Last week, Sacred Trespasses had the pleasure to sit down with novelist Jacinta Halloran. In this installment of On Air, she speaks about and reads from her third and latest novel, The Science of Appearances. Set in the late 1940s and early 1950s, The Science of Appearances follows the divergent natures and fates of twins Mary and Dominic and moves from country Victoria to Melbourne. It’s a novel that deserves a place on the shortlists of upcoming literary awards. As Michael McGirr writes in the Sydney Morning Herald, “Halloran’s gentleness as a writer belies the strength of her worldly wisdom.”
In The Science of Appearances, Halloran writes with grace and warmth about Mary’s desires for a life in the arts and Dominic’s pursuit of the sciences. We’re happy to be able to share her thoughts on the novel, as well as her reading of the prologue and part of the first chapter, in this podcast recorded in the (occasionally bustling) courtyard of Yellow Door Café in Albert Park, Melbourne.
Jacinta Halloran also maintains a career as a Melbourne-based doctor. Her previous novels include Dissection and Pilgrimage. Her writing about medical science has appeared in The Sunday Age, and she has published short fiction in New Australian Stories 2 and The Pen and the Stethoscope. We invite you to enjoy her reading from The Science of Appearances.
