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69th out of 469 books
—
977 voters
Driving Over Lemons: An Optimist in Andalucia
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 ter...more
256 pages
Published
(first published 1999)
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I spent an evening at a farm in Spain and as I picked the grapes overhanding the patio I dreamed about buying it and pickling all those orchards of olives. No electricity. So I kind of identify with author Chris Stewart, who bought just such a farm, except way more remote and without running water or a road.
I completely enjoyed the story of the couples first years in Spain, during which they learned how to keep their farm alive, built friendships and construction know-how, and had a baby. My on...more
I completely enjoyed the story of the couples first years in Spain, during which they learned how to keep their farm alive, built friendships and construction know-how, and had a baby. My on...more
It's unavoidable making the comparison between this book and Peter Mayle's A Year in Provence. Both are memoirs by ex-Pat Brits of their relocation to bucolic parts of Southern Europe, both to be found in my neighborhood book store almost side-by-side under Travel Essays. A blurb from the Daily Telegraph even says Stewart is being talked up as "the new Peter Mayle." Fortunately Stewart compared well--in fact I liked his book quite a bit more than Mayle's.
A lot of that is that I just plain liked...more
A lot of that is that I just plain liked...more
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This book came highly recommended from a couple of friends and I have been meaning to read it for quite a while now, probably ever since I moved to Spain four and a half years ago. I found a copy in Spanish at a used book sale (1Euro!) so the matter was settled. I have to say that it was slow reading and not because I had any problem with the Spanish, it is just slow reading. He doesn't have to much to say about Spanish life as he is in the middle of nowhere and interacting with few people. The...more
This was a wonderful book - it was funny, personal and enchanting. Can't wait to read the next of his adventures.
Back Cover Blurb:
Meet Chris Stewart, the eternal optimist.
At age seventeen Chris retired as the drummer of Genesis and launched a career as a sheep shearer and travel writer. He has no regrets about this. Had he become a bit-time rock star he might never have moved with hs wife Ana to a remote mountain farm in Andalucia. Nor forged the friendship of a lifetime with his resourceful pea...more
Back Cover Blurb:
Meet Chris Stewart, the eternal optimist.
At age seventeen Chris retired as the drummer of Genesis and launched a career as a sheep shearer and travel writer. He has no regrets about this. Had he become a bit-time rock star he might never have moved with hs wife Ana to a remote mountain farm in Andalucia. Nor forged the friendship of a lifetime with his resourceful pea...more
1 like · like · see review
About the author's experience buying an old farmhouse in Spain. I love these kinds of books, because I can fantasize about some of my favorite things: travel, home ownership/repair, idiosyncratic "locals" and so on. Reading the reviews at Amazon, I found out that the auther, Chris Stewert, was a one time drummer for Genesis. I had no idea.
"Driving Over Lemons" was a book that my mom had put in the guest room. I picked up another book that she left there called Beginner's Luck.
"Driving Over Lemons" was a book that my mom had put in the guest room. I picked up another book that she left there called Beginner's Luck.
Makes you want to quit your crappy job, sell your pricey house and move to a pile of rocks in Spain. Reminds you of the importance and joy to be found in relationships with neighbors, and the lack of importance in sticking to a tight schedule. I gave this to my Mom soon after I read it, and she loved it as well.
The writing style is natural, conversational. Great book.
The writing style is natural, conversational. Great book.
The subtitle of this memoir about moving from England to Andalucia is "The Optimist in Spain"--the author is not so much an optimist as he is naive. He does have the sense that everything will work out, but it is not because of his sunny disposition--rather it is that he doesn't think that someone would cheat him, or fail to disclose the fatal flaws in the plan that he has for himself.
