I just finished reading Salmon Fishing in the Yemen – a book I decided to read after seeing the advert for the new film. Not much to do with Ewan McGregor being in it, more that I always like to read a book before seeing its film, obviously with the exception of The Lord of the Rings, which I hope never to see again, and which I certainly never intend to read.
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen is hilarious. I found myself sniggering right from the beginning. I particularly enjoy this passage:
“Mary comes home tonight. I find I have been missing her. There is nothing to eat in the entire house. I must remember to call in at Marks & Spencer on the way home. I will buy some ready-to-eat meals. I must remember to get a new pair of pyjamas, as the elastic has gone in my present (Tesco) pair. I have kept a note of the mean time between failure (MTBF) of various things like socks – hole in the heel; pyjamas – elastic cord failure. I’m afraid that I can detect a clear downward trend, almost a planned obsolescence, in some of these products. I am hoping Marks & Spencer will be more reliable.”
If I kept a diary I hope it would read something like this.
My mum’s book group read this novel and didn’t like it, I think because they found it too easy to read. This attitude to reading annoys me slightly because as much as I can appreciate the technical genius of Ulysses, it’s hardly a relaxing Sunday read. I’m a firm believer in reading for pleasure and if a book makes you want to laugh, then laugh, and if it makes you want to throw the book across the room, then check for any small children or pets and throw it across the room.
I think the reason this novel works so well is because it combines the bonkers with the extremely ordinary. The concept of flowing rivers being introduced in the deserts of Yemen and then adding salmon who predominantly live in the somewhat colder climate of the North Atlantic sea is a pretty bonkers idea.
Also, to make the whole thing even better the Yemeni tourist board has released a statement advising would-be tourists that “salmon fishing isn’t actually that popular in Yemen, but there are excellent sea fishing opportunities”. So that’s good to know.