Relatively Famous

Michael and MajorieMadigan refuse to be interviewed by biographer Sinclair Hughes  for his new book Inside the Lion's Den: The Literary Life of Gilbert Madigan. Thisis not surprising as Gilbert is Marjorie's ex- husband and Michael's mostlyabsent father.

In Roger Averill'sbrilliantly conceived  new novel, Relatively Famous, Gilbert  Madigan is Australia's first Booker Prizewinner, a feted and much lauded author that the U.K. and U.S. now likes to calltheir own. Michael cannot escape his father's life and work, and at times hisown life seems swallowed by it. His father's success is a source of undeniablepleasure but also of great turmoil. How does one live in the shadow of a famous relative who we never seem to beable to live up to?

In a world increasinglyobsessed  with  fame and celebrity, this engrossing  novel subtly explores  notions of success , masculinity, betrayaland loss, and ultimately what it might mean to live a good life.