Salmon Fishing in the Yemen : A Novel

DEBUT FICTIONUK BESTSELLERWhat does it take to make us believe in the impossible?For Dr. Alfred Jones, life is a quiet mixture of civil service at the National Centre for Fisheries Excellence and marriage to Mary—an ambitious, no-nonsense financier. But a strange turn of fate from an unexpected direction forces Jones to upend his existence and spend all of his time in pursuit of another man’s ludicrous dream. Can there be salmon in the Yemen? Science says no. But if resources are limitless and the visionary is inspired, maybe salmon fishing in the Yemen isn’t impossible. Then again, maybe nothing is.

Dr Alfred Jones has many reasons to be content with his life.  His latest paper ‘Effects of Increased Water Acidity on the Caddis Fly Larva’ looks set to cause a stir on the pages of Trout & Salmon, his job as a fisheries scientist is satisfactory, and he and his wife, Mary, have just celebrated their twentieth wedding anniversary – for which she gave him a replacement electric toothbrush.

So why does he feel as though something is missing?

When he is asked to become involved in a project to create a salmon river in the Highlands of the Yemen, Fred rejects the idea as absurd. But the proposal catches the eye of several senior British politicians, who feel it might distract the media’s attention from the less welcome stories coming out of the Middle East. It’s not long before the wheels of government start spinning, and the publicity-savvy Prime Minister is talking about the project on television. Fred finds himself forced to set aside his research and instead figure out how to fly ten thousand salmon to a desert country … and persuade them to swim there.

The project is the brainchild of a Yemeni sheikh: a devout and wealthy man, whose love of salmon fishing and whose fervent, unwavering conviction that the impossible can be made possible, eventually, and astonishingly, inspires Fred, overpowering all his rational objections – and infuriating his wife.

When Fred meets Harriet Chetwode-Talbot, the sheikh’s elegant and beautiful land agent, the cracks that have begun to form in his carefully managed existence grow even wider, and as they both embark on an extraordinary journey of faith – and fishing – the diffident Dr Jones will discover a sense of belief, and a capacity for love, and for heroism, that surprises himself, and all who know him.

Publishers Weekly

In Torday's winningly absurdist debut, Dr. Alfred Jones feels at odds with his orderly life as a London fisheries scientist and husband to the career-driven Mary, with whom he shares a coldly dispassionate relationship. Just as Mary departs for a protracted assignment in Geneva, Alfred gets consulted on a visionary sheik's scheme to introduce salmon, and salmon-angling, to the country of Yemen. Alfred is deeply skeptical (salmon are cold-water fish that spawn in fresh water; Yemen is hot and largely desert), but the project gains traction when Peter Maxwell, the prime minister's director of communications, seizes on it as a PR antidote to negative press related to the Iraq war. Alfred is pressed by his superiors to meet with the sheik's real estate rep, the glamorous young Harriet, and embarks on a yearlong journey to realize the sheik's vision of spiritual peace through fly-fishing for the people of Yemen. British businessman and angler Torday captures Alfred's emerging humanity, Maxwell's antic solipsism, Mary's calculating neediness and Harriet's vulnerability, presenting their voices through diaries, e-mails, letters and official interviews conducted after the doomed venture's surprisingly tragic outcome. (Apr.) Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.

