Peter Carey (1)

Credit: Ashley Gilbertson

Peter Carey

Monday, May 21, 7:00 p.m.

The Chemistry of Tears

From the two-time winner of the Man Booker Prize

London 2011. Catherine Gehrig, a museum conservator, learns of the death of her colleague and lover of thirteen years. As the mistress of a married man, she must keep her grief a secret. She is rescued by the only person who knew of this affair--her boss. It is he who arranges a project that demands she work in isolation. In deep mourning, she will bring back to "life" a nineteenth-century automaton. Usually controlled and rational, but now mad with sorrow, Catherine discovers a series of notebooks written by Henry Brandling, who, in 1854, commissioned the extraordinary, eerie mechanical creature. Henry's is a personal account of his adventures in the wilds of Germany, a diary that brings Catherine unexpected comfort and wonder. But it is the automaton itself, in its beautiful, uncanny imitation of life, that will link Henry and Catherine, as they are confronted with the mysteries of life and death, the miracle and catastrophe of human invention, and the body's astonishing chemistry of love and feeling.

Peter Carey is the author of eleven previous novels and has twice received the Booker Prize. His other honors include the Commonwealth Writers' Prize and the Miles Franklin Literary Award. Born in Australia, he has lived in New York City for twenty years.

Members get in FREE! General Admission requires purchase of event book OR a $10 gift card (admits 2).

Location: Street: 1010 El Camino Real City: Menlo Park, Province: California Postal Code: 94025-4349 Country: United States (added from IndieBound)… (more)

Peter Carey

Peter Carey is one of this country’s best-loved and most internationally recognised authors. He has won or been shortlisted for every major literary prize in Australia. His novel A True History of the Kelly Gang won both the Man Booker Prize and the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize. His most recent book is Parrot and Olivier in America, which has just been longlisted for the Miles Franklin Award. Here, he discusses literary fame and fortune, from Bacchus Marsh to New York. Ticket: $20 Concession: $12 (trackbianca)… (more)

Peter Carey discusses True History of the Kelly Gang.

The Vancouver International Writers Festival and Random House of Canada present Peter Carey The Man Booker Prize for Fiction winner and the author of "Oscar and Lucinda" and "True History of the Kelly Gang" in conversation with Hal Wake. Peter Carey’s new novel "Parrot and Olivier in America" is a dazzlingly inventive reimagining of Alexis de Tocqueville's famous journey, brilliantly evoking the Old World colliding with the New. $20 general / $18 students & seniors For tickets, phone Vancouver Tix at 604 629 8849 or purchase online http://www.vancouvertix.com/onstage.htm (starfishian)… (more)