Another title from the author of "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen"

Advantages: different
Disadvantages: not as thrilling as I would have thought

..."The Girl on the Landing" is Paul Torday's third foray into novel writing, and having thoroughly enjoyed his first book ""Salmon Fishing in the Yemen", it was one that I was really looking forward to reading. The cover description looked intriguing, explaining as it does that it is the story of how Michael, who has been married to Elizabeth for ten years, sees a mysterious picture, and then "begins to change". I was expecting to read a dark thriller, and being familiar with the author's first work to be transported to a world that satirises our own, from the resume it sounded like it would be a chilling and interesting tale. To some extent this book was what I was expecting, but in other ways I, personally, felt this novel failed to deliver. The story following Michael and Elizabeth, who have been rather unsatisfactorily...

azana 25.11.2009 · Read review
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Review of The Girl on the Landing - Paul Torday

A piscatorial pleasure

Advantages: Funny, witty, well-drawn characters, a little crazy
Disadvantages: None at all

...on the project, Dr Jones accompanies Harriet Chetwode-Talbot to Glen Tulloch, the Sheikh's Scottish estate, and quickly falls under the spell of the eloquent Arab. Before long Dr Jones finds himself devoting long hours to making the sheikh's dreams become reality but not without incurring the ridicule of his career-minded and cold-hearted wife and seeing the project cause consternation in the Commons. And it's not only in the Commons that there is opposition to the scheme - as every good Muslim knows, salmon fishing is not in accordance with Islam..... "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen" is as ludicrous a story as its title suggests but it is the wittiest, most satirical and funniest novel I have read for some time. It is quintessentially British from the stereotyped (but credible) characters to the turn of events and the use of the government as...

fizzytom 26.08.2007 · Read review
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Review of Salmon Fishing in the Yemen - Paul Torday

Desert Dessert

Advantages: enjoyable, moving, mad
Disadvantages: none

...I discovered the book in the English corner of a German bookshop, the bright blue cover with the silvery fish caught my eye (they glow in semi-darkness!), the bizarre title appealed to me and the blurb ?A wonderful novel? convinced me that I should buy it, not because that?s a highly original remark but because it is from Marina Lewycka, author of ?A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian?, a novel I appreciate. Not living in GB I didn?t know that Salmon Fishing in the Yemen has already become a top seller there and the Hardcover edition has moved to No 117 on the sales rank of Amazon.co.uk. A virtual friend has abstained from reading it up to now, however, suspecting it to be too gimmicky for her liking. Let?s have a look whether her suspicion is justified. A stinking rich Yemeni sheikh and dyed-in-the-wool Anglophile owns...

MALU 13.06.2007 · Read review
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Review of Salmon Fishing in the Yemen - Paul Torday

Sana'a - a MUST visit place.....

Advantages: Historical place, Simple people, cheap life and beautiful seens
Disadvantages: It can be a little awkward dealing with some people

...Sana'a is the capital and the largest city of Yemen. Sana'a is one of the ancient cities in the Middle East dating back to the Sabean dynsty. Its history goes back to the 6th century when the Ethiopian used to control it (The capital of the Himyarite kingdom). In the 17th century and again from 1872 to 1918 it was under the control of the Islamic state (The Othmani state based in Turkey). After the 1918, when Yemen earned its independence, Sana'a became its capital. Yemen has always been ruled by tribes and they used to have an Imam who I believe took over after the collapse of the Islamic state in Istanbul. Although the capital of Yemen was moved toTaiz in 1948, it returned back when the Yemen Arab Republic was established in 1962. And again, when both the southern and northern of Yemen were unified in 1990, it continued to be...

TheJudge1979 30.10.2005 (08.11.2005) · Read review
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Review of Sana (Yemen)

Fishing for Fools

Advantages: Accessible, light, enjoyable
Disadvantages: Lightweight, format not entirely successful

...Deliciously light fare from a first-time novelist in his sixties. I picked this up cheap from bookgiant.co.uk because I needed another purchase to take advantage of the postage discount. I managed to zip through it in a day and a half as it was surprisingly airy. Plot Alfred Jones is a salmon expert for a small government agency. When the PM's office senses an opportunity for some good publicity, he is pressured into a consulting role for an impossible task - bringing salmon fishing to the Yemen. On the way he is inspired by the visionary sheikh who originated the idea and impressed by the elegant project manager Harriet Chetwode-Talbot. As you can imagine this difficult project has many obstacles, not the least of which is the PM's Communications officer, Peter Maxwell - a dreadful composite of Alastair Campbell and that other PM...

danielse 10.06.2007 · Read review
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Review of Salmon Fishing in the Yemen - Paul Torday

Frankfurt to Asmara Yemenia Airways

Advantages: Extra Baggage allowance
Disadvantages: Poor service, rude staff, lack of information given to customers

......

