- Paperback: 288 pages
- Publisher: Sort of Books (30 Aug 2001)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0953522733
- ISBN-13: 978-0953522736
- Product Dimensions: 17.2 x 11 x 2.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (134 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
861,927 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #100 in Books > Travel & Holiday > Countries & Regions > Europe > Spain > Cities & Regions > Andalusia
Driving Over Lemons
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
All Provenced out? Then head further south this year, 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 Alpujarr´s, 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 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.Amazon.co.uk Review
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 --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
52 of 52 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A beautiful book that leaves you warm and happy,
By
This review is from: Driving Over Lemons: An Optimist in Andalucia (Paperback)
When one thinks of English in Spain, you automatically assume Frank Butcher types in tight Speedo trunks loitering drunk in Lineker's Bar and eating fry-ups all day.Chris Stewart and his wife Ana are Ex-Pats, but with a difference. Rather than trying to make Spain English, they left these shore to adapt to the Spanish agricultural lifestyle, and enjoy the atmosphere on their new property in Las Alpajurras. The book brings together a sentiment of blissful happiness, and you can almost smell the lemon blossom on the front cover. I enjoyed this book as much as I did 'Mukiwa', by Peter Godwin, but without any of the poigniancy and heartache felt in Godwin's work. A fantastic read, well worth 5 stars.
36 of 37 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A hot Spanish holiday without the jetlag,
By A Customer
This review is from: Driving Over Lemons: An Optimist in Andalucia (Paperback)
I picked up this expecting a variation on the "Year in Provence" theme and found I was totally wrong. The Englishman abroad idea was still the basis of the book however, there the similarity ended. Driving Over Lemons: An Optimist in Andalucia is much more beievable and real. There is no feeling that the stories have been elaborated or embroidered. You sense a commitment to the simplicity of this way of life and that despite the popularity of the novel the family will not be "selling out" on this lifestyle. At the end I felt as though I had experienced the ups and downs of the first years with him. Whilst I came away knowing I would have hated it in many ways I still thoroughly enjoyed this book. Highly recommended and compulsive reading.
28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An inspiring read,
This review is from: Driving Over Lemons: An Optimist in Andalucia (Paperback)
Reviewed by: Rachael from Manchester, reading it in Andalucia.Driving over lemons shows the real side of relocating to what would seem like an idyllic life in Spain. Chris (Cristobal) describes the everyday ups and downs of living on a farm in Andalucia, from getting access to a water supply to the birth of his daughter. He tells how his Spanish neighbours accept him into their community, teaching him how to build, farm and generally survive.
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