Driving Over Lemons: An Optimist in Spain

By Chris Stewart

A funny, generous, wonderfully written account of a family making a life and home in remote but enchanting southern Spain—from the first drummer of the rock band Genesis. 

No sooner had Chris Stewart set eyes on El Valero than he handed over a check.  Now all he had to do was explain to Ana, his wife, that they were the proud owners of an isolated sheep farm in the Alpujarra Mountains in Southern Spain. That was the easy part.

Lush with olive, lemon, and almond groves, the farm lacks a few essentials—running water, electricity, an access road.  And then there's the problem of rapacious Pedro Romero, the previous owner who refuses to leave.  A perpetual optimist, whose skill as a sheepshearer provides an ideal entrée into his new community, Stewart also possesses an unflappable spirit that, we soon learn, nothing can diminish.  Wholly enchanted by the rugged terrain of the hillside and the people they meet along the way—among them farmers, including the ever-resourceful Domingo, other expatriates and artists—Chris and Ana Stewart build an enviable life, complete with a child and dogs, in a country far from home.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Dec 18, 2007
• ISBN: 9780307425683

Chris Stewart

Chris Stewart is a former U. S. Air Force pilot assigned to fly the SR-71 Blackbird and B-1 bomber. He is the author of successful and acclaimed thrillers including Shattered Bone, The Kill Box, and The Third Consequence. He lives in Farmington, Utah.

Reviews for Driving Over Lemons

[fross_22 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A brilliant book -a really good read. It will make you want to go and live in Las Alpjuharas

[mtroper-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Chris Stewart comes across from this candid book as precisely what the subtitle states: an optimist! I enjoyed reading this thoroughly, but it is perhaps a bit too light-hearted - things that I feel ought to elicit more serious comment, and topics that could have been rewarded with more depth away from the primarily aurobiographical get a bit left by the wayside. By this I mean that, whilst I do not for one second doubt the honesty and veracity (which shine through in the wiritng), but the slightly narrow scope on the mostly surface concerns of the people living there, both native and expat, is sometimes frustrating, as I would have liked more on how consumerism and globalisation is affecting the way of life of the locals, for example. In this respect the beginning of the book is far stronger, and he is perhaps more defensive, for want of a better word, about the slightly idealised Spaniards whom he has dealings with, particularly as the book/time goes on. All that said, there isn't NO consideration of such issues, it just rather gets lost in the slightly bitty nature of how Stewart has chosen to put it together, and some of this is perhaps due to his innate optimism and adventurous streak. Some vignettes I found gripping, but I confess the accounts of dealings with other expats made me glad I wasn't one, and I rather rushed through them. I do honestly think I would like him if I met him, and that strain of utter likeability makes the book zip along, and keep you interested.So, I suppose, I liked the book, but can't help wondering if the author is himself being a bit disingenuous at times: I simply can't believe, especially given the opening description of the journey to Spain, and the way in which he describes local habitations, that he hasn't read Gerald Brenan's utterly superb account of living, life and customs in this part of Spain, written some decades earlier (South from Grenada), and this leaves me wondering if a bit more of that kind of insight/depth would have transformed this book into a truly un-put-down-able read.

[wdwilson3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A charming, gentle read.

[bookoholic73 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I bought this book years ago, solely based on the cover, and was not too impressed with it. Since I only about started it back in 2004, I brought it with me to Andalusia, as it felt appropriate. And it was!! I still think who ever did the cover is a genius. But, the book, with its quirky characters, Chris writing that for me hits the correct line between sarcasm and optimism, the stories, the people.. I have enjoyed every page of this book, even after coming home from Spain.

