Chang and Eng Paperback – May 1, 2001

This is a great one. Darin Strauss is an incredible writer with tremendous talent. I find it hard to believe this is his first novel. And what an imaginative one! Strauss heard the story of Chang and Eng, the "Siamese" twins, who lived in North Carolina before and after the Civil War, married sisters and fathered 21 children. He was intrigued (who wouldn't be) to the extent that the story inspired him to write his first novel. And it is a novel. Strauss has created a world, the twins' world, which may or may not be close to the truth. But truth is not the point of this novel, it is a wonderful work of fiction. Strauss is imaginative, without going overboard. The story he has given us is believable and thought provoking. Other reviewers have said this novel made them feel uncomfortable, and I have to agree with them, but to me, it wasn't a bad uncomfortable. Rather, Strauss made me have a vague hint of what it must have been like to have been Chang or Eng. No privacy in an absolute, claustrophobic sense. Strauss has remarkable character development in this rather short novel. He has made believable a truly unbelievable story (21 children?). He takes us to a world with masterful skill. Chang and Eng is a truly great novel. It makes you think about what it is to be human, to be alone with people right there, to be a freak. Enjoy this novel.

The author weaves a fascinating tale of what could have happened in the lives of Eng and Chang Bunker, the original Siamese twins. The book opens when Eng, the narrator of the story, awakens to find Chang, his conjoined brother, dead. He realizes that just as they came into the world on a tiny boat in the Mekong River of Siam, they would leave the world still joined by that mysterious and ever-present "band" which joined them at the chest.That first chapter captured my attention, and I did not want to put the book down. The writer masterfully switches from their early years and youth to their adulthood and back with ease as he fills in the blanks of their lives with skill and a vivid imagination. He takes the reader from the muddy waters of the Mekong River to the royal palace of the King of Siam; from the exhibition halls of New York City to rural Wilkes County in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina; from the facts of their life to the possible answers to questions everyone who knows about the "blemish of nature" have wondered about.How did these men who lived every minute of their lives just inches from each other chop wood, walk on their hands, and develop very different personalities? Did they love each other or hate each other? How did one deal with his brother's drinking? How did they father twenty-one children? The author, in his own way, provides possible answers for all these and many other questions about the life and times of the original Siamese twins.Even though the book is clearly marked "A Novel," there are too many facts to be fiction, and too much fiction to be history. As a native of Surry County, North Carolina, the place where the twins settled with their wives and raised their families, I could not reconcile the fact that the book implies that they spent their adult life in neighboring Wilkes County. The mixing of fact and fiction left we wondering just how much of the book is fact and how much is fiction.Numerous descendants of the twins still live in Surry County, and I wonder what their reactions are to the author's delving into the private lives of their famous ancestors. Was it necessary to detail their sex life - including Eng committing adultery with Chang's wife? Was it necessary to dwell on Chang's drinking? Was it necessary to embellish the story with the rape of one of the wives by a slave? Was it necessary to write of Chang's jealousy that caused him to burn Eng's home?While I enjoyed the book immensely, it would have been better if the author had used his tremendous talents writing either a true history of Eng and Chang or a work of pure fiction based on the live of imaginary conjoined twins.

Interesting tale of the "original Siamese twins" However, I did not like the layout of the chapters. The chapters skipped back and forth between their childhood and adulthood. (If you've seen the movie "Pulp Fiction", it is put together like that) I found it easier to read all the odd numbered chapters first then the even numbered, as this put the story in chronological order and made it smoother to follow. It was a good read but I would not read it again or keep it in my personal library.

I was pleased when I received this book which was in excellent condition as advertised quite quickly.

I bought this book because Joyce Carol Oates recommended it as one her favorite reads. I can see why. Although it's clearly historical fiction, the author paints a compassionate and compelling picture of what the lives of Chang and Eng were probably like. It is a humanistic portrayal of what was no doubt a difficult life for the twins and a life that was interdependent in more than simply the obvious way. I couldn't put it down. It's well written, insightful, and moving.

Darin Strauss has written an account of