I liked the idea of this book better than the execution. The story jumps back and forth between the present day and the 19th century. The portions set in the present, in which museum conservator and horologist Catherine Gehrig is given special project to help her deal with the grief of losing her lover, are engaging and thoughtfully rendered. The historical sections, in which her project (an automaton modelled on Jacques de Vaucanson's "digesting duck") is first created, are more disjointed, The details about the device, as well as the inner workings of a museum are interesting, but overall this isn't one of Carey's best.
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The Chemistry of Tears