Buying a Lemon

What a delightfully fun read. Chris and his wife Anna buy a farm in Spain, moving from England. But Anna is not with him when he purchases it. Why not? He doesn’t say, so I won’t judge. Maybe he did say, but I wasn’t listening.

The Realtor takes him around to look at the various farms, driving down a road next to a lemon orchard where he had to drive over the lemons that had been blown onto the road, so the title of this book. Once at the entrance to the farm, he learns that he had to walk an hour to get to it. Then, when he describes the farm, I think, the title of this book should have been, Buying a Lemon, because, first, there is no road access, and then he learns that there is no water or electricity, but there are scorpions. Sold!

I love these types of novels, so I am not put off but desire to see how he changes things. I remember reading books it: God and Mr. Gomez, A Place Called Sweetapple, Under the Tuscan Sun, and The Caliph’s’ House, to mention a few. Well, wasn’t Stones for Ibarra one also? Whether or not, this kind of book is always charming to me since my husband and I d fixing up houses, and my friend Julie did as well, and I got to see the results of those labors.

I was really surprised that anyone would buy a farm with no road access, but he figured it out, just as he figured out how to get water to the farm. Pipes! That is all we need is more pipes crawling across pristine land. I have no idea what he did about the scorpions, but he mentioned how someone had a pond to which they were drawn and had had drown. I went to work on getting rid of them since Chris was ignoring the issue. I found a large vat and some cases of wine in his shed and took it outside where I thought it would be a good place for scorpions to come. Then I began pouring the wine into the vat. If beer attracts cockroaches, maybe wine will attract scorpions, I thought. Then they will drown in happiness. Then Chriss saw me and ran over to see what I was doing. “Who are you and what the hell are you doing? He screamed. “I am solving your scorpion problem. Oh, you don’t know me. I just walked into your story.” “Get off my land!!!” I left. Just don’t need to be around any mad man.

Then they bought sheep, and their dog chased them up the mountain, and Chris could not get them to come down. The sheep just kept going, heading for the next county or whtever it would be called in Spain. He has no sheep dogs that know how to herd, and he is afraid that they will fall off the mountain. Maybe they should have bought mountain goats instead. What else happened? Try selling their offspring at a good price. That was another fiasco.

The past owners of the farm were still living there when they arrived, and they were helpful, if not in showing them the ropes, in providing meals. They met other interesting farmers and town’s people, but they didn’t have the wonderful bakeries they did in the book on Tuscany. What they had was a pig feast, and when I heard that they were going to kill two pigs, I couldn’t listen.”

There really wasn’t much in the way of real excitement, but there was a lot of charm to it, and Chris has two sequels. If anyone knows of other books the ones I mentioned, let me know.53 s Andrea890 30

This really is my favourite kind of light reading; what I to think of as the expat sub-genre of travel writing. You know the drill. Someone decides to opt out of their normal life (bonus points if it's a bit humdrum), goes to foreign country (more bonus points if non- English speaking) and encounters a whole range of amusing misunderstandings and challenges as they establish a new life (even MORE bonus points if they buy a dilapidated house to renovate). Generally they accumulate a small handful of precious new friendships, maybe even a new relationship, and at the end they live happily ever after. I'm not knocking it - I love it! Just check out my expat bookshelf and you will see...

This particular specimen was published in the 90s and was so successful that it has developed into a trilogy (in four parts!!), but I hadn't heard of it until a couple of years ago. I'm glad I've read it now, and will continue with the series over time. I feel I've been spending time with some slightly uncool older friends as they establish themselves in the Alpujarra region of Anadalucia (yes - I want to go there!), doing the house thing and turning their Spanish farm around. Chris Stewart has given me a very clear picture of the valley and their farm, and the charming and/or eccentric characters that enter his new Spanish life.around-the-world-2015 expat non-fiction ...more50 s Andy MarrAuthor 3 books970

A nice, harmless memoir of a couple's relocation from England to the mountains of Spain. Not a patch on a number of similar works (the Corfu Trilogy by Gerald Durrell was infinitely better), but sure to be enjoyed enough by fans of travel memoir.42 s Roy LotzAuthor 1 book8,564

I have admit I came to this book with low expectations. The story of an Englishman’s escape into rural Spain seemed to promise only the same endlessly repeated tropes: the hapless foreigner making their way in a strange land, the contrast of dreary modern life with the pure traditions of the unlettered, the isolation of cities compared with the communality of the country—you’ve heard it all before.

