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Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

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Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

By: Paul Torday
Narrated by: John Sessions, Samantha Bond, Fenella Woolgar
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About this listen

 Shortlisted for the British Book Awards, Newcomer of the Year, 2008.
A Richard and Judy Summer Read Selection.

Written as a "report into the circumstances surrounding the decision to introduce salmon into the Yemen", this is a novel that is made up of e-mails, letters, diary extracts, records of the prime minister's Question Time, interviews, and chapters from the memoirs of a fantastically weaselly Peter Mandelson-type figure.

The "Yes Minister" comparisons are justified (and there is some brilliant, hilarious political and bureaucratic satire here), but at its heart, this is the story of a hen-pecked, slightly pompous, middle-aged scientist who finds himself caught up in what seems like an impossible project, and of how this project changes his life. In the process, he becomes an unlikely and rather loveable hero, discovers true love for himself, finds himself both a pawn and then a victim of political spin, leaves his brilliantly horrible wife, and learns to believe in the impossible. And he takes the listener with him in the process.

©2007 Paul Torday (P)2007 Orion Publishing Group Ltd. Literature & Fiction Witty Heartfelt Comedy

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Critic reviews

"An entertaining and successful debut... it is warmly recommended to anyone searching for feel good comedy with surprising bite." (The Sunday Times)

"The intelligence, inventiveness and humanity of this novel in comparison to the usual run of literary fiction is as wild salmon to the farmed."(Daily Telegraph)

"[It] succeeds in an ambitious project: making a book about fishing readable, even touching. Fish may not be your bag, but it is the capacity for commitment and belief that makes for good reading."(New Statesman)
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An easy read, a little romantic at times but unexpectedly more enjoyable than the twee title led me to expect. the stories of the Yemen kept me interested as did hte project itself, the love interest was a little obvious though the many speakers in the story made it very entertaining. Mary was particularly entertaining. easy holiday read

easy read

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If you've seen the film then don't be put off. The book is better in every way (isn't that always the case though)

The book is far more detailed and it has a completely different angle on the story than the romantic film has, its far funnier too.
.

Nothing like the film

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The ultimate ode to British understatement, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen owes much of its charm to its endearing characters, particularly the downtrodden Fred Jones and elegant Harriet Chetwode-Talbot. Their correspondence and interactions say so little and yet so much.

Torday has a talent for making anyone an expert - or enthusiast at the very least - in even the most obscure subject. He is also the master of normalising the absurd. Then he toys with the comic possibilities. And maintains more than a semblance of reality. And so, not only did I understand how absurd it would be to fish for salmon in the Yemen, but I came to accept it was possible anyway.
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Soundbite
A who's who cast of eminent narrators - this comes straight from the top - perform this audiobook and the result is just as dry, just as plummy and just as funny as it deserves. A 5-starfish affair if ever there was one. And all the better for delightful little touches like Andrew Marr portraying himself.

It's worth saying as well that the punctuation of occasional musical interludes to signal certain sections beginning or ending was executed subtly so as not to interfere with the content, but enough to help the listener.
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Shall I Compare Thee To...
Between the "very drôle" humour and governmental themes, it's no surprise that it's been compared to the genius of Yes Prime Minister.

Simply Ex-squid-site, Gill-Splitting Brilliance

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What a fantastic find! Fiction that is so real, so convincing, that it is only the name given to the Prime Minister that reminds one. Beautifully read by several different people for the various characters, a sad and riveting tale unfolds, the outcome hidden to the very very end. Well worth it, one of my better downloads.

Engaging from one end to the other!

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I'm not sure what this would be like to read but it makes terrific listening. It's the ridiculously high-concept story of an immensely wealthy Arab Sheikh who falls in love with salmon fishing on his estate in Scotland and hatches a plan to introduce it to the Yemen, despite apparently insuperable natural obstacles.



It's told from the point of view of a rather nerdy fisheries scientist who is reluctantly roped into the project but becomes entirely obsessed by it, and features a great cast of characters, notably, the self-important Director of Communications to the Prime Minister, who is clearly based on Peter Mandelson. The book is narrated by John Sessions who does a superb job in bringing the characters to life.



It goes a bit over the top in the middle with the introduction of a quiz programme for the Arab world dreamed up by Peter Maxwell whose occido-centric tunnel vision becomes a bit implausible. Nevertheless, it's thoroughly entertaining.

Thoroughly entertaining

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I read this book when it first came out. But the performance in this audiobook was absolutely outstanding and well worth hearing. I enjoyed it more the second time round in audiobook format. And by the way if you’ve seen the film it’s nothing like the book; as is usually the case, the book is really much much better.

Superb.

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I disliked some of the scenes, particularly those supposedly set in Parliament. Very slow, the stile of the reported speech/emails was rather annoying, especially the reading out of the whole email addresses. Overall enjoyable

Enjoyable, but very slow

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This was wonderful in a totally unexpected way. Hadn't read the book, hadn't seen the film, just a vague impression from trailers of Ewan McGregor being bashfully romantic and I'd heard there was a Civil Service send-up. I suppose I expected a 'feel good' Yes Minister meets Bridget Jones's Diary.

I couldn't have been more wrong. The multi-strand story is strong and interesting, the different voices are all distinctive and believable. I think having the characters individual, rather than one narrator, worked well. The book covers such a wide ground, from farcical political posturing to faith itself. It's definitely not all about fish, though I even found that part interesting - and loved the idea of the clueless No. 10 Director of Communications that fishing in a farm cage might catch on.

The hook, if you'll excuse the pun, of the sudden time shift to a Parliamentary enquiry part way through without any explanation of the events it's there to investigate, keeps you guessing. In my case, guessing wrong.

Loved it. Totally recommended.

Surprising - far more to it than expected

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What a wonderful and enviable imagination Paul Torday has and what a magical and fascinating book. This book should not be rejected as a book about fishing! Important as this is in the story, it is far more complex and deep and has much to teach us about relationships and about human endeavour.

The setting of the book is probably unfamiliar to most readers but Paul Torday is able to take us from London to Scotland to the Yemen so that we can see these places.

The characters were both funny and desperately serious and sometimes sad - a great skill shown by the author to sketch the characters so well.

This book did translate well to film but I'm very pleased that I read it before seeing it.

Much more complex than the film

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really well produced and performed. never knew I would be so enraptured by fish. beautifully written, but felt a little deflated at the end.

best audio production I've heard

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