Driving Over Lemons : An Optimist in Spain

by Chris Stewart

Release Date: 08 May, 2001

Edition: Paperback

Price:

More Info

Moving to Andalusia: A fantasy Accomplished, by fermed

The theme is an old one: A move from the more civilized (England, US) to the less civilized (Tuscany, Provence, Greek Islands, Spain). Escape from the onerous burdens of civilized life and go to some remote and forsaken corner of the world, were you suddenly find yourself unable to cope with the simplicities of life. The beauty of the people and their kindness; their amusement at your bumbling efforts to adapt to their world, and their common sense about all things, which seems to have abandoned you. It has all been done before, each time a little differently, each time creating a vicarious escape from the humdrum of everyday life that delights the arm chair dreamers. It is a genre, and when it is well done (like this one is) it means a few hours of exotic delights that leave a good taste in your mouth afterwards, and a new set of fantasies to explore.

It is a book of that kind, friendly, humorous, easy to read. An English couple buy a ramshackle farm in the hinterlands of Southern Spain. No running water, practically no electricity (solar pannels, and not many of those), no telephone, no TV. Rugged, untidy land full of demands. They plant their gardens, they buy and raise sheep, they have a baby. Surrounded by memorable characters that bring warth and depth to the action. A simple, unpretentious book as satisfying as a meal of meat and potatoes. With a large glass of local wine.

Not Necessarily Driving Over Spanish Lemons

To be honest, what made me order this title was its very enticing cover design - it begged to be read.

Though I enjoyed the book, I wasn't AS intrigued by it as I was by, let's say "The Hills of Tuscany" (F. Mate), or "Under the Tuscan Sun" (F. Mayes). In a way it seemed that "Driving Over Lemons" stayed one-dimensional.

Sure, Chris Stewart describes the hardships he and his wife Ana encountered when starting their lives in this run-down farm house named El Valero, he also throws in a good sense of humor, but in my opinion the book lacks a certain local color - something both above-mentioned books on Tuscany offer in abundance... Mate and Mayes couldn't have written their books about France that way. With Chris Stewart's book I wouldn't be so sure... Not much uniquely Spanish in it.

However, it is an entertaining read, if simply for the theme itself: Couple starts a whole new, different life in a foreign country - be it Spain, or another (Mediterranean) place...

If you're not looking for something uniquely Spanish, go for it. You won't regret!