[alisony-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a random secondhand bookshop purchase a while back, and I'm still scratching my head a little over what I thought of it. Chris Stewart, a young (we think) nomadic Englishman, decides to buy a remote farm in Andalucia with his wife. Rural is not the word. The farm is cut off on one side of a river such that the only way to access it is via a handmade bridge made of a single log which is only expected to last for a few months of the year before it's consumed by the river. When they first move in there's no running water to the house, with 'house' sounding an overly grand way to describe it - a few barely habitable outhouses would be closer. It's primitive beyond belief, and Stewart's book is about their first years living there, as they become accepted by the local peasants (who all seem to be invariably drunk on cheap wine from early hours of the day and dirt poor, subsisting almost entirely on the fruits of their land).Stewart writes of interesting characters and the challenges of adapting to the environment as they get in tune with the topography of the area and work to find a balance between modern methods of farming and the ways that have served the locals well for hundreds of year. In many ways it's a warm and charming tale, but yet it feels full of glaring gaps. The book jacket tells us that Stewart was the original drummer of Genesis, yet at no point in the book does he refer to this. By the end of the book he's as elusive as he was at the beginning. We're not entirely sure what age group he falls into or what drove his decision with his wife to embrace not just a life in a new country, but a peasant-like existence on a remote shack of a farm. Beyond a few lines about sheep shearing in England and writing a bit for Lonely Planet we know nothing about him, and that makes the book difficult to fully engage with. He writes enthusiastically about the local shepherds, but who is he, our protagonist and narrator? And who is his wife? It takes a very unique woman to embrace a home with no basic creature comforts which is chock full of uninvited creature guests of various crawling guises, but we never get to know her. What drives her to want to live this cut off life? Even the photos that commence every chapter beg more questions as opposed to answering some. They're tiny close ups which leave you wishing they were larger and showing more of the periphery to fill in some gaps. What did the house really look like? What was the view like from the house? Who are Mr and Mrs Stewart?3.5 stars - enjoyable yet perplexing. Christ Stewart, in seeking this life off the beaten track, obviously closely guards his privacy and wishes it to remain that way. A shame, as this book would have worked so much more had he let us have a glimpse of who he really is.

[breic-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

While the book isn't bad, neither the writing, the characters, or the story really resonated with me. Part of the problem is that I never quite understood the author and his motivations, and I had no idea whatsoever about his wife. Stewart does integrate into the community, and I particularly liked the stories of raising and marketing sheep. > Wherever Cathy and John go, half the villagers go along for the ride – but never more than half. There are two opposing factions in the village as the result of some fifty-year-old dispute concerning a poplar tree and a goat, and only one of the factions can be accommodated at any one time. For the christening we had the west of the river faction.

[cygnet81 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This wasn't a bad story but it wasn't very well developed.

[tungsten_peerts · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A lovely book: unpretentious, light in the best way, and delicately observed. It is kept from toppling into something more saccharine by the sometimes grim details of Andalucian life and culture -- vegetarians might find themselves wanting to look away from some of the depictions of mealtimes, and people sensitive to violence toward animals might want to avoid the account of pig-killing. It is absolutely one of those books that will have you looking around at your own rat-race trappings (if, like me, you're tangled in them) and wishing for something a bit more elemental and close to the Earth. Very enjoyable.

[vivienner_3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Often compared to Peter Mayle, Stewart bought a rustic home in the mountains of Andalucia in southern Spain, this is his account of the first years there. It is funny, and full of his affection for the place and the people. Chris Stewart is a likeable chap although easily hoodwinked. His wife Ana is the sensible one, and perfect for the lifestyle. An interesting snippet of information: Stewart was at one time drummer for the band Genesis. Reading this story reminded me of several happy years when my family went "back to the land" in northern Alberta: so much was the same, only the climate was different.

[pussreboots · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I savored the experience of reading this book. It would have been nice if the author included some dates in his memoir just to add a sense of when things happened. I found that the chapters near the end of the book didn't quite have the pluck of the earlier ones. They read more like he was rushing to finish.

[hanneri_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I was very happy to come across this delightful little book by Chris Stewart who threw it all in to become a sheep-shearer and, eventually, the owner of a remote farm in the Alpujarras region of Andalucia. While this technically belongs in the same genre as similar works by Peter Mayle, Frances Mayes and Tony Cohan, it strikes a very different pitch as it is remarkably humble, grounded and measured in its perception of local life in the Alpujarrai; it avoids the patronizing pastiche that often relegates locals to overblown stereotypes in similar biographical travelogues. Stewart's style is whimsical, with distant echoes of Bill Bryson, and the narrative that he weaves is more about interactions with intriguing local characters than about deep musings on Spanish life. Reading "Driving Over Lemons" tempts me to explore his later two books on his life in Andalucia --- definite future additions to the pile of books on the night-stand.