I did not know that the author was the first drummer for the band that became Genesis--he went to high school wi...more
I did not know that the author was the first drummer for the band that became Genesis--he went to high school wi...more
Was very happy to come across this delightful little book by Chris Stewart -- one-time drummer for Genesis (in the band's very, very early days) who threw it all in to become a sheep-shearer and, eventually, the owner of a remote farm in the Alpujarras region of Andalucia. While this technically belongs in the same genre as similar works by Peter Mayle, Frances Mayes and Tony Cohan, it strikes a very different pitch as it is remarkably humble, grounded and measured in its perception of local lif...more
I love memoirs and autobiographies. I heard about this on a Rick Stein show, he was travelling round Spain and paid a visit to Chris Stewart and his family. And it turned out to be a very interesting read.
Stewart was the original drummer in the band Genesis, but packed it in at the grand old age of 17 - something that isn't mentioned at all in the book, which is the story of how he and his wife bought a run-down farm in Andalucia and made it their own.
There are tales of how long it took the grum...more
Stewart was the original drummer in the band Genesis, but packed it in at the grand old age of 17 - something that isn't mentioned at all in the book, which is the story of how he and his wife bought a run-down farm in Andalucia and made it their own.
There are tales of how long it took the grum...more
Ecco, diciamo che l'Andalusia a cui pensavo io non era così estrema e remota, ma com'è affascinante questo stralcio di vita, questa descrizione ironica, divertente e scrupolosa del cambiamento che ha fatto l'autore. Passare dalla campagna inglese ad una fattoria abbarbicata su un monte andaluso non è uno scherzo, meno che mai se nel farlo si devono fare i conti con la mancanza di tutti i comfort minimi richiesti (acqua corrente, luce, gas, strade agibili), ma ce la si può fare e Chris vi spieghe...more
Not the type of book that I would normally read but I liked this one.It was the story of an English man,former member of the group Genesis,who packs up his family and moves to take up farming in Andalucia.This is the funny story of his mistakes,the friends he makes and the totally alien way of life that he has chosen.
Very funny in places,very entertaining and keeps you interested to the end.If you enjoy this one,look for his other books.
Driving Over Lemons
A Parrot in the Pepper Tree: A Sort of S...more
Very funny in places,very entertaining and keeps you interested to the end.If you enjoy this one,look for his other books.
Driving Over Lemons
A Parrot in the Pepper Tree: A Sort of S...more
non-fiction. Writer is retired drummer from the music Group Genesis (Phil Collins). He and his wife move to Andalucian and this is the story of finding a home, building it, meeting neighbors, having a daughter they raised there. A lot of wonderful people in the story and quite entertaining.
I have a fantasy of living as an ex-pat in my retirement and this is the kind of book for feeding that fantasy. If you liked books like A Year in Provence and Under the Tuscan Sun, you'll probably like this one too. Not quite as luxurious as the other two, but definitely fun.
Uno de los pocos regalos que este año he recibido por mi cumpleaños es este libro. Me gusta que me regalen libros que yo nunca compraría porque me obliga a abrir mi horizonte de lectura, y casi siempre suele ser para bien. En este caso se trata de un libro muy interesante sobre un inglés que se viene a vivir nada menos que a un cortijo en la alpujarra granadina. Todo un privilegio que no me importaría compartir, desde luego. El libro tiene muchos toques de humor. Por otro lado creo que refleja m...more
(Retitled, in the paperback edition, to "an Optimist in Spain". I guess us dumb Americans don't known where Andalucia is. Or how to spell it.)
