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| Driving Over Lemons: An Optimist in Andalucia | 
 enlarge | Author: Chris Stewart
Publisher: Sort of Books
Category: Book
List Price: £6.99
Buy Used: £0.01
You Save: £6.98 (100%)
New (26) from £2.25
Avg. Customer Rating:  80 reviews
Sales Rank: 2362
Media: Paperback
Pages: 256
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 5 x 0.9
ISBN: 0953522709
Dewey Decimal Number: 910
EAN: 9780953522705
ASIN: 0953522709
Publication Date: June 3, 1999
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
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 Alpujarras, 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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| Customer Reviews: Read 75 more reviews...
 Bad sheep and a running river . . . February 15, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
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 Andalucia, 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 Alpujarras. 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)
Fantastico September 10, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
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!!
Andalucian escapism ... June 4, 2007
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.
A little .... May 31, 2007
0 out of 4 found this review helpful
An average story about an average guy doing what is now an average thing written in an average style with average narrative, average description, average warmth, average humour, average drama - it left me, well, feeling a little average
Entertaining and informative read April 24, 2007
I found this book really interesting. Chris Stewart has an engaging writing style and his tale of setting up a home in Andalucia was written in a thoroughly engaging way. He documents some great moments with humour and humility. I felt that his writing was very heartfelt. The characters he describes jump from the page. A very nice read.
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