Driving Over Lemons
An Optimist in Andalucia
Published on 9. July 2020
Book
Paperback/Softback
304 pages
978-1-908745-85-9 (ISBN)
Description
Meet Chris Stewart, the eternal optimist. A man who flies to Spain, sees a peasant farm on the wrong side of the river and, with scarcely a second thought, hands over a cash deposit. And then finds he has acquired not just the farm, but the farmer, too, who has no intention of leaving. Not to mention the lack of running water, electricity or even a bridge.
It would be enough to send most people straight back home. But Chris and his wife Ana are made of stronger stuff - and besides, they have sunk all their savings into their farm, El Valero, and buying a flock of sheep. So there is no turning back. Life gets tough, but it also gets good.
Driving Over Lemons is that rare thing - a funny, insightful book that charms you from the first sun-lit page to the last. And one that makes running an Andalucian mountain farm seem like a half-decent career move. It has been a major bestseller both in Britain and Spain.
It would be enough to send most people straight back home. But Chris and his wife Ana are made of stronger stuff - and besides, they have sunk all their savings into their farm, El Valero, and buying a flock of sheep. So there is no turning back. Life gets tough, but it also gets good.
Driving Over Lemons is that rare thing - a funny, insightful book that charms you from the first sun-lit page to the last. And one that makes running an Andalucian mountain farm seem like a half-decent career move. It has been a major bestseller both in Britain and Spain.
Reviews / Votes
Chris Stewart is one of life's bold originals * Independent * When an author is as modest and humorous as this, his story cannot be told too often. -- Elizabeth Buchan * The Times * Exquisite. In Driving Over Lemons the anecdote flourishes once more. -- Penelope Lively * Daily Telegraph * It is easy to enthuse about the simple pleasures of life, but hard to write about them well. Stewart's gift is to do so with the carefree manner of someone you've just met in a bar, and who is buying the drinks. -- Hugh Thomson * Independent * A wonderful book - funny, affectionate and reaching deep beneath the skin. Tuck it into your holiday luggage and dream -- Elisabeth Luard * Daily Mail * A funny, observant and personal account of what a man can learn, and what there is to appreciate in life. Marvellous -- John S. Doyle * Sunday Tribune * You just can't fail to like him and the world he spreads out for you: wayward sheep, eccentric ex-pats, hospitable (and slightly barmy) neighbours... Mr Stewart is that rare thing, the real McCoy -- Rosie Boycott * Guardian * Endearing, heart warming, self-deprecating, sometimes surreal... charming stuff -- William Leith * Standard *More details
Edition
Main
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 133 mm
Thickness: 30 mm
Weight
382 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-908745-85-9 (9781908745859)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
07/2020
Sort of Books
€11.49
Available for download
Person
Chris Stewart shot to fame with Driving Over Lemons in 1999. Funny, insightful and real, the book tells the story of how he bought a peasant farm on the wrong side of the river, with its previous owner still resident. It became an international bestseller, along with its sequels - A Parrot in the Pepper Tree, The Almond Blossom Appreciation Society and The Last Days of the Bus Club.
In an earlier life, Chris was the original drummer in Genesis (he played on the first album), then joined a circus, learnt how to shear sheep, went to China to write the Rough Guide, gained a pilot's license in Los Angeles, and completed a course in French cooking. His sort of prequel, Three Ways to Capsize a Boat, fills in his lost years as a yacht skipper in the Greek islands.
In an earlier life, Chris was the original drummer in Genesis (he played on the first album), then joined a circus, learnt how to shear sheep, went to China to write the Rough Guide, gained a pilot's license in Los Angeles, and completed a course in French cooking. His sort of prequel, Three Ways to Capsize a Boat, fills in his lost years as a yacht skipper in the Greek islands.