Book info

• Title A Parrot in the Pepper Tree
• Author Chris Stewart
• Year 2000
• Genre Memoir

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.

Thoughts

This is the second book in a trilogy, chronicling the move out to Spain of former Genesis musician Chris Stewart. It was nice to catch up with Chris and El Valero again, find out more about how things are ticking along in Spain. It was also fun to read about how the success of the first book made things slightly different at home.

That definitely makes a difference in this one, I think. It’s less about how to get up and running on a remote Spanish farm, and more about how to create a life. There’s still the great characterisations of local people, and this time there’s a significant and very real threat hanging over the farm - European bureaucracy sounds incredibly hard to understand and deal with.

With eco-friendly themes but beauty and family at the heart of everything, it’s a lovely quick read about someone making the most out of their time on earth.

Rating: 4 / 5