Salmon Fishing in the Yemen Paul Torday Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 321pp, £12.99 ISBN 0297851586
In 2005, Marina Lewycka’s A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian became a bestseller. The use of as dry a subject as tractors as a framework for a tale of personal obsession was surprisingly poignant. Paul Torday’s Salmon Fishing in the Yemen works on a similar premise. The novel centres on Alfred Jones, a stuffy fisheries scientist who is caught up in a project to introduce salmon to the deserts of Yemen. The leap of faith involved in such an impractical idea inspires Jones to re-evaluate his life choices.
Torday combines Jones’s personal journey with a political agenda. The salmon project is hijacked by the government, which recognises the need for a twee photo opportunity in the turbulent Middle East. The absurdity of media manipulation is conveyed predictably and the caricature of new Labour spin lacks the subtlety of effective satire. The narrative alternates between diary entries, interviews, press cuttings and even Hansard reports, offering a variety of perspectives on an essentially unique subject.
It is light, but 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.
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