Saturday 14 February 2009

Driving over Lemons by Chris Stewart


A light and easy read, perfect for a holiday in Spain and Andalucia in particular.  Chris Stewart, one-time drummer with Genesis, has a pleasant style and brings alive his search for his dream of a different lifestyle in the heart of the Spanish countryside, well away from the coastal "ex-pat" areas.  There is plenty of local colour without its being sentimental.

This is not great literature, nor does it pretend to be.  Definitely one to read when concentration might be difficult.  When I come to look back on the book, it's quite hard to say a great deal about it.  It's not entirely unlike Peter Mayle's "A Year in Provence" but I find the humour less at the expense of the locals than Peter Mayle's. 

There are two follow-up books - "Parrot in the Pepper Tree" and "The Almond Blossom appreciation Society".  I probably wouldn't want to read them in quick succession, but I will read them over time.
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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I hope you don't mind that I used your review of Driving over Lemons on my new Travel Books page (http://journeysandadventures.today.com/travel-books/) under the Spain link. I'll probably be adding a link to Thousand Splendid Suns, too.

I haven't had time to look through the rest of your reviews--if you have more you'd like to include, please let me know!

Anonymous said...

I'm very happy for you to add a link. You remind me that I should get back to adding more reviews, thank you. :)