Growing up on the Scottish Isle of Bute, Maria Tambini is a young girl with dreams of escape from her Italian immigrant family. When her amazing singing voice wins her a talent show at the tender age of thirteen, she is whisked off to London and instant stardom.
But even as Maria is celebrating her greatest success, she is waging a hidden battle against her own body, and becoming in the process a living exhibit in the modern drama of celebrity. Can she be saved by love? Or will she be consumed by an obsessive celebrity culture, family lies, and by her number-one fan?
This stunning novel is a rich portrait of an immigrant community and a tragic tale of the hidden costs of celebrity.
Industry Reviews
..." elegaic, sepia-toned, in Scottish cadence, adorned with memories of Italian tenors and eras gone by." -- Esquire "Esquire" (08/01/2003) "�O'Hagan's� books, the products of a patient intelligence, reveal a preoccupation with the enigma that underlies media frenzy: why do some things seem to last forever while others fade away? -- Ruth Franklin "he New York Times Book Review" (08/10/2003) ., ." elegaic, sepia-toned, in Scottish cadence, adorned with memories of Italian tenors and eras gone by." .,." elegaic, sepia-toned, in Scottish cadence, adorned with memories of Italian tenors and eras gone by." -- Esquire "Esquire" (08/01/2003) "O''Hagan is a writer of almost shocking tenderness."--Elle"Elle" (08/01/2003) "[O''Hagan''s] books, the products of a patient intelligence, reveal a preoccupation with the enigma that underlies media frenzy: why do some things seem to last forever while others fade away?--Ruth Franklin"he New York Times Book Review" (08/10/2003) .".. elegaic, sepia-toned, in Scottish cadence, adorned with memories of Italian tenors and eras gone by."--Esquire"Esquire" (08/01/2003) PRAISE FOR PERSONALITY
"The book is so bustling and rich . . . that the darkness seems lit from
end to end."--THE NEW YORKER
"A remarkable and profoundly moving meditation on the joys and
sorrows of the immigrant experience, the corrosive nature of show
business, grief's burdens and the transformative nature of love."
--SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE "The book is so bustling and rich...that the darkness seems lit from end to end."
--The New Yorker"The New Yorker" (08/11/2003) "Personality lays bare the darker side of fame with astonishing empathy...Bottom Line: Shining look at stardom."
--People"People" (08/05/2003) "[O'Hagan's] books, the products of a patient intelligence, reveal a preoccupation with the enigma that underlies media frenzy: why do some things seem to last forever while others fade away?
--Ruth Franklin"he New York Times Book Review" (08/10/2003) ..". elegaic, sepia-toned, in Scottish cadence, adorned with memories of Italian tenors and eras gone by."
--Esquire"Esquire" (08/01/2003) "O'Hagan is a writer of almost shocking tenderness."
--Elle"Elle" (08/01/2003) PRAISE FOR PERSONALITY
The book is so bustling and rich . . . that the darkness seems lit from
end to end. THE NEW YORKER
A remarkable and profoundly moving meditation on the joys and
sorrows of the immigrant experience, the corrosive nature of show
business, grief s burdens and the transformative nature of love.
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
" PRAISE FOR PERSONALITY
The book is so bustling and rich . . . that the darkness seems lit from
end to end. THE NEW YORKER
A remarkable and profoundly moving meditation on the joys and
sorrows of the immigrant experience, the corrosive nature of show
business, grief s burdens and the transformative nature of love.
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
" PRAISE FOR PERSONALITY
"The book is so bustling and rich . . . that the darkness seems lit from
end to end."--THE NEW YORKER
"A remarkable and profoundly moving meditation on the joys and
sorrows of the immigrant experience, the corrosive nature of show
business, grief's burdens and the transformative nature of love."
--SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
