Catherine Gehrig conservator at a London museum learns of the unexpected death of her colleague and lover of thirteen years. Only the museum's director knew of the affair and sends Catherine to work on a special project away from prying eyes. An automaton a man and a woman who can never meet a secret love story and the fate of the world are all brought to life in this hauntingly moving novel from one of the finest writers of our time.<br><br>Twice winner of the Booker Prize Peter Carey's most recent novel Parrot and Olivier in America was described by the Sunday Times as 'an exhilarating tour-de-force'