[squeakychu · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

With warmth and humor, Chris Stewart describes his move with his wife Ana to a remote spot in Andalucía, a mountainous area of Spain, where he buys a house and starts his own farm. I love his determination and great spirit of adventure as he manages to leave his English roots behind and become a full-fledged member of this Spanish community.In particular, I loved reading about the people of the area and how they reacted to this expat from England. The description of the scenery was magnificent, although I really would have preferred to see larger, color pictures within this book. The animal stories were also terrific...from the pets dogs that didn't always behave to the sheep that ran away as a flock. More important than all of these, though, were the friendships that developed in the years that Chris lived in El Valero which is what the author called his farm. Domingo was a friend in the truest sense of the word and probably had much to do with Chris and Ana's successful adaptation to their new country.

[lisamaria_c · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

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 liked his book quite a bit more than Mayle's.A lot of that is that I just plain liked 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.

[tbrennan1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A funny book about an Englishman uprooting himself and his wife in rural England to a rundown farm in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada in Andalucia Spain. The story is part travelogue and part boys own adventure as Chris Stewart ,the author relates his journey in the slow lane of rural Spain and his efforts to integrate with the locals ,while improving the house and farm of El Valero for his family. The reading of this book gives the reader a sense of optimism as the human saga described by the author unfolds. A nice gem of a book ,which was unexpected. Thanks Chris !

[eas_13 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Superb - loved it. What a guy .. though 'not a handyman' he definitely knew where to find one when the need arose. Wife Ana has my full admiration - how amazing to not only see the potential of the remote farm, El Valero, in Las Alpujarras in Andalucia ... but to immediately grasp Chris' dream of the simplest of lives in the wildest of places imaginable.Well done Chris - not merely a travelogue but a real slice of life! I thoroughly recommend it if you wish to be uplifted to another sphere!

[flydodofly · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

thoroughly enjoyed it. the author's wonderful, unpretentious writing, great sense of humour, a keen eye for details and his, and his wife's courage made their life adventure so tempting. you read and think - good for them, I am so glad they did it!!

[oreillynsf_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The travelogue genre is full of tales of people moving to the country seeking simpler lives. Unfortunately, many of the stories are loaded with purple prose and clearly doctored events calculated to drive emotional responses from readers. I was optimistic about this book both because it was not designed to visually mimic A Year in Provence and because the language in the first pages lacked that sort of sweeping breathlessness that is so common in the "A House in..." books.The story in Driving Over Lemons is a lot more real and gritty as well. You feel the ups and downs in a vivid way, which is also a welcome contrast. It is charming and truthful, and a great story about great people.

[mazda502001 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a wonderful book - it was funny, personal and enchanting. Can't wait to read the next of his adventures.Back Cover Blurb:Meet Chris Stewart, the eternal optimist.At age seventeen Chris retired as the drummer of Genesis and launched a career as a sheep shearer and travel writer. He has no regrets about this. Had he become a big-time rock star he might never have moved with his wife Ana to a remote mountain farm in Andalucia. Nor forged the friendship of a lifetime with his resourceful peasant neighbour Domingo....nor watched his baby daughter Chloe grow and thrive there....nor written this book.Fate does sometimes seem to know what it's up to.Driving Over Lemons is that rare thing: a funny, insightful book that charms you from the first page to the last....and one that makes running a peasant farm in Spain seem like a distinctly good move. Chris transports us to Las Alpujarras, an oddball region south of Granada, and into a series of misadventures with an engaging mix of peasant farmers and shepherds, New Age travellers and ex-pats. The hero of the piece, however, is the farm that he and Ana bought, El Valero - a patch of mountain studded with olive, almond and lemon groves, sited on the wrong side of a river, with no access road, water supply or electricity.Could life offer much better than that?

[lynndp_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Warm, funny, honest, open account of the author's move with his wife to a somewhat neglected farm in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, south of Grenada. Tales of how they made a new life there with the open-hearted help of neighbors, problems and lessons learned. I highly recommend it for the traveler or arm-chair traveler who enjoys learning about life in other parts of the world.

