Product Description

Chris StewartÂ’s Driving Over Lemons (9780956003805) told the story of his move to a remote mountain farm in Las Alpujarras – an oddball region of Spain, south of Granada. Funny, insightful and real, the book became an international bestseller. A Parrot in the 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. A Parrot in the Pepper Tree also looks back on Chris StewartÂ’s former life – the hard times shearing in midwinter Sweden (and driving across the frozen sea to reach island farms); his first taste of Spain, learning flamenco guitar as a 20-year old; and his illustrious music career, drumming for his school band Genesis (sacked at 17, he never quite became Phil Collins), and then for a circus.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7950 in Books
• Published on: 2009-06-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 240 pages

Review
"It is everything that made the first book so hugely successful - endearing, heartwarming, self-deprecating, sometimes surreal." Evening Standard"

About the Author
Chris Stewart shot to fame with Driving Over Lemons (9780956003805) – Sort Of BooksÂ’ launch title in 1999. Funny, insightful and real, the book told the story of how he bought a peasant farm on the wrong side of the river, with its previous owner still resident. It became an international bestseller and with its sequels – A Parrot in the Pepper Tree and The Almond Blossom Appreciation Society – it has sold more than a million copies in the UK alone. Chris prepared for life on his Spanish mountain farm with jobs of doubtful relevance. He was the original drummer in Genesis (he played on the first album), then joined a circus, learnt how to shear sheep, went to China to write the Rough Guide, gained a pilotÂ’s license in Los Angeles, and completed a course in French cooking. Three Ways to Capsize a Boat fills in his lost years as a yacht skipper in the Greek islands. Despite the extraordinary success of his books, Chris, his wife Ana, and their daughter Chloë, continue to live on their farm, with their numerous dogs, cats, chickens, sheep and misanthropic parrot.

Customer Reviews

A Donkey in the Privet Hedge
A parrot in the Pepper Tree by Chris Stewart

Despite the rather unlikely title to this book and its predecessor, 'Driving over Lemons' I found it really compulsive reading.

As it turns out both titles have some relevance which becomes apparent somewhere in the tales told by Chris Stewart. He comes across as a likeable chap who wends his way through life like the ball in a game of bagatelle. Much of the reading is captivating and it's tempting not to stop at the end of the chapter but to continue and satisfy your curiosity.

The bleakness of a farmer's existence in the Alpujarras region of Spain is highlighted still more with the arrival of Chris and Ana's daughter Chole. To read about the happy development of Chole I could not help but to ask myself some questions. Would I have brought up a child in this environment? Would I have had the guts to go there in the first place? The characters and way of life captured in this book are as far away from your two week package holiday as you could possibly get, which is probably the attraction.

Now and then (just when you are wondering how they coped without a microwave) a new acquisition drags the family into the 21st Century like a radio telephone or battery charger. However the impression the author gives is that of a lifestyle not really changed for hundreds of years.

I found 'A parrot in a Pepper Tree' a thoroughly enjoyable read and a temporary antidote to the rat race that its author has skilfully left behind.

Transported to another place
I did not read the preceding book "Driving Over Lemons", so I was coming into this authors writing blind. But I was captivated by his descriptions of his neighbours and people encountered on his hillside farm. From Domingo, the neighbour of many talents, to Trev, who deisgned and built an eco-folly for the author.

You get impression at times, that money was tight for the author and his family, but yet they enjoyed the live that Andalucia offered them. Chapters in this book will make you chuckle, especially the description of Porca the parrot and his love for Ana, the authors wife.

The only critique I have is that I felt we are somewhat abandoned at the end of the book. But I do suppose that means, there will be a third installment. In the meantime, I'm going to go and read the first.

What Do Spanish Parrots and Norwegian Sheep Have in Common?
Answer; Chris Stewart. What a delightful read this is! Following on from 'Driving Over Lemons', Chris Stewart's first book, it is so easy to picture the people, the expressions on their faces, the terrain, feel the warm sun and oh yes, see that darn parrot. Chris Stewart has a certain droll way of expressing himself. I found myself laughing out loud, both at the events that are retold and the way they are expressed. The only bad thing about this book is that it came to the end, and without another one to carry on with. Come on Chris, stop messing about with the farm, get pen to paper!