Customer Reviews

Enemy of the Average

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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

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.