The Science of Appearances
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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.
PRAISE FOR JACINTA HALLORAN
‘Skilfully evoked … Halloran has her convincingly drawn and very different characters experience some of the mid 20th century’s most exciting and far reaching movements … a lively, informative novel.’ The Herald Sun
‘Exquisite ... A panoramic portrayal of Melbourne in the years after World War II ... Halloran’s gentleness as a writer belies the strength of her worldly wisdom. She does not see the world through rose-coloured glasses. She appreciates its beauty with honesty.’ The Age
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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 2 and The Pen and the Stethoscope. A former board member for the Stella Prize for Women’s Writing, Jacinta is also involved as a speaker in the Stella Schools Program. Her first novel, Dissection (2008), was shortlisted for the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for an Unpublished Manuscript, and her second, Pilgrimage (2012), and was shortlisted for the Barbara Jefferis Award. Her latest novel, The Science of Appearances, is due out in September 2016.
