The Ritual Master There where white houses covered in the scrags of last year’s vines and decked with bright geraniums and bougainvillea; mules were ploughing; boiler-suited growers were bent bum-up amid perfect lines of vegetables; a palm tree shaded the road where hens were swimming in the dust. Dogs slept in the road in the shade, cats slept in the road in the sun. The creature with lowest priority on the road was the car. I stopped and backed up a bit to go round a lemon.”Drive over lemons” ordered Georgina.There were, it was true, a hell of a lot of lemons. They hurtled past, borne on a stream of water that bubbled nearby; in places the road was a mat of mashed fruit, and the earth beneath the trees was bright with fallen yellow orbs. I remembered a half-forgotten snatch of song, something about a lovelorn gypsy throwing lemons into the Great River until it turned to gold.
This week, we’re changing styles and discovering a light and entertaining memoir. Because let’s face it, Wouldn’t we all like to drive over some lemons every once in a while ?
The Story in one phrase
Chris and his wife Ana buy an old farm in southern Andalucia, that ends up being their family home, after years of work and wonderfully amusing adventures.
Je m’appelle… brief biography
Every biography of Chris Stewart starts with the fact that he was the original drummer and founding member of Genesis. However, without his writing career, I doubt we would have made his acquaintance years later.
So let me introduce Chris Stewart as a British born author, a sheep sheerer, a farmer, and lover of Andalucia. The Trilogy is a memoir of the starting years of their family, begginig with the purchase of El Valero, a recluded farm in Las Alpujarras region in Spain, the years spent rebuilding and restauring the farm, the birth of their daughter and her childhood.
Top 3 details
– Authentic spanish life : I like the fact that the locals and their traditions are neither idealised nor frowned upon. As an expat myself, I can relate to the feeling of everything being exotic or different, it is what motivates us, I think, to live in another culture. There is a great deal of reverence in the writing, and I find it quite touching.
– The humour : for a light travel read, you would it expect it to be funny, but maybe for different reasons. The self-mockery and the funny situations that forreigners can encounter in remote parts of the world are what make the books so endearing.
– An ode to simplicity : these books make you hungry for a tomato, they make you miss the song of birds at sunset or the sweet silence of an afternoon siesta. The things that make Chris Stewart’s life more beautiful are simple yet charming in their authenticity. That is truly refreshing !
Favourite Quote
“So you got the parrot, then”, she said, with an unmistakably accusing edge to her voice.
“What on earth do you mean by that ?” I asked.
“Well, if you want a parrot enough, and your energy is right, then a parrot will come.
Life Lesson
One of the things I like about reading memoirs, is that they offer the perfect learning opportunity. We always hear the saying “Learn from your mistakes”,but isn’t it easier to learn from the mistakes of others? Or even better, their success ?
Chris Stewart’s life story is fascinating for anyone dreaming of a radically different life. Leave everything behind and build a simpler, more honest life. But sometimes, the illusion of the grass being greener elsewhere, makes us blind to the beauty surrounding us where we are.
I think that once my escapism needs were fulfilled by the story, this is what remained : Paco is my only country Spanish friend who would suggest such a thing. Other country people I know are not unaware of the beauty of nature and the countryside around them; they just live and work amongst it, rather than taking active steps to seek it out. The idea of walking into the hills to find the most spectacular grove of blossoming almonds would no more occur to them than it would occur to a commuter to hop off a train a stop early simply to admire the station. […] Now an almond flower is quite the loveliest thing ever seen. There’s only the subtlest of scents, but, with the exquisite beauty of the pale pink petals, clouds of them against the burned black of the trunk, you hardly need a scent. And through the mist of petals, which hum with great blue abejorros or carpenter bees, you see the bright blue of the sky. It makes your heart droop with pleasure like a heavily laden branch.
Why you should read it
It has humour, it has real life, it has joy and it reminds us to pay attention to the details arround us.
This is a book that brings summer into your life !
I hope this has transported you a little, and maybe made you want to read the books. I highly recommed it, it will lift up your mood ! Next time, we shall continue our adventure into Andalucia, with some delicious rituals. Be sure to join !
Until then, enjoy your reading !
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