Snowball Oranges [Audiobook, MP3 Audio] [Audio CD]

Peter Kerr (Author), James Bryce (Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2009

It's the stuff of dreams: a Scottish family giving up relative sanity and security to go and grow oranges for a living in a secluded valley in the mountains of the Mediterranean island of Majorca. But dreams, as everyone knows, have a nasty habit of not turning out quite as intended. Being greeted by a freak snowstorm is only the first of many surprises and "experiences," and it isn't long before they realize that they have been sold a bit of a lemon of an orange farm by the wily previous owners. However, laughter is the best medicine when confronted with consuming a local dish of rats, the live-chicken-down-a-chimney technique of household maintenance, and attending a shotgun wedding. The colorful set of Majorcan neighbors (including an eccentric old goatherd who eats worm-ridden oranges to improve his sex life) restores the family's faith in human nature and helps them adapt to a new and unexpectedly testing life in this deceptively simple idyll of rural Spain. Snowball Oranges is hilarious and revealing, full of life and color, set against a backdrop of the breathtaking beauty of Majorca. (6 1/4 x 9 1/4, 240 pages)

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

A Scotsman growing oranges on Majorca? Snow on the oranges in December? Yes, here is yet another life-changing semiautobiography from a northern European seeking the sun and a new take on life. Although this genre has grown thin, given the plethora of books that have appeared since Frances Mayes's Under the Tuscan Sun and Peter Mayle's A Year in Provence, Kerr (Manana, Manana) manages to give us a lively spin on the difficulties and successes he and his family experience after they purchase a rundown orange grove on the Mediterranean island of Majorca. Kerr, his wife, and two sons had traveled to Majorca on holiday and fallen in love with the brilliant sun, rustic countryside, and friendly local population. On something of a whim, they decided they could transfer their Scottish farming skills to the hardscrabble life of orange-grove tending. It is worth noting that Kerr and his family have returned to Scotland since the publication of this book; not all dreams turn out as expected. This charming, cheerful book will appeal to anyone looking for a different take on Spain and Majorca. For large travel collections. Olga B. Wise, Hewlett-Packard Corp., Austin, TX
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

The dream of Scotsman Kerr and his wife had been to own a farm on their vacation island, Majorca. Through the wild serendipity that sometimes visits those who are lost, they happened upon the orange farm of their dreams, charming, rustic, and for sale. It is December when they move in, and though the weather is nothing like what they would experience in Scotland, it is snowing on their newly acquired orange trees! Then the farm itself turns out to be something of a lemon, with failing mechanics, inadequate drains, and the peculiar responsibility of feeding the previous owner's dogs and cats. Fortunately, the majority of their neighbors are helpful and good-hearted, so by spring, the local attitude of "tranquilo" is no longer a foreign concept to the new landowners. Readers will relish Kerr's adept account of the agricultural and social customs of the island and generous insights into one couple's bold transplanting of their lives. Danise Hoover
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Soundings Audio Books (August 1, 2009)
• ISBN-10: 1407913719
• ISBN-13: 978-1407913711
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Peter Kerr, the best-selling Scottish author, was born in Lossiemouth, Morayshire, in 1940. His award-winning 'Snowball Oranges' series of five Mallorcan-based books have sold in large numbers worldwide and have been translated into eleven languages. They recount the often hilarious adventures experienced by Peter and his family while running a small orange farm on the Spanish Mediterranean island during the 1980s.

'Thistle Soup' is a prequel to these books and is a humorous though sometimes poignant account of his boyhood in the county of East Lothian, 'The Garden of Scotland', where he eventually followed in his farming grandfather's footsteps.

Peter now concentrates on writing fiction. His first novel, 'The Mallorca Connection', was a rare mix of suspense and comedy and has been followed to date by four other equally quirky yarns, with Scottish and international settings.

In the 1960s, Peter was a professional jazz musician - the clarinettist-leader of Scotland's premier jazzband, 'The Clyde Valley Stompers', with whom he recorded the hit version of 'Peter and the Wolf' for Beatles producer George Martin.

From 1970 onwards, Peter combined farming beef and barley in East Lothian with freelance record production, hitting the jackpot with the biggest-selling instrumental single of all time, The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards 'Amazing Grace'.

Peter, now a full-time author, is married with two sons and lives in East Lothian. He is currently writing a historical novel set in 13th century Mallorca.

Website: www.peter-kerr.co.uk

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Snowball Oranges, February 19, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Snowball Oranges: A Winter's Tale on a Spanish Isle (Hardcover)

I bought this book at LA Airport just before flying to the UK, and I have to say that reading it made short of the long journey.  I read it in one go, and my outbursts of snickering and laughing must have had my fellow travellers wondering if I was a few oranges short of the pound.
 
This book is unique in the travel genre in that the writer has a wonderful ability to tell his story as though it were a novel instead of just a travelogue.  His sharply-observed portrayal of rural Majorcan characters and his vivid descriptions of the island's scenery and cuisine are so realistic that you can almost feel the sunshine, taste the food and smell the orange blossom.
 
I enjoyed the book so much that I bought the sequel, 'Manana, Manana', as soon as I arrived in the UK, and it lived up to my expectations and more.  Next day I booked my first vacation to Majorca, and I can't wait to visit the places so graphically depicted in these books.  You can bet I'll be first in line to buy the third in the series whenever it's published.  Estupendo, Don Pedro!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars tranquillo, June 8, 2005

By 

Mr. Simon J. Challenger (Blackburn UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Snowball Oranges: A Winter's Tale on a Spanish Isle (Paperback)

I bought this book two days ago and have to say that I have strugglled to put it down since. For anyone with an interest in travel and the charismatic characters one meets this is an essential read. It is written in almost a novel format and whilst this does much to enrich the individual chapters I did feel that this style did mean that some of the warmth of the principal characters was lost.In this sense it fell short of other books in the genre, notably Chris Stewart's Driving over lemons. However, Kerr's detailed descriptions of his neigbours were a pleasue to read. At times it is laugh out loud funny and just looking at the next paragraph would prompt another outburst. A good read. Now where is my passport?

4.0 out of 5 stars How to pretend you're actually living in Spain, January 28, 2006

By 

Viva Espanya "Spain lover" (Wyoming) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Snowball Oranges (Summersdale Travel) (Hardcover)

If you find yourself fantasizing about living in Spain, love everything to do with Spain you'll like this book. The only thing that slightly frustrated me was trying to figure out the era; finally I deduced it was between 1990-2000 because of the references to pesetas and raves. Anyway, I'm moving on to the others in this series in the year in Mayorca now. Also I should mention the humour is very British, or as the author would probably prefer I say, Scottish. So beware.