In the early nineties of the English 900 Chris Stewart eclectic globetrotter, arrives in the Alpujarras, the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, extreme south of Spain Andalusia. He decides that this is the place to spend the rest of his life, so buy a farm for sale, El Valero. Together with his wife Ana moved from England to their new home in a foreign land. El Valero requires major restoration work to which Chris and Ana engage immediately with hard work and commitment, counting sull'amichevole help of neighbors, first of all the worthy farmer Domingo. Later populate the farm animals and plants to care for livestock and agriculture and will give birth to their first daughter, Chloe. These and many other adventures (and misadventures) related to the first part of his new life in Spain, Stewart plans to tell through the pages of a book and that's born The vacation lemons. The story of an escape from the hustle of everyday life, the diary of a simple life and close contact with nature, the story of a discovery: the discovery of happiness in a small rural community of Andalusia, comprising people from humble heart large, including many foreigners, especially English and Dutch, who like Chris and Ana have decided to live a life-style new age. The strength of
The vacation lemons is the humor with which the author speaks to every situation, making this book enjoyable and fun. But the detailed and, in my opinion, boring and unnecessary explanations of the maintenance work on the farm who meet in a few chapters, I would have preferred a greater celebration of the fascinating scenery of Andalusia. It 's a shame that Stewart did not insist on this point because the descriptions of the landscape has proven to be very poetic, managing to involve the reader emotionally.
The risk you take when reading this book is to be repeatedly tempted by the desire to escape from the chaotic modern society to take refuge in nature, in open countryside, where time seems to stand still at the age of gold. Maybe in a remote corner of paradise hidden in the heart of Spain's most remote and wild.
Chris Stewart (pictured at right, with his wife Ana ), born in 1950, is known for being the first drummer of Genesis. Leaves the group at age 17 and began traveling the world, carrying out various activities: worked in a circus, he joined the crew of a yacht in Greece, took the pilot's license in Los Angeles, he attended a course in French cuisine and has become a sheep shearer experienced. In the early nineties he settled with his wife Ana Exton Andalusia. In 1999 he made his debut as a writer by publishing The vacation lemons which has been translated into nine languages and England has sold 850,000 copies. In 2002 he published A parrot pepper tree, the sequel to the first book. He also contributed to the Rough Guide to Andalucía and Rough Guide to China. In 2007 he was elected city councilor (the Green Party for Los Verdes de Andalucía), the town of Orgiva in whose territory he resides. RATING: 3.5 / 5
Title: The vacation lemons
Original title: Driving over Lemons. An Optimist in Andalucía
Author: Chris Stewart
Translator: Stefano Viviani
Publisher: TEA (Adventure series)
Year : 2002