MrMarcus 03.08.2008 · Read review
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Review of Yemenia Yemen Airways

Mattygroves Made Me Do It

Advantages: Wakes you up!
Disadvantages: Sometimes doesn't let you sleep!

...‘t imagine living without today arrived like this: Cocoa in 1528, tea in 1610, coffee in 1615. (Btw, tea came first only from China until someone smuggled some tea seeds in an etui to India). The first coffee arrived at Venice from Turkey and coffee houses quickly spread through Italy and to Vienna, then on to most of Europe. The first recorded reference to coffee in England was in 1637 when a Turk named Jacob opened a coffee house in Oxford. In the meantime the Dutch had obtained coffee seeds from Malabar in India and planted them in their colony at Java. At that time coffee was available from Mocha the main port of Yemen or from Java, giving rise to the famous blend of "Mocha-Java." (196 words) Have I passed?...

MALU 18.11.2002 (21.11.2002) · Read review
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Review of Everything that starts with C ...

A Few less good men

Advantages: Decent Story
Disadvantages: Not too difficult to predict

...After the success of A Few Good Men, one might have expected a sudden rush of military courtroom films, and while Rules Of Engagement is not as good as that, it is nonetheless worth a look. Samuel L. (Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown) Jackson, plays Colonel Terry Childers, a decorated Vietnam veteran, who is in charge of a rescue mission in Yemen. When things go wrong, and a number of people are killed, Childers is put on trial. He chooses Colonel Hayes Hodges, (Tommy Lee Jones), as his lawyer, a man he knows from Vietnam. The film plays on the general Middle East / terrorist scenario, and there isn't a great deal of suspense. Jones, and Jackson are reasonable, but Guy (Neighbours) Pearce steals the show as the prosecutor. Surely this must be the best actor to come out of any Aussie soap. Overall, worth a watch....

JohnHopkins 24.08.2000 · Read review
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Review of Rules Of Engagement (DVD)

~ A hero should never have to stand alone ~

Advantages: Great acting, Good gory action, Fast pace and interesting
Disadvantages: Some sterotyping maybe concluded, two hours long.

...nine years old I was surprised I had not seen it. Director William Friedkin did not ring a bell to me so this did not affect the expectation of the film. INFO Director- William Friedkin Writers- James Webb (story) Stephen Gaghan (Screenplay) Release Date- 11 August 2000 (UK) Runtime- 128 Mins Certificate- 15 Company- Paramount Pictures PLOT Hayes Hodges and Terry Childers are two marine soldiers who fought in the Vietnam War together. Hayes changes his aspirations when he is wounded in Vietnam and has become a disillusioned lawyer. However, Terry has furthered his career and has become one of the best and most trusted marine colonel?s to date. After he is sent to the American Embassy in Yemen to evacuate the Ambassador events turn to the worst and his Marines become pinned down by shooters...

blackmagicstar4 21.08.2009 · Read review
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Review of Rules Of Engagement (DVD)

These Are The Rules Of Engagement

Advantages: A great Idea for a film
Disadvantages: Not really as good as it could have been.

...Well as the war is still on going I found myself looking at the DVD's in need of something to watch. For some reason my eye was drawn towards Rules Of Engagement, not really sure why but it carries on nicely with the war theme, which seems to be developing through my latest ops. This time the destination is Yemen. The film is more of a courtroom Drama than an all out guns blazing make the American army look really good type of film. Of course unlike Black Hawk Down this is purely a film on true story or book adaptations here. It centres on the Court case of US marine Col. Terry L. Childers (Samuel L Jackson) following an incident at the US embassy in Yemen. The US Marines led by Childers have been called in to rescue the US ambassador to Yemen after a large crowd gathers in front of the Embassy and starts to become violent. In...

Andy.mack 08.04.2003 · Read review
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Review of Rules Of Engagement (DVD)