A charming little book letting the armchair traveler have a glimpse into an obscure corner of the world. Yet another light book in the genre of "bumbling [Britisher|American] comes to live the simple life in [Spain|Provence|Italy|Greece]". That 'aw, shucks' tone wore a little thing for me, and from his bio, Stewart actually seemed much more interesting tha...more
A charming little book letting the armchair traveler have a glimpse into an obscure corner of the world. Yet another light book in the genre of "bumbling [Britisher|American] comes to live the simple life in [Spain|Provence|Italy|Greece]". That 'aw, shucks' tone wore a little thing for me, and from his bio, Stewart actually seemed much more interesting tha...more
This one is another okay book. The Author (a Brit) buys a farm in the mountains of spain. It has no running water, no electricity (save for some solar panels) and is pretty inaccessible. The author is billed as a cross between Bill Bryson and Peter Mayle. Unfortunately, he lacks the humor of a Bryson and I'm not an exceptional fan of Mayle. It IS an interesting take on life in Spain. However, there's way too much of the "foreigner who knows nothing has to over-rely on the good nature of the frie...more
Kindle: I came to this book in a roundabout way. A replay interview was being screened on TV and an earlier book about Andalucia was mentioned, written post WW1, and which I wanted to read. I forgot the name of that book, and read this one as it was available for download.
I liked this book as it recounted Stewart's foray into living in a foreign country, albeit with a working knowledge of Spanish. I liked the way he slowly integrates into his new landscape and his relationship with his neighbors...more
I liked this book as it recounted Stewart's foray into living in a foreign country, albeit with a working knowledge of Spanish. I liked the way he slowly integrates into his new landscape and his relationship with his neighbors...more
This is the first of a three-book set from Chris Stewart, a Brit who moved with his wife to Andalucía, Spain and bought an old farm. (More like a shack, really).
I "discovered" Chris while reading an in-flight magazine a few years back. He was being interviewed on the publishing of his 3rd book, and I decided to look for his books in a used-book store in London. I bought his first two. He has a nice way with words and his stories held my interest. By the time he finished his 3rd book, his daughte...more
I "discovered" Chris while reading an in-flight magazine a few years back. He was being interviewed on the publishing of his 3rd book, and I decided to look for his books in a used-book store in London. I bought his first two. He has a nice way with words and his stories held my interest. By the time he finished his 3rd book, his daughte...more
A favorite book of mine... I have a rather detailed journal entry on the first copy of this book I ever read, including lots of pictures here. I think one of the things I enjoyed the most about it was the interplay between Stewart and his neighbors as he learned the ways of his new home. Domingo is a particular favorite neighbor...always seeming to know exactly what to do and the right way to do it, showing great athority- even if he has never done it himself. All the information about sheep was...more
Well, after all the Peter Mayle excitement it seemed this genre was fit to burst. I read one rather disappointing contribution about Mallorca (the title was something like Snow on Oranges)... not sure it ever sold off the island.
I hesitated to sign up for this ring for that reason, but in fact I'm glad to have read this. Reading the backcover it seems much is made of Stewart's connection to Genesis - but reading closely it seems he "retired" (?)from the band at the ripe old age of 17. Maybe a s...more
I hesitated to sign up for this ring for that reason, but in fact I'm glad to have read this. Reading the backcover it seems much is made of Stewart's connection to Genesis - but reading closely it seems he "retired" (?)from the band at the ripe old age of 17. Maybe a s...more
Jan 26, 2012
Sharon Roy
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
everyone
This book is just absolutely delightful! I thoroughly enjoyed it from beginning to end and will now add Stewart's other books to my reading list. He writes with refreshing sense of humour and keen appreciation of his own foibles as well as those of the people and the world around him. On the surface of it all, I was a bit skeptical - after all this is a story about a former musician (he's a founding member of Genesis) who elects to abandon civilized life as we know it and take up sustenance farm...more
A pleasant, at times rather amusing account of an English family's decision to relocate to a ramshackle farm in Southern Spain. The best moments come when the author recounts his interactions with the locals, whose beliefs, expectations, and ways of doing things differ markedly from what he is used to. Meanwhile, I found the amount of detail about the landscape tedious at times, and always felt that the family themselves remained a bit distant and hard to relate to. Enjoyable enough, but not lik...more
Another lovely memoir about a family moving from the country of their birth, in this case, England, to someplace different - in this case Spain. Yes, it's part Peter Mayle and Tony Cohen who both wrote about similar moves, but this memoir focuses less on the challenges of restoring a home to 20th century conveniences than with the interpersonal friendships that are formed with the neighbors and the challenges of the semi remote locale. That and tending a flock of sheep in said rural and mountain...more
May 20, 2009
Salsadancer
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
those who like travel writings
Recommended to Salsadancer by:
Lisa Blanchard
If you have a fantasy of living as an ex-patriot in retirement or of quitting your job and taking off for parts far away, this is the book for you. The book is about a husband and wife who buy a farm in a remote part of southern Spain, leaving their English way of life behind, including running water, electricity and all the other conveniences. They had a dedication to make it work and they did -- modernizing their farm, raising their food, making friends and a good life.