But I was pleasantly surprised by the book; indeed, by the end I was thoroughly charmed. Stewart does not idealize the inhabitants Andalucia; for him, they are individuals, not bearers of ancient tradition. He enjoys farming and herding, but he knows it can be rough, tedious, and thankless work. Certainly he plays the role of the inept foreigner—this is inevitable if you’re moving someplace new—but he does not dwell on this overmuch. For somebody who began writing fairly late in life, he is a tasteful and skillful author. He is capable of rich prose, he has a good ear for dialogue, and best of all he does not stretch any subject beyond interest.

I was especially pleased with this book because it had a lot of what I missed from Gerald Brenan’s South From Granada, another book written by an Englishman living in the Alpujarra mountains of Andalucia. Whereas I got the impression from Brenan that he spent most of his time locked in his house, reading and writing, Stewart became thoroughly integrated with the community. Whereas Brenan is abstract, telling us of his routines and his dilettantish studies of wildflowers and archaeology, Stewart is concrete, telling us of specific events in his life.

This book won’t change your life. It is a quick read, and an easy one, but it will leave a pleasant aftertaste when you put it down. Recommended for your bedside or your bathroom.
biography-memoir-travel eurotrip hispanophilia32 s Kammy101 2

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.favorites26 s Zanna676 1,013

My ability to relate to the author got off to a poor start, wore thinner under his gendering of food, and finally broke down over his willingness to associate with and admiration for a taciturn domestic abuser. I might have got further if the writing seemed really fantastic, but it seemed just other civilised-man-on-the-wild-passionate-continent books with the usual wife-ignoring, romanticising tropes.25 s Fiona MacDonald754 178

What a wonderfully witty, charming and heart-warming story!
I knew nothing of Chris Stewart before I read this, and only after did I realise that he was the lead drummer in Genesis which is rather impressive!
At the beginning of the book, Chris embarks on a scary but overall fulfilling journey to El Valero, a peasant region in Andalucia where he buys a farm on a whim with no running water, no obvious access to a road, no electricity and no sheep to boot. His wife Ana begrudgingly joins him, and the pair attempt to do up the farmhouse and plunge the rest of their money into buying a flock of sheep. The writing is sharp and observant and throughout the book Chris and Ana begin to accept that 'less is more' and that they are in fact, deliriously happy with their chosen home.
Lovely book, i have put the sequel on my TBR list. books-that-have-been-recommended library-books17 s Ashley Lauren1,036 60

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.

So what happened? Why am I not head over heels for this story? The writing was quite good, the descriptions were also nicely done. There is nothing glaringly obvious throughout the entire length.

The problem is that I just don't care. Stewart, whether he meant to or not, kept me at arms length. I felt no suspense nor any struggle. All of the characters, especially his wife, were more supporting cast than ever having real personalities of their own (except maybe Romero). At times he hinted at disappointment or challenges but I never felt it. Everything that was hard seemed easy - something which moving to a falling down farm in the middle of rural Andalucia should never seem.

Maybe I should have known. After all, the title says "an optimist in Andalucia." That optimism definitely permeated the book. The problem was it wasn't just over Stewart. You could feel it over every moment and every character. It watered it down and even though he was writing about an area of the world near and dear to my heart, I found myself just not caring.

This may be a bold statement, but I feel while Stewart didn't do anything wrong, he also didn't do anything right with this book. Though maybe that's harsh. There was one piece that touched me, toward the end. Stewart mentioned how he didn't feel he fit in until he let himself be an outsider. Those are his exact words, but they are close enough. I understand that completely. My first time in Spain I tried so hard to fit in - I bought all European clothes, did European things, etc. Of course, it didn't work. Everyone spotted me as American, and treated me as such. When I went back years later and lived in Salamanca, I did nothing to hide my foreignness, and somehow I just fit better. It's funny how it all works.

So, Stewart, I do thank you for the one spark of inspiration in the whole of the book. However, even with that, I just can't lay my recommendation to it.

Read more of my .non-fiction spain16 s Margitte1,188 593

A most enjoyable read! 12 s Laura Tenfingers576 98

This book was much better than I expected, but admittedly my expectations were pretty low. I was worried I might find his commentary about the Spanish to be condescending and insulting. Happily that was not the case. There was a perfect balance of pointing out the seemingly bizarre and the seemingly amazing of a different culture without laying anything on too thick. I'm Spanish-born, half Spanish, half American, and have lived as an expat for the last 13.5 years in two different countries. I could relate to many of their experiences and it brought back a lot of memories of past adventures. I won't continue the series but it was an enjoyable light read.book-club spain12 s GoldGato1,197 40

I live surrounded by lemon trees, none of them mine. In fact, everywhere I have lived, there has been at least one collection of lemons, be they Meyer, Eureka, Lisbon, or Sweet Italian. So this book title grabbed me quickly, as I may not drive over lemons but I certainly do walk over them.

