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In outline, this tale of sexual obsession may seem all too recognizable. What sustains A Family Madness is, as usual in Keneally's work, a precise sense of historical authenticity. The minutiae of Belorussian politics become surprisingly absorbing. He captures the chaos of Europe at the close of World War II and the ways in which fateful political decisions of that time may have been prompted by petty domestic concerns. He writes aphoristically, "There is that to be said for liberals--they may be in no way equipped for governing the world, but they are admirable in specific cases of injustice." And he makes such homilies seem the genuine beliefs, born of experience, of his characters. Keneally is equally at home, if less exciting, in lower-middle-class urban Australia and the locker rooms of also-ran athletes. These characters ring true, but they are not especially interesting. That, however, seems to be part of his strategy. The grayness of this humdrum world only makes the clashing colors of the Kabbelskis' lives more compelling. Keneally's real triumph is to portray, through one family's delusions, the lingering poison of war and betrayal among generations who outwardly appear to have escaped.