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Driving Over Lemons: An Optimist in Andalucia
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ASIN:
0953522709
Avg Rating
[4.0 Stars]
80 Reviews
Pub. 03-Jun-1999;
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£6.99
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Authors/Performers
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Chris Stewart;
Product Description
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All Provenced out? Then head further south, to the breathtaking mountainous climes of Andalucia. Just don't be squeamish about driving over lemons. Chris Stewart, skilled sheep-shearer and sometime Genesis drummer, took one look at the Alpujarrás, the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, and decided that's where he wanted to be. This is the story of his adventures coming to terms with the terrain, the lifestyle and, of course, the locals, who possess all the rugged, homespun charm you'd expect. Stewart soon discovers all the hidden foibles of his bargain purchase, and spends the following year (rendered here in detail) installing the little luxuries of life like, say, water. However, just when you're worrying that all this might degenerate into a rose-tinted Englishman-finds-nature idyll, Chris's wife enters the fray. Nonsense-free, straight-talking and relentlessly unsentimental, Ada should be a required resource for all travel writers. Ada gets bored with the fake machismo of pig-killing, Ada sees through the selfless "help" of the natives, Ada calls a peasant a peasant. With her on board, Stewart has the perfect counterbalance to his declared optimism, and Driving over Lemons becomes a loving but clear-sighted encomium, economically and wittily written, to a wonderful part of the world. --Alan Stewart
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The odd title of this book refers to the citrus road hazards encountered by the author, Chris Stewart, on his inaugural house-hunting trip in Andalucía, where he is TOLD which house to buy (they do things differently in the mountains).
Slowly settling into Pedro Romero's run-down farm (with Pedro who takes his time leaving!), this well written book tells the tale of his eventful first few years in the Alpujarrás. With his loyal wife Ana by his side, Stewart recounts all their experiences of errant sheep, dodgy farmers, flooded rivers, dried up rivers, and the sights and sounds of his new home with passion and warmth.
As time passes, the house takes shape, friendships are made, particularly with his neighbour Domingo who latterly finds love, new animals and a baby daughter populate the farm and the family enjoy the simple life most of us can only dream about or watch on our 40" plasma TV (HD ready)
A good read, not too heavy, but honest and often humorous; I enjoyed this very much.
PS Don't buy this if you're a Genesis fan hoping for an insight into the early days of the band. Chris Stewart only drummed on the first single. Don't mention Phil Collins ! :o)
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[Rating: 3 Stars]
Almost every ex-pat of European nations here in Spain has read this enchanting book and recommends it to all their friends. The characters exist, the lifestyle still exists. For those who have never experienced old-world Spanish life here is your chance. And for those of us here in Spain, we know these people, they are our Spanish neighbours who always keep us on our toes!!;
[Rating: 4 Stars]
Good book for the holidays - especially if you're going to the part of Spain that the book is based in - similar in style to Carol Drinkwater's the Olive Farm, but a little more realistic and less "bordering-on-the-fanciful".
Both books will make you want to move out of England.;
[Rating: 4 Stars]
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