Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (2007) (Phoenix)Paul Torday
Grade: A-
Genre: fiction
Source: own
General RBC 2015: A book that became a film
Dr Alfred Jones, a respected
fisheries scientist with the National Centre for Fisheries Excellence and an avid
fisherman, has been tasked with the impossible: to introduce salmon to the
Yemen. Coerced by his boss and political manoeuvring higher-up, Fred takes on
the project against his better judgement. But as time passes, he can’t help but
be enticed by the conviction of Sheikh Muhammad ibn Zaidi bani Tihama, Yemeni
national who is funding the project and who is deeply passionate about bringing
fly-fishing to the desert. Working closely with the Sheikh’s agent, Harriet
Chetwode-Talbot of Fitzharris & Price, this outlandish task sees Fred out
of the comforts of his office and jetting between Scotland and the Yemen,
forced to deal with meddling politicians and administrators while working
through a particularly rocky time in his 20-year marriage. This project is an
upstream battle, defying even common sense, until he can hardly recognise the
man he has become …
SFinY was adapted into a film in 2011 (it doesn’t feel like it was
that long ago) starring Ewan MacGregor and Emily Blunt in the title roles. It
was shown on television over the Christmas holidays and we watched simply
because there was nothing else to watch. Unexpectedly, it was a charming and sweet
film – one I might actually watch again, given the chance. So when I saw the
book on the shelf in Foyles, I had to buy it to see if the source material was
just as good.
In some ways it was; in others it
wasn’t. I was surprised to crack open the spine and find that the novel is
written and presented in the form of email exchanges, diary entries, letters,
interviews and newspaper articles. Meg Cabot has written the most hilarious
books via emails, voicemails and even receipts (Boy Meets Girl, The Boy Next Door, Every Boy’s Got One) and so
that’s my first association when I’m confronted with a book of the same format.
Thus, to find this format in SFitY
was highly unexpected, but given the nature of the project and the mixed bag of
opinions (to put it mildly) that it evokes in people, this was by far the best
way to put all those mixed messages across. Each character or ‘voice’ had their
medium of recording their experiences, whether of their own accord or from some
other prompt, and it was very effective at setting out the timeline of events
and pacing the storyline. Fred’s diary entries were by far my favourite and in
his writings I could almost hear Ewan MacGregor speaking the words in front of
me. It was bloody brilliant.
SFinY was also unexpectedly funny in both subtle and more
outrageous ways. On the first front, the entire situation was just simply
outrageous – I mean, salmon in the Yemen? How crazy is that? Yet, Paul Torday
made the situation work and you’re increasingly pulled in, just as Fred is, as
the book progresses. On the latter front, the political element was great. To
explain, the sitting government are desperately in need of some good press emanating
from the Middle East. Fred is coerced into consulting on the feasibility of the
project, and as it’s picked up by the Prime Minister’s head of communications,
Fred is forced to become more and more involved in the project to keep on his
boss’s good side. It’s difficult to explain – you’re going to have to read it
to see for yourself.
I’d recommend reading the book
before you watch the film, if you intend to do both. I did it the other way
round and while it was still a good experience, ultimately, I would have
preferred the traditional route of reading the book first. The ending is
radically different on multiple fronts and I’ll honestly say that I prefer the
film’s version. The book’s ending left me feeling unsatisfied and almost as if it
was cut short. Not a great feeling, but I can definitely see why changes were
made for the film. Overall, a very uplifting story of hope, faith and hard work.
Image courtesy of Orion Books.
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