ONLY 35, and with just three books to his name, this Scottish author is already being hailed as one of the best writers of his generation.

In Personality, O'Hagan embarks on an ambitious mission, outwardly telling the story of the rise and fall of a young Scottish singer - based on the story of Seventies child sensation Lena Zavaroni - but weaving in a deeper, more captivating, tale about an Italian family's move to Scotland and the crushing of their dreams.

Maria Tambini is the 13-year-old starlet-in-waiting, living a small-town life in Rothesay on the Isle of Bute.

She is discovered by producers of TV show Opportunity Knocks and, before you can say Hughie Green, is whisked off to London to find fame and fortune.

As her celebrity grows, she loses touch with her family and friends, becomes anorexic and ends up in a private clinic. O'Hagan is generous in his characterisation, giving most leading figures whole chapters to themselves, where they talk in the first person.

But at the heart of the novel is the story of Maria, and you never really get inside her head to find out about those dark teenage years and the demons which led to her destruction.

There's no escaping that Maria's story suffers because we know so much of it already. There is no doubting O'Hagan's talent, but this is a novel of parts and you can't help feeling a better story was there for the telling.

Updated: 09:02 Wednesday, April 14, 2004