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 …
