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Image courtesy of Penguin.
y separately published work icon The Chemistry of Tears single work   novel  
Issue Details: First known date: 2012... 2012 The Chemistry of Tears
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'When Catherine's lover dies suddenly, she has no-one to turn to - their affair had been disguised from their colleagues and his family - except her work. A middle-aged curator in a London museum, Catherine is given a very particular project by the perceptive head of her department: a box of intricate clockwork parts that appear to be the remains of a nineteenth century automaton - a beautifully made mechanical bird.

'When she discovers that the box also contains the diary of the man who commissioned the machine, she is partially rescued from one obsession by another - who were Henry Brandling and the mysterious, visionary clockmaker he hired to make a gift for his absent son? And what was the end result that now sits in pieces in her studio?

'The Chemistry of Tears is both wildly entertaining and deeply moving, a portrait of love and loss that is simultaneously delicate and anarchic. At its heart is an image only the masterful Peter Carey could breath such life into - an object made of equal parts magic, art and science, a delight that contains the seeds of our age's downfall.' (From the publisher's website.)

Notes

  • Dedication: For Frances Coady

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Camberwell, Camberwell - Kew area, Melbourne - Inner South, Melbourne, Victoria,: Hamish Hamilton , 2012 .
      person or book cover
      Image courtesy of Penguin.
      Extent: 269p.
      Note/s:
      • Publication dates: 25 January 2012 (Penguin Australia), April 2012 (Faber UK) and 15 May 2012 (Knopf US and Random House Canada).
      ISBN: 9780307592712
    • New York (City), New York (State),
      c
      United States of America (USA),
      c
      Americas,
      :
      Knopf ,
      2012 .
      image of person or book cover 3872442469614437357.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 229p.
      ISBN: 9780307592712 (alk. paper)
    • London,
      c
      England,
      c
      c
      United Kingdom (UK),
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Faber ,
      2012 .
      image of person or book cover 1860783264762563649.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 273p.
      Description: illus.
      ISBN: 9780571279975 (hbk.)
    • Toronto, Ontario,
      c
      Canada,
      c
      Americas,
      :
      Random House Canada ,
      2012 .
      image of person or book cover 8719019203172778007.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website (ebook edition)
      Extent: 229p.
      Description: illus.
      ISBN: 9780307361479
    • Melbourne, Victoria,: Penguin , 2020 .
      image of person or book cover 2640641565428966105.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 288p.
      Note/s:
      • Published 3rd March 2020
      ISBN: 9781760896423
Alternative title: A Química Das Lágrima
Language: Portuguese
    • Lisbon,
      c
      Portugal,
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Gradiva ,
      2012 .
      image of person or book cover 3435275769229479219.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 317p.
      Description: illus.
      ISBN: 9789896164836

Other Formats

  • Also sound recording.

Works about this Work

form y separately published work icon The Book Club [June 2014] Sydney : Australian Broadcasting Corporation , 2014 15254935 2014 film/TV

Host Jennifer Byrne joins regular panelists Marieke Hardy and Jason Steger, and guests A.M. Homes and Vikram Chandra to discuss and review the international book We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves and Australian novel, The Chemistry of Tears  by Peter Carey.

[Review] : The Chemistry of Tears Tom Moran , 2013 single work review
— Appears in: Antipodes , June vol. 27 no. 1 2013; (p. 110-111)

— Review of The Chemistry of Tears Peter Carey , 2012 single work novel
Madness in His Method Phil Brown , 2013 single work column
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 27-28 July 2013; (p. 20)
Best in Print 2012 single work column
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 15 December 2012; (p. 30)
Grief, Rage, Cognac, and a Computer Alan Hollinghurst , 2012 single work review
— Appears in: The New York Review of Books , 16 August vol. 59 no. 13 2012;

— Review of The Chemistry of Tears Peter Carey , 2012 single work novel
[Review] The Chemistry of Tears Blair Mahoney , 2011 single work review
— Appears in: Bookseller + Publisher Magazine , Summer 2011/12 vol. 91 no. 6 2011; (p. 30)

— Review of The Chemistry of Tears Peter Carey , 2012 single work novel
[Review] The Chemistry of Tears Christina Houen , 2012 single work review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 31 December - 1 January 2012; (p. 22)

— Review of The Chemistry of Tears Peter Carey , 2012 single work novel
Inner Workings Geordie Williamson , 2012 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 21-22 January 2012; (p. 18-19)

— Review of The Chemistry of Tears Peter Carey , 2012 single work novel
Grief and Gadgetry Peter Pierce , 2012 single work review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 21 January 2012; (p. 19)

— Review of The Chemistry of Tears Peter Carey , 2012 single work novel
Words and Mechanics Used as Devices That Imitate Life in All Its Intricate Detail A. P. Riemer , 2012 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 28-29 January 2012; (p. 30-31)

— Review of The Chemistry of Tears Peter Carey , 2012 single work novel
Bookmarks Jason Steger , 2011 single work column
— Appears in: The Saturday Age , 1 October 2011; (p. 31)
A column canvassing current literary news including a report on Peter Carey's upcoming novel, The Chemistry of Tears. Jason Steger also notes the death of Sara Douglass, the Sisters in Crime 2012 conference and Adrian Hyland's Kinglake-350.
A Pair of Ragged Claws Stephen Romei , 2012 single work column
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 7-8 January 2012; (p. 21)
Romei looks froward to important publications forthcoming in 2012, including books to mark Charles Dickens's 200th birthday, and new books by American and British writers.
Bodley to Boot Marc McEvoy , 2012 single work column
— Appears in: The Sun-Herald , 25 March 2012; (p. 23)
Best in Print 2012 single work column
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 15 December 2012; (p. 30)
Madness in His Method Phil Brown , 2013 single work column
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 27-28 July 2013; (p. 20)
Last amended 11 Aug 2021 13:50:53
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