I'd wanted to read this book for sometime, in fact I'd given Dad a copy of it as we'd visited the Yemen together on business about 15 Years ago.
However I'd also heard that it was an incredibly silly book, and that had put me off a little. So as is often the way with books I'm not sure about I got an audio version.
Often with me its not the story I don't like, but the writing style, something that doesn't matter when you listen to an audio book version.
What I'd heard was absolutely correct, the premise of the book is very silly - a wealthy Yemeni sheik wants to introduce salmon fishing into the wadis of the Yemeni deserts! And as the project gains momentum it drags in various characters including the prime minister of the UK.
The book appears to be a collection of documents including diaries of the chief scientist on the project, an unpublished autobiography of the PMs press officers, transcripts from interviews and extracts from Hansard.
By the end I found that I was being carried along by the story and ignoring the improbability of salmon swimming in a river in a desert region of the world.
I'm not sure I'd have stuck with the book, and to be honest I'm not sure that Dad would have enjoyed it; but it made for great entertainment in the car, and the multi-voiced reading made it much more that a conventional audio book.
I've just discovered online that a film version is being made starring Ewan McGregor - I'd say it would certainly be worth a look, in fact it's probably more suited to being a film than a book!
Bought on Green Metropolis.
27th September - 4th October 2010
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