Salmon Fishing in Yemen by Paul Torday
Salmon Fishing in Yemen is a debut comedy novel written by Paul Torday and published in 2007. The story revolves around Sheikh Muhammad ibn Zaidi bani Tihama of Yemen, who has an estate in Scotland and has picked up a love for salmon fishing.
He wants to introduce this sport to his native country, but the problem is that salmon are fish which live in temperate climates, whereas the Yemen is a desert. However, the sheikh approaches his estate agents of Fitzharris & Price to find the appropriate people to do this for him.
The novel’s themes include the importance of believing in something, the comparative unimportance of everything else, and satirical commentary on the 2000s Labour government of Tony Blair and its foreign policy dilemmas.
The book also explores the interplay between the Middle East and England, with British soldiers in war-torn Iraq on one side and Alfred and Harriet being watered and fed by an unknown Bedouin girl in Yemen on the other.
What I Liked
Lovely novel all around. It’s lyrical, fun, and engaging.
What I Did Not Like
Nothing – solid read.