Contents......Page 9 1. The origins of the Yemen Salmon Project......Page 13 2. Extracts from the diary of Dr Alfred Jones: his wedding anniversary......Page 24 3. Feasibility of introducing salmon into the Yemen......Page 45 4. Extracts from the diary of Dr Jones: his meeting with Sheikh Muhammad......Page 54 5. Extracts from the diary of Dr Jones: marital issues may have clouded his judgement......Page 73 6. Correspondence between Captain Robert Matthews and Ms Harriet Chetwode-Talbot......Page 84 7. Press comment......Page 97 8. Intercepts of al-Qaeda email traffic (provided by the Pakistan Inter-Services Intelligence Agency)......Page 105 9. Interview with Peter Maxwell, director of communications, prime minister's office......Page 109 10. Transcript of interview with the prime minister, the Rt Hon. Jay Vent MP, on BBCI The Politics Show......Page 116 11. Continuation of interview with Peter Maxwell......Page 120 12. Email correspondence between David Sugden, NCFE, and Mr Tom Price-Williams, head of fisheries, Environment Agency......Page 127 13. Extract from the diary of Dr Jones: his return to Glen Tulloch......Page 131 14. Interview with Dr Alfred Jones: his meeting with Mr Peter Maxwell and Sheikh Muhammad......Page 140 15. Peter Maxwell is interviewed for the 'Time Off' column of the Sunday Telegraph, 4 September......Page 157 16. Interview with Ms Harriet Chetwode-Talbot......Page 162 17. Extract from Hansard......Page 175 18. The termination of the employment contract of Dr Jones......Page 182 19. Correspondence between Captain Robert Matthews and Ms Harriet Chetwode-Talbot......Page 195 20. Intercepts of al-Qaeda email traffic (provided by the Pakistan Inter-Services Intelligence Agency)......Page 208 21. Extract from Hansard......Page 212 22. Extracts from the diary of Dr Jones: he visits the Yemen......Page 214 23. Extract from Hansard......Page 236 24. Correspondence between Ms Chetwode: Talbot and herself......Page 238 25. Extract from Peter Maxwell's unpublished autobiography, A Helmsman at the Ship of State......Page 243 26. Script of TV pilot for Prizes for the People......Page 252 27. Extract from Peter Maxwell's unpublished autobiography......Page 258 28. Evidence of a marital crisis between Dr and Mrs Jones......Page 263 29. Interview with Dr Alfred Jones: dinner at the Ritz......Page 275 30. Dr Jones fails to find a date in his diary to meet Mrs Jones......Page 295 31. Extract from Peter Maxwell's unpublished autobiography......Page 299 32. Dr Jones's testimony of events which occurred at the launch of the Yemen salmon project......Page 314 33. Conclusions of the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee......Page 327 Glossary of terms used in the extracts......Page 330 Reading Group Notes......Page 335 "Dr. Alfred Jones has many reasons to be content with his life. His latest paper 'Effects of Increased Water Acidity on the Caddis Fly Larva' looks set to cause a stir on the pages of Trout & Salmon, his job as a fisheries scientist is satisfactory, and he and his wife, Mary, have just celebrated their twentieth wedding anniversary - for which she gave him a replacement electric toothbrush. So why does he feel as though something is missing?" "When he is asked to become involved in a project to create a salmon river in the highlands of the Yemen, Fred rejects the idea as absurd. But the proposal catches the eye of several senior British politicians, who feel it might distract the media's attention from the less welcome stories coming out of the Middle East. It's not long before the wheels of government start spinning, and the publicity-savvy PM is talking about the project on television. Fred finds himself forced to set aside his research and instead figure out how to fly ten thousand salmon to a desert country ... and persuade them to swim there." "The project is the brainchild of a Yemeni sheikh: a devout and wealthy man, whose love of salmon fishing and whose fervent, unwavering conviction that the impossible can be made possible, eventually, and astonishingly, inspires Fred, overpowering all his rational objections - and infuriating his wife." "When Fred meets Harriet Chetwode-Talbot, the sheikh's elegant and beautiful land agent, the cracks that have begun to form in his carefully managed existence grow even wider, and as they both embark on an extraordinary journey of faith - and fishing - the diffident Dr. Jones will discover a sense of belief, and a capacity for love, and for heroism, that surprises himself, and all who know him." --Book Jacket. An unassuming scientist takes an unbelievable adventure in the Middle East in this “extraordinary” novel—the inspiration for the major motion picture starring Ewan McGregor (The Guardian). Dr. Alfred Jones lives a quiet, predictable life. He works as a civil servant for the National Centre for Fisheries Excellence in London; his wife, Mary, is a determined, no-nonsense financier; he has simple routines and unassuming ambitions. Then he meets Muhammad bin Zaidi bani Tihama, a Yemeni sheikh with money to spend and a fantastic—and ludicrous—dream of bringing the sport of salmon fishing to his home country. Suddenly, Dr. Jones is swept up in an outrageous plot to attempt the impossible, persuaded by both the sheikh himself and power-hungry members of the British government who want nothing more than to spend the sheikh's considerable wealth. But somewhere amid the bureaucratic spin and Yemeni tall tales, Dr. Jones finds himself thinking bigger, bolder, and more impossibly than he ever has before. Told through letters, emails, interview transcripts, newspaper articles, and personal journal entries, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen is “a triumph” that both takes aim at institutional absurdity and gives loving support to the ideas of hopes, dreams, and accomplishing the impossible (The Guardian). "What does it take to make us believe in the impossible? For Dr. Alfred Jones, life is a quiet mixture of civil service at the National Centre for Fisheries Excellence and marriage to Mary--an ambitious, no-nonsense financier. But a strange turn of fate from an unexpected direction forces Jones to upend his existence and spend all of his time in pursuit of another man's ludicrous dream. Can there be salmon in the Yemen? Science says no. But if resources are limitless and the visionary is inspired, maybe salmon fishing in the Yemen isn't impossible. Then again, maybe nothing is."--Page 4 of cover For Dr. Alfred Jones, life is a quiet mixture of civil service at the National Centre for Fisheries Excellence and marriage to Mary, an ambitious, no-nonsense financier. But a strange turn of fate from an unexpected direction forces Jones to upend his existence and spend all of his time in pursuit of another man's ludicrous dream. Can there be salmon in the Yemen? Science says no. But if resources are limitless and the visionary is inspired, maybe salmon fishing in the Yemen isn't impossible. Then again, maybe nothing is A middle-aged scientist working at London's National Centre for Fisheries Excellence, Dr. Alfred Jones takes on the outlandish--and ill-fated--task of introducing the sport of salmon fishing into the Yemen River at the behest of a mysterious sheikh