Enemy of the Average [Hardcover]

Margaret Nicol (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1998

Hanna Mazurka was the Enemy of the Average. Born Zdenka Oleska on a poor Polish farm, she was one of the most astonishing women of her time. She left home as a disgruntled teenager, unsophisticated and minimally educated. With her stunning beauty, ambition and cunning she grew to marry and control six of the world's richest, most accomplished men. Aristocrat, lover, ersatz opera diva, adulterer, enigma and creator of a world class eclectic garden, Hanna Mazurka's life was one of opulence, spectacle and heartbreaks. An extraordinary novel spanning more than a century, Enemy of the Average abounds with magnetic and memorable characters.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

With several major literary influences (the Brothers Grimm topping the list), this awkward saga chronicles the rise of Zdenka Oleska, a preternaturally beautiful, selfish Polish peasant (based on an unidentified historical figure) who grows up in the years before WWI to marry into ever-increasing pots of not quite credible wealth provided by not quite credibly smitten men. Grandly conceived by first-novelist Nicol on the model of a six-act opera, with few concessions made to realism, this roman a clef throws pacing to the winds, concetrating on the first 20 years of its Bovaryesque heroine's long life. By the time this woman reaches early middle age (having left Poland for St. Petersburg, then Switzerland, Paris, New York, Chicago and Paris again, and having made several million early-century dollars in the process), Nicol seems to lose the will to follow her further. Zdenka's last 40 years are covered in several dozen pages before her life is patly resolved in the form of a briefly mentioned, soul-soothing new devotion to gardening. With its unwieldy length and lack of focus, the novel is finally too sloppily executed to find wide appeal.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Margaret Nicol has achieved a stunning debut with this beautifully written, Byzantine tale of money, sex, music and the velvet-gloved, ruthless ambition of a remarkable woman. What's even more amazing is that it is rooted in fact. -- ROBERTLINDSEY, best-selling author of THEFALCONANDTHESNOWMAN

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 618 pages
• Publisher: Allen a Knoll Pubs; 1st edition (June 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 188831060X
• ISBN-13: 978-1888310603
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.4 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,544,127 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Read Despite Flaws, August 26, 2008

By 

Athalia Stoneback (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Enemy of the Average (Hardcover)

If you've ever watched American Idol and have seen a contestant who was so full of himself or herself that you wanted to reach through the television and slap him or her, you'll get an idea of what the main character of Margaret Nicol's Enemy of the Average is like. This is a woman who refuses to sleep with her husbands because of "moral values", yet has no problems marrying six times for money. She also uses her money to obtain lead roles in big opera companies, even though every voice "teacher"- she doesn't let them teach her, just makes them listen to her sing- tells her that her voice is too quiet for opera. Still, despite her aggravating personality, the main character is, on the positive side, strong-willed and perseverant. Nicol did an excellent job with the details of this story and left no stone unturned, so of course the reader is going to see both good and bad sides of the main character. The story also has an underlying theme of "If you want it and work for it, perhaps you can achieve it." All in all, I would definitely recommend reading this book, particularly if you like rags to riches stories, are college-aged or older, like traveling or like the opera.

-Athalia Stoneback

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a fascinating, entertaining book., April 12, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Enemy of the Average (Hardcover)

Ganna Walska, for whom this book is based, was a multifaceted character. She comes to life in this big, juicy historical novel which goes through each of her 6 husbands and starts in her childhood. The author really gets her character, who was, in real life, the creator of a private garden in Santa Barbara, California, called Lotus Land. It's part romance, part historical fiction and a great read.