the rivers of Yemen is really impossible. Paul Torday wants to convey the message that the first step in making things possible is believing. To quote: “Faith comes before love. Love comes before hope.”
My rating: 3/5 stars
*****
Synopsis was taken from Shelfari.com
My copy: 2007 paperback bought new from the Philippines
