Chemistry of Tears

I saw a TV documentary about automata which included footage of the incredible swan whose creation is described in The Chemistry of Tears. I suppose I was hoping some of its magic might have transferred but unfortunately this is not the case. Carey's main protagonists, Catherine and Henry, despite being 200 years apart, are both self-absorbed and unhinged through grief but this comes across more as a literary device than genuine emotion. They aren't likeable people. I kept reading hoping Henry's diary would contain revelations about the swan, but his disjointed account doesn't even describe its German craftsmen in a lifelike way. I didn't connect with this novel at all and found it disappointing.