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THE SCIENCE OF APPEARANCES

Jacinta Halloran

Thirteen-year-old twins Dominic and Mary have very different natures: Dominic, quiet and serious, is drawn to the natural world, while Mary, a talented artist, is passionate and imaginative. The country town of Kyneton, still grappling with the legacy of World War II, cannot contain her ambitions for a life of creative endeavour.

When their father dies unexpectedly, the reverberations send the two in different directions. Mary escapes to the bohemian haunts of Melbourne while Dominic stays behind, riven by responsibility and an unwavering loyalty to their mother. But the siblings share a special bond, of the kind only twins do, and each struggles with the loss of the other as they begin to carve out new lives. When a secret emerges with the potential to affect them both, will they be drawn together once more?

Set in an era of social constraint and profound scientific discovery, THE SCIENCE OF APPEARANCES explores the inexorable pull of the past and the indelible bond we share with those who know us best. Rendered in beautifully evocative prose, this tender, powerful, touching novel shows how the complex interplay of heredity and environment makes, shapes, and sometimes breaks us.

Jacinta Halloran is a Melbourne-based writer and GP. She has written on medical science for The Sunday Age, and her short stories have been published in New Australian Stories and The Pen and The Stethoscope. A former board member for the Stella Prize for Women's Writing, Jacinta is a speaker for the Stella Schools Program. Her first novel, Dissection (Scribe, 2008), was shortlisted for the Victorian Premier's Literary Award for an Unpublished Manuscript, and her second, Pilgrimage (Scribe, 2012), was a finalist for the Barbara Jefferis Award.
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Published 2016-09-01 by Scribe Publications

Comments

A very impressive achievement. I found this novel especially affecting and original ... Halloran is a sensitive writer, who brings intellectual ideas about art and science to the page without sacrificing emotional connection. The novel's intensity and moral complexity reminded me of Colm Toibin's Brooklyn ... Halloran is in masterly control of her material. (pick of the month)

Halloran's writing is skilled and intelligent, her characters compelling, and her settings rich The journey is recognisable but utterly surprising. Insightful and completely absorbing, its resonance lingers. -- Rosalie Ham, author of bestseller The Dressmaker (now a film starring Kate Winslet and Liam Hemsworth)

Halloran is a first-class storyteller ... A novel about family secrets, told with pace and power. -- MJ Hyland, author of Booker-shortlisted Carry Me Down