Salmon Fishing in the Yemen --- Paul Torday 4/5

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen is a book about a fisheries expert, Dr. Fred Jones and his project undertaken on the behest of the zealous promoter Sheikh Zaidi of Yemen. The sheikh gets the idea of introducing salmon in Wadi aleyn in Yemen as he believes that the sport of Salmon-fishing is a great leveler for humans. He wants his tribe to taste the ecstasy of Salmon fishing which is purely an English extravagance. He pulls the right strings to get his project a tacit approval from the government of UK. The book is the story of faith. Faith of Sheikh having a touching effect on both Dr. Jones and Harriet Chaetwood-Talbot, the consultant hired by the sheikh to help him arrange the project. Personal lives of both Fred and Harriet are nicely intertwined with the project. Fred has an icy marriage with Mary (an investment banker who aspires to achieve all her professional career can) while Harriet’s fiancé Robert is a Royal Marine who is missing in action in Iraq. The ease with which the story enfolds is really lucid. The pattern in which the story is being told is also quite unique. A mix of personal diaries, interviews, conversations, e-mails, etc. It is good to see the author did not loose the grip of the plot all the while keeping it simple yet interesting. Paul Torday does bring in a fresh novel with amazing simplicity.