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Oh no not another move-to-rural-utopia memoir. But I forgive this one because it's strictly non-pretentious, non-precious, gentle and funny. And rather well-written. " — SP, 2/7/2013 I read this book to satisfy a biography and Earth day/month challenge. I became interested in this book because my pre-Modern Iberian ancestors very probably came from this area. And they were likely to have been farmers and farm workers. Manuel hizo lo que le pedían, entregándole una a su padre y sentándose luego a su lado con la otra. Las afinaron un poco, tocaron distraídamente unos acordes,y pasaron a trancas y barrancas a una tonada popular alpujarreña.
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) I had been sufficiently piqued by the Genesis débacle to do a little work on my drumming. To this end I engaged a teacher in Brighton, one Sammy Davis, who put me through my rolls, flams, ratamacues and double and triple flam-paradiddles. I practiced passionately ten hours a day, seven days a week, and at the end of a few months I achieved a certain competence. Accordingly I placed an advertisement in Melody Maker: “Gentleman, 21,” it read, “seeks position as drummer.” My wife bought this book about ten years ago having heard a review on Radio 2. She enjoyed reading it and so did I. More than that, it inspired us to move to Spain. I must admit, though, that we didn´t entirely follow in Chris Stewart's footsteps - working a farm in the La Pepa's Alvaro and Manuel in a joint statement said: “The physical production of the show will take place in the heart of Andalusia for maximum authenticity and to bring the evocative landscape and people of the area to the screen. We cannot wait to show off our beautiful country to international audiences.”
Richard E. Grant's Spanish reading list
Bit by bit, the farm gets itself together, rain/water is controlled and the life the newfound owner expected starts to come together. He and his wife learn about the area and about the quirky residents of the nearby farms, some of whom are also foreigners. The lemons and the olives and the unexpected travails of owning any property become an enjoyable read, especially for those of us who take the travel ride in our safe armchairs. There were, it was true, a hell of a lot of lemons. They hurtled past, borne on a stream of water that bubbled nearby; in places the road was a mat of mashed fruit, and the earth beneath the trees was bright with fallen yellow orbs. I remembered a half-forgotten snatch of song, something about a lovelorn gypsy throwing lemons into the Great River until it turned to gold. I shared the circus experience with my then Swedish girlfriend, Kjerstin (pronounced ‘chest-in’ more or less). Shortly afterwards Kjerstin met a much more reliable and suitable sort of bloke, a Swede, and very sensibly gave me the boot. I was devastated and resolved to go and work on a kibbutz in Israel to repair my wounded heart. At the last minute I saw in the local paper an advertisement seeking an under assistant pigman on a farm in Bramley, near Guildford. Now Guildford was a lot nearer and a lot less politically problematical than Israel, so I went along and, being the only applicant, secured the job. UK-based Seven Seas Films and Tin Hat Film and TV Productions have partnered with Spain’s La Pepa PC to produce a TV series based on the best-selling novel, Driving Over Lemons, which will film in Andalusia. A very enjoyable read with a humourous quirky look at ex-pat life on a farm in Spain. Looking forward to the rest of the trilogy. " — Jaff, 9/14/2013
After travelling and working throughout Europe, Stewart settled and bought a farm named El Valero in the Alpujarras region of Andalucia, where he lives and works with his wife Ana Exton and daughter Chloë. He ran for the position of local councillor in the 27 May 2007 local elections in Órgiva representing the Green Party, [2] where he received 201 votes (roughly 8 per cent). Man. I should have loved this book. When I pulled the off the shelf at Half Price Books I knew I had to have it. It was perfect for me. Not only was it a travel memoir, one of my great weaknesses, but it was a travel memoir about Spain. Add onto that a quirky story and I'm sold. True, we don’t have the benefits of rubbish collection, postal delivery or street-lighting… but you can’t have everything.A brilliant book with the feel good factor, makes you want to escape, a great holiday read. " — Lizzie, 1/25/2014 It was true: whereas everybody else had colourful plastic clothes-pegs, we had wooden ones, one piece only and traditionally made by gipsies. The reason behind this was that we had a parrot, and the parrot would destroy plastic clothes-pegs in no time flat. But that was neither here nor there; the wooden pegs marked us as ineluctably different. We spoke good Spanish, though, but with funny accents, and our child, who was obviously fluent in the local dialect, felt humiliated yet more by our differentness.
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