Driving Over Lemons (An Optimist In Andalucia) [Paperback]

Chris Stewart (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 2000

5-1/2" x 8-1/4" Softcover

Product Details

• Paperback: 248 pages
• Publisher: Pantheon; First American Edition; First American edition (2000)
• Language: English
• ASIN: B000TXQ1Z6
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (53 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,844,522 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

71 of 74 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Provence, Tuscany ... try Andalucia!, March 30, 2000

By 

M. Ellingham "Mark Ellingham" (London, England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Driving Over Lemons: An Optimist in Andalucia (Hardcover)

This book has been huge in the UK - top ten for the past six months - and no wonder. It is such a great tale: Chris Stewart, one time drummer of Genesis (he left at age 17) sinks his all (the grand sum of $35,000) into a peasant farm in Andalucia. It has no runing water, no electricity, and gets cut off altogether when the river is in flood. Oh, and it turns out that the man who sells him the farm has no plans to move out himself. But as the subtitle says, Chris is an optimist, big time, and that carries him through, along with a little realism from his wife Ana, and local wiles from Domingo, the best neighbor you could hope to find. The book gains its strength from the fact that Stewart has no money and needs to work (as a sheep shearer), bringing real and often very comic insights into the local life - something I found lacking in the Mayle/Mayes Provence/Tuscany bestsellers. But like those books, this is a perfect holiday read - and a book that makes you yearn to follow the Stewarts' lead, and head for a simpler life in the sun.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Warm, touching, uplifting, June 13, 2000

By 

Michael K. McKeon - See all my reviews

This review is from: Driving Over Lemons: An Optimist in Andalucia (Hardcover)

Those expecting a description of Spain akin to Mayles of Provence or Mayes of Tuscany will be momentarily disappointed. However, one quickly becomes invested in finishing this warm, engaging memoir.

There are no descriptions of fine wines, imcomparable meals, or other such rich treats. Instead this is a tale of an English couple that eschews the bourgeois lifestyle and seeks a simpler lifestyle in rural Spain. The leitmotif for the book could be summed up as carpe diem. The result is a touching description of evolving understanding of a different culture, appreciation and respect for the challenges of an agrarian lifestyle, and the importance of human relationships.

Throughout one is struck by what a kind hearted, genuinely good, and often frustratingly credulous person Chris Stewart is. He has an endearing capacity for laughing at himself and chalking up losses and set backs as part of the cost of change. Much of the book's humor is derived from the characteristically deadpan British understatement and irony, and the assortment of interesting and eccentric characters to whom the Stewarts are drawn and also attract.

Stewart's growing relationship with his laconic, multitalented neighbor Domingo is particularly heart warming. One is struck by the neighor's acumen, unceasing generosity, and ongoing willingness to aid the often fumbling Stewart. There is a particularly moving chapter about "understanding the water" where Stewart reveals his immense gratitude and respect to Domingo by expressing the hope to earn his respect someday.

This is a lovely, uplifting, fun book depicting the growth of a family and the development of a new, and perhaps more essential, lifestyle. I felt better for having read it.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Read, April 20, 2000

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Driving Over Lemons: An Optimist in Andalucia (Hardcover)

There are some great books out there about making a new life in France or Italy, but this is the the first I have read which makes a move to Spain seem so real. Chris Stewart leaves all that he is used to and transforms himself and his family in the process. It is very well written and an excellent account of adjusting to life in rural Spain and also the transformation of a young couple to a family with the birth of their little girl and all the changes that can bring. I greatly enjoyed both facets of this book.