Product Description

THE OLIVE TREE charts Carol Drinkwater's colourful and often dangerous journey in search of the routes that olive cultivation has taken over the centuries. Set during a springtime Mediterranean that is evocative and perennial, it is above all a tale of our time. Troubled by challenges her own South of France farm is experiencing, Carol realises new approaches to farming are becoming essential. Her quest takes her south through Spain, Morocco, Algeria and Italy before she finally returns to her farm. Through her travels and vivid encounters, Carol confronts some of the critical issues of our time - land-care and the harsh realities of diminishing water reserves - and ends her momentous journey in the company of olive growers whose vision for the future is remarkable and ingenious.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #20363 in Books
• Published on: 2009-06-11
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 448 pages

Review
'Her writing captures the true spirit of the people and places she visits' (Carolyn Boyd TIMES )

'An honest tale that brings to life the sights, smells and tastes of the Mediterranean.' (LIVING SPAIN )

the story contains some wonderfully evocative vignettes, written in prose that ignites the readers imagination' (Jane Duru GLOBALISTA )

'Drinkwater's passion and curiosity are contagious...lively prose holds unexpectedly poetic bursts and an insightful account of how the Mediterranean treats a woman travelling alone' (Kathleen Wyatt TIMES )

'Carol Drinkwater has gone in search of olive growers in the west Mediterranean, documenting her travels and travails with good humour and not a little fortitude.' (CHOICE )

'The Olive Tree is a thrilling tale tracing the journey of olive cultivation' (Paul Blezard THE LADY )

'a tale of one lady's courageous, unusual and intrepid journey around the Mediterranean in the pursuit of something so many of us give little thought to in this country' (REAL TRAVEL )

'The Olive Tree is travel writing of the highest order' (Jenny Crwys-Williams The Book Show, Radio 702 (South Africa) )

'Gripping and passionate' (GOOD BOOK GUIDE )

'Her writing is often lyrical and unexpectedly poetic, making this book a surefire hit on many levels.' (THE WEEKENDER (South Africa) )

About the Author
Best known for her role as Helen Herriot in BBC Television's All Creatures Great and Small (for which she was awarded The Variety Club Television Personality of the Year Award), Carol Drinkwater has enjoyed a long and distinguished career as both an actress and writer. During her acting career she has worked in film, television and theatre. Her credits include working with Laurence Olivier at the National Theatre and Stanley Kubrick on A Clockwork Orange. Carol is the author of five bestselling memoirs: The Olive Farm, The Olive Season, The Olive Harvest, The Olive Route and The Olive Tree. Carol is currently working with UNESCO on a lavish documentary film series inspired by her two most recent books, THE OLIVE ROUTE and THE OLIVE TREE. The series is both travel and history based and will follow an Olive Heritage Trail around the Mediterranean Basin. The aim is to celebrate the cultural heritage of this sacred tree.

Customer Reviews

A nicely tied sequel
This is Carol Drinkwater's much anticipated sequel to "The Olive Route". It was worth the wait. In this tranche she travels to the western Mediterranean to see for herself the vast array of olive husbandry, from the intensive farming in Spain to attempts to halt the northward march of the Sahara in Algeria. As always, it is the story of the olive told through the people involved in its farming that draws the reader into this odyssey. She does not shy away from describing the disasters as well as the triumphs in her journey. Just the read for winter evenings.

Too personal a journey
I bought this under a misapprehension. I had anticipated that it would be about olives, the olive tree and the history of the olive tree - which it was - but had not anticipated it being such an immense travelogue. In this respect, I was disappointed, not being interested in Carol Drinkwater's difficulties with Algerian visas or her menus or her travel arrangements. I ended up skim-reading it. However, en route, my eye was caught by several passages that I enjoyed very much - for example, her pre-departure details about difficulties with her own olive farm and the bizarre funding arrangements and bureaucratic paperwork required by the EU; a lengthy trip into the North African desert in search of olive groves ancient and modern; and the sorry state of the terrain in Spain where olives are being irrigated in a way that leaves the region severely waterless. Her descriptions of the folk she meets on her journey were also interesting. Fluently written. So, overall, not without its pleasures.

Immensely irritating
Fairly quickly, I became immensely irritated by the constant digressions which prevent the narrative from flowing. I also disliked the writer's treatment of the reader as a total idiot - the last straw was being told that 270 metres is just over a quarter of a kilometer. Come on, Ms Drinkwater! Your readers really do have more intelligence than you give them credit for.