[girlunderglass · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The statement Chris Stewart is making with this book can be summarized thus: "I was once the drummer of Genesis but gave up the rock'n'roll lifestyle to become a farmer and lead a quiet but much more fulfilling life in the Spanish countryside". As statements go, this is not particularly deep or thought provoking but you would be wrong to think that the simplicity of the book should be considered a fault. The writing style fits the book like a glove: simple and straightforward language is used to show the appeal of the "simple country life". The memoir is for some reason described as "travel literature" by most everyone, which is perplexing since, well, there isn't much traveling done in it exempting, of course, The Big Move. Instead, Driving Over Lemons describes the efforts of a family to adjust to a country and lifestyle very much different to their previous London-based, career-focused existence. The appeal of reading this sort of memoir is obvious - I mean, come on, who hasn't at some point wanted to just leave the city, get a house in a remote village somewhere, get some sheep and horses and devote all their time to reading and learning how to grow vegetables? Not many people end up doing it. It's only natural then that many of those will want to read about the real practical issues: the difficulties, the language barrier, the living conditions etc. (So they can then console themselves for not doing it by thinking: "Ha! I knew it wasn't so ideal as everyone makes it out to be!") Some will be interested in another aspect of living in what is more or less an isolated place: what does one do for entertainment? How do the Stewarts manage to fill their days? For those readers, you'll be happy to know that the descriptions of the little daily activities that consume the villagers' time in the Alpujarras is what the book does best. As boring as it might sound, it was simply a delight to read about things like food-foraging and bird-breeding. Yet another group will be fascinated by the social aspect of the move: how are the estranjeros welcomed by the locals, how do they manage to fit into their new community? Whichever you're interested in, there is no doubt this makes for an entertaining read.One little caveat: the book is not devoid of its faults. For me, it was the last quarter of the book that started making me annoyed with Stewart. The memoir seems to then suddenly shift from a more pragmatic, albeit idealized at times worldview, to a sentimental and romantic one that gets on your nerves after a while. That's when you can't help but think "I know you're happy and all that, but I really don't want to hear about the joys of fatherhood, okay?? Just stick to the story! I want to hear about the fauna!" (and that last sentence is not something one thinks every day) Even with that warning in mind, I still consider it a worthwhile read and, if nothing life-altering, at least a most enjoyable way to pass an afternoon.Oh, and the decision has been made:"I'm gonna move to the country so I can see the stars, the heavenly stars, the heavenly stars..."

[bowerbird_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes travel, new experiences and humour. Though I have never visited the Alpujarras I feel this gives a true taste of Spain. (My daughter who has spent the last three springs there says the same.) Chris Stewart may have made more money if he had continued as drummer with Genesis but his Spanish experiences sound so much more fulfilling.

[yosarian_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book is subtitled "An Optimist in Andalucia" and that very much sums up this delightful book of a couple moving to southern Spain. There has been a glut recently of people moving abroad, leaving the reality of life in England behind to try and capture that holiday feeling every day in another country (and yes, I'm just as guilty spending a couple of years in Spain myself) and this has led to a lot of books being published as everyone thinks they are the next Peter Mayle and Peter Kerr. But this is a genuine, funny and touching view of life in rural Spain, I loved Chris' writing which captured the countryside, the characters he has met and his adventures in joining the local community.Without giving anything away Chris moves to a farm in Spain in some sort of "Good Life" self sufficiency experiment that Tom and Barbara would be proud of in Spain and of course not everything goes as it should do. But the eternal optimist Chris never moans about any of this, never tries to blame anyone else but simply always looks to the positive side of things and this despite no access road, electricty or water at one point. His neighbours of course help him out and the interaction between all the people he meets, the local farmers, ex pats, new age travellers and hippies make sure there is never a dull moment.A great read I would recommend to people who like travel / autobiographies.

[lorax_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This very slight book depicts a rather rosy picture of the author's move from England to rural Andalucia. While it's certainly not over-romanticized, describing scorpions, floods, and the primitive conditions on their farm in entertaining if brief detail, none of the hardships actually seem to bother the author or his wife, and if they do, any negative moments aren't mentioned in the book. The narrative was disjointed and episodic, skipping years at some points with little indication, so any period of adjustment was glossed over.

[kjain_82 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Terrific escape for when you are fantasizing about chucking it all and starting over somewhere else. A great story that shows we've lost something by becoming so independent from our neighbors.

[seajack_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I read this after reading Peter Kerr's series about being an expat farmer on Mallorca, which I preferred to this one. Stewart's book was a bit too warm and fuzzy for me.

[miketroll · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

An engrossing account of the move from England by the author and his wife to a remote farm in the mountains of southern Spain. When they arrive, they find a ramshackle house with no electricity, running water etc. The charm of this book is that the couple, and their small daughter born in Spain, make a real success of blending in. The other expats they discover are equally rugged and eccentric, not those whiners who spend their days complaining about the scarcity of cornflakes.

[charisse_louw · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Read this in one day and enjoyed every page. A likeable guy living a dream.