Chris Stewart, early drummer of the rock band Genesis and an itinerant sheep shearer, decides impulsively to purchase a run down farm in Spain. El Valero is owned by a savvy farmer who really wants to move to town so he and his family can have the good things (electricity, running water, warmth, modern appliances) that the author takes for granted and which are not available at the old farm. Needless to say, upon taking ownership and finally getting the previous owner off the land, Stewart realizes he has a mighty task ahead of him. The biggest concern is water. If it rains, it comes through the dilapidated roof. If it rains, it also floods and demolishes the frail bridge connecting him to his neighbours. If it rains, the water must be contained so it can be used later in the year when drought takes hold. Water is king on a farm.

Watering is a measure of manhood in the Alpujarras.

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.

Pedro had left us two cats. You don't move cats; they take root.

This is an easy read. The author has had an amazing life in that along with buying a farm in a strange land, he also goes off for a few months each year to shear sheep in other parts of Europe, in order to earn money. When I travel, the urge to purchase a home and put down new roots always seems fun until I realize I have pets that must be moved and quarantined and that puts an end to the urge. So it's always nice to let someone else do the work and write about it. Especially when it concerns lemons.

Book Season = Summer (stockpile of projects)


farm-life memoir summer ...more10 s Lee PrescottAuthor 1 book161

A charming memoir of the author's move to Spain a quarter of a century ago. Chronicling his family's assimilation into the local landscape and culture it is written with warmth and a darkly dry humour that had me laughing. It fades a little towards the end but well worth the read overall. 10 s María Paz Greene F1,071 215

Hace tiempo que no ME COMÍA un libro. Lo empecé en un finde relajado y de repente... se acabó el finde. Es una gozada de principio a fin, exceptuando quizá las partes donde se faenan a los animales, aunque al menos están en el campo y literalmente se los comen y viven de ello.

Es la historia real de un inglés, que se va con su señora a vivir a una casucha inhóspita en medio de la nada, o bueno, en medio de una zona muy fértil y bonita en Andalucía. Pero el lugar hasta donde llegan se está literalmente cayendo a pedazos, al menos al principio. Luego van armando de a poquito sus cosas.

Lo mejor del libro es la naturalidad. Este extranjero viene y no idealiza al mundo rural, tampoco se idealiza a sí mismo. Tiene sentido del humor y se nota que ama el lugar en donde está. Eso hace que a una casi le den ganas de tomar sus pilchas y buscar su propio paraíso-no paraíso agreste.

Luego de terminalo, le eché una googleada y resulta que no es inglés cualquiera, sino que uno que fue batería de Génesis, uno de mis grupos favoritos en la life. Cosa que nunca menciona, dicho sea de paso, así de sencillo el señor, y eso que hay veces en que toca la guitarra (justo lo había destacado como cita).

En fin, muy, muy recomendado. Me en-can-tó.


Un par de citas.

1. Sobre cuando compró la casa.

"
Estaba tan lleno de entusiasmo y alegría que me sentía mareado. Cogí una naranja del árbol, la primera vez que hacía algo así. Resultó ser la peor naranja que jamás había comido."


2. Cuando Domingo, el vecino, lo ayudó a buscar una máquina para hacer un camino.

"
- Sea cual sea la máquina que consigamos, lo que no queremos es una con ruedas de goma. No sirven para nada. Esteban tiene una de ésas, y además es un buen conductor pero es un sinvergüenza, así que no iremos a verle.

- ¿No me habías dicho que era amigo tuyo?

- Pues claro.

- Pero acabas de decir que es un sinvergüenza.

- Hasta los sinvergüenzas necesitan amigos."


3. Cuando otra vez Domingo, el vecino, lo llevó a negociar unas vigas de castaño.

"
Entonces Domingo, como para zanjar la cuestión, dejó caer que yo tocaba la guitarra. Esta noticia hizo que Eduardo diera un entusiástico porrazo en la mesa.

- ¡Ajá! Eso ya está mejor. Manuel, tenemos un músico en la casa, tráete las guitarras.

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.

Por mucho que me hubiera gustado describir cómo los dedos encallecidos por el trabajo del viejo Eduardo punteaban las cuerdas de guitarra como ni siquiera el mismo Orfeo hubiera podido hacer jamás, y cómo me había quedado embelesado por el dominio que los campechanos músicos tenían de sus instrumentos y por la sencilla belleza de la canción, no puedo negar la verdad: la múisca era un horroroso canto fúnebre, estropeado por los juramentos ponzoñosos de Eduardo cada vez que, invariablemente, Manuel perdía el compás. Padre e hijo se pasaron toda la actuación mirándose con el ceño fruncido, consumidos de cólera por la incompetencia del otro.