What I liked most about...more
What I liked most about...more
It's A Year in Andalucia. Stewart's book is light, witty, charming, enjoyable reading, but it covers very familiar ground. You have all the tropes of a British eccentric moving to a remote foreign country: suspicious locals won over by newfangled ideas, crazy adventures in the mountains with goats and sheep, expats even more loopy than the writer and an never ending battle with nature. While Stewart has a lot of fun with the characters, they are as familiar as the plot. You'd think with real peo...more
I really enjoyed this book. While many compare it to Peter Mayle's "A Year in Provence," since they are very similar topics, I thought "A Year in Provence" was mediocre and "Driving Over Lemons" was pretty good. I found Mayle's style of writing and general atitude to be very grating, while Chris Stewart comes off as very honest, authentic, and actually engaged in his surroundings rather than looking down upon them.
While it was billed as a very funny book, I didn't find it to be so, although defi...more
While it was billed as a very funny book, I didn't find it to be so, although defi...more
I read this in one go, without even the excuse of a coughing fit to keep me awake. This was neither as sentimental than some others I have read in the past, nor as patronising about the locals. It helps that the narrator sounds like a good chap - if anything he moves beyond being a nice guy to being way too soft on the 'peasant' from whom he bought the farm and that in itself is a story.
I'd love to follow Chris Stewart's example and up sticks and move somewhere rural and peaceful, but am far too...more
I'd love to follow Chris Stewart's example and up sticks and move somewhere rural and peaceful, but am far too...more
While this isn't great literature, it is a very well told tale of a young couple's adventure. This couple had the daring to do what I wish we could; chuck it all and move to a farm in the Andalucia province in Spain. He tells the story of how they created a self sustaining farm, growing most of what they needed and raising some sheep for extra money. It was interesting to read about and area I have now been to, and to get the "inside scoop" on how some of the expatriot community gets along. A li...more
Creo que el libro no debe de ser malo, puesto que tiene bastante buena cr��tica. El caso es que el estilo narrativo no me ha gustado nada y estoy casi segura de que es sobre todo culpa de la traducci��n.
La historia es interesante, un ingl��s que le echa huevos al asunto de la vida y se muda a un cortijo en ruinas en las Alpujarras de Granada. All�� vive una vida r��stica con su mujer y luego con su hija que yo, como amante de la ciudad que soy, calificar��a de infernal y de pesadilla constante.
...more
Chris Stewart moved (about 20 years ago) from England to Andalucìa to start a new life with her wife Ana. Actually, he bought something I can't define a house, being more some stones put together and some stables. No running water, no electricity, not even a rudimental bridge to pass the river... anyway, I loved their adventure, esp. because they never seem to complain about how was the old life. They just get on with what they have and try to improve their skills as farmers and (and masons ;))....more
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Christopher 'Chris' Stewart (born 1951), was the original drummer and a founding member of Genesis. He is now a farmer and an author. A classmate of Tony Banks and Peter Gabriel at Charterhouse School, Stewart joined them in a school band called The Garden Wall, and they later formed another band with schoolmates Mike Rutherford and Anthony Phillips, called Anon. This band eventually became Genesi...more
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