An unexpected gem of a book, written with a mix of insight and self-deprecation that echoes Bill Bryson at his funniest. Chris Stewart’s Driving over Lemons told the story of his move to a remote mountain farm in Las Alpujarras – an oddball region of Spain, south of Granada. Despite the extraordinary success of his first two books, Chris, Ana and their daughter Chloee continue to live on their farm, with their numerous dogs, cats, chickens, sheep and one misanthropic parrot. v.) asked me to play drums for his band, so that he, who had started as the drummer, could keep his hands free to play the flute and wave about while he sang.

Alas like so many authors a brilliant first book doe not necessarily guarantee the success of subsequent publications. But not as much substance in the way of local "color" and so I did not connect with the people as a reader likes to do when reading of a different culture.He describes the farm he and his long suffering but supportive wife, Ana and their daughter live in, with no running water or electrics not to mention a phone. I think the main reason I liked Chris Stewart’s “Driving Over Lemons” was because he has this way of writing that makes you feel like you’re reading an old-fashioned, handwritten letter from a really good friend you haven’t seen in ages, but you’ve kept in touch with through letters — you know, the sort of letter that’s on crinkly, thin sheets of white paper in a messy scrawl that goes into all sorts of cool details about the things they’ve seen and the people they’ve met.

His vivid descriptions of the stunning landscape, interesting people, and frustrating bureaucracy is right on. To start with, they were really very isolated, such that getting a telephone line put in revolutionized their lives. Reading this in Andalucia, with squawking parrots in the trees above, made this book even more enjoyable. Very easy to read - Stewart has that lucky talent for being able to tell a good tale in a relaxed, often amusing way that makes me convinced he'd be great company. We sweat with him as he shears impossibly lumpy, scrawny tick ridden sheep, and enjoy the ride when his ever ready neighbour helps him rebuild the bridge across the river, the only access by road to the farm.But with some fun stories, and a few interesting thoughts about home, life, work and where we all fit in. Interešu literatūra, kas, manuprāt, var palīdzēt izprast cilvēkus virzošos spēkus, un, varbūt, pietuvināties šo spēku pirmavotam pašā lasītājā. Chris Stewart's "Driving Over Lemons" told the story of his move to a remote mountain farm in Las Alpujarras, an oddball region of Spain, south of Granada. And now I come to look at it I realise what a richly textured book this is… there’s heaps of stuff in it: Chloë’s continuing journey from infancy to childhood, school at the local bear-pit, a chapter on the literary life… or my version of it… and then to ring the changes a little, and to buffer myself against the accusation of churning out the same old stuff yet again, there’s an episode in the cold cold north, shearing sheep in Sweden; also the famous Genesis connection and a brief acount of my time with Sir Robert Fossett’s Circus… and it’s all true. One day I counted twenty-three receptacles dotted around the house – buckets and bowls and tins and tubs.

Whether he’s describing the climb to admire the fields of gentian flowers on the on the high slopes of the Mulhacén, or the rigours of enduring a deeply uncomfortable wet Christmas in a house and a valley designed for sunshine, it is obvious that he and his family are hugely stoic and enduring.

I raced through it, revelling in the Spanish characters and it was good to get a bit more background as to how Christobal ended up in Spain. A PARROT IN A PEPPER TREE, the sequel to Lemons, follows the lives of Chris, Ana and their daughter, Chloë, as they get to grips with a misanthropic parrot who joins their home, Spanish school life, neighbours in love, their amazement at Chris appearing on the bestseller lists… and their shock at discovering that their beloved valley is once more under threat of a dam. Chris Stewart’s “Driving Over Lemons” told the story of his move to a remote mountain farm in Las Alpujarras, an oddball region of Spain, south of Granada. The solar power system had given out and we moved like ghosts through the grey gloom or by the light of a few feeble candle-stubs.