Finalmente la espantosa sesión llegó a su fin. "Maravilloso.", dije con un suspiro, "¿No conocen otras tonadas?". Eduardo y Manuel me analizaron frunciendo el ceño. "De acuerdo, vamos a tocar otra". Me estaba bien empleado.

Pinché un trozo de cabra y fingí quedarme extasiado por el ritmo, dando golpecitos con el pie en un vano intento de encontrar el compás. Mientras golpeaba con el pie, masticaba con furia el detestable trozo de ternilla de cabra que tenía en la boca. La canción se paró de forma abrupta y, una vez más, los músicos me miraron inquisitivamente. Pero esta vez mi integridad como crítico musical fue salvada por la ternilla de cabra que oportunamente se me había quedado atragantada en la tráquea."


4. Sobre Manuel, un señor mayor, en una noche larga de viaje en la carretera. Encontré que era una observación muy interesante.

"
Las historias de Manuel eran demasiado buenas para quedarse dormido. Las contaba bien, de
manera fluida, y con fino sentido del equilibrio y del ritmo dramático. Las personas analfabetas tienen esa ventaja: la capacidad de retener en la cabeza una historia larga tiende a disminuir cuando se es capaz de leer y escribir."autobio non-fic7 s Robert Bovington11 4

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
Alpujarras sounded much too much hard work so we relocated to the coast instead.
However, intrigued by Chris Stewart's book we began to explore the Alpujarras and during the last eight years have spent many enjoyable days in that delightful region.
Recently, I reread "Driving Over Lemons" and still found it a funny, heartwarming book. In fact I enjoyed it more the second time around because I have visited some of the places and seen some of the things described - hillsides covered with olive and almond trees; the Moorish influenced houses that appear to cling precariously to the mountainsides; the acequias designed to bring water from the high Sierra to irrigate the crops and much more!
However, this book isn't your normal travelogue - it is an autobiography of an eternally optimistic Englishman starting a new life in Andalucía. It is a great read that describes both the highs and the lows of starting a new life in Spain.chris-stewart spain9 s Chris789 144

Stop me, if you've heard this one before. Couple tired of the rat-race, dreams of a more simpler lifestyle and seeks dream in another country. Andalucian Spain to be exact. Chris is seeking something in the mountains but compromises somewhat to obtain a run down farm at a great price. Ana isn't as enthralled but "whither thou goest….", I suppose. Thus starts their journey to adapt to the lifestyle and carve out a life in this remote area. Lots of hard work , a peach of a local who befriends them and things begin to come together after 6 or 7 years. Yikes!! Don't think I could put up with what they did for that long to begin to realize a dream. And they weren't actually living a rat-race type lifestyle in England to begin with, I'm not sure Chris actually gives the reader a real good explanation for this decision. I've read better books along these lines. I got kinda bored to be honest.bio-or-memoir spain8 s Jenny (Reading Envy)3,876 3,507

Chris Stewart, formerly of Genesis, relocates his family to Andalucia. They embrace a very peasant lifestyle, and seem to love it.

I loved reading about the farm - the seasons, the beauty, the locals, and the little customs of the locals planting on saints days. I would have d a lot more about Andalucia in general, beyond the farm.

If you've ever wished for a simpler, pastoral life, you would probably enjoy this a bit more than I did. around-the-world location-spain read20128 s Lisa (Harmonybites)1,834 365

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 d his book quite a bit more than Mayle's.

A lot of that is that I just plain d Stewart a lot more than Mayle. Where Mayle comes across as privileged, condescending and effete, Stewart comes across as self-effacing, down-to-earth, and as another blurb put it, speaks of his neighbors with "no hint of patronage." Mayle's wife had no real presence in his book, whilel Stewart's Ana definitely makes her personality felt. While Mayle's biggest worry was getting an over-sized stone table into his home, Stewart and his wife plowed their life-savings and work hard to make their sheep farm a going concern.

It was a fast, pleasant and entertaining read. I don't rate this as high as Bill Bryson's In a Sunburned Country--another author Stewart is compared to--because this book didn't make me laugh out loud, and it arguably isn't as informative about the history and nature surrounding them. But I certainly found this worth the read: a charmer.2012-around-the-world biography memoir ...more6 s Jaanaki130 41

I love to travel and see new places and therefore I love reading travelogues and descriptions of new places ,cultures ,customs and people around the world. Stewart decides to buy an old sheep farm in a remote location in the Alpajurra Mountains in Southern Spain. He convinced his wife Ana to join him and the novel is a delightful description of how they start from scratch even without water and electricity to build a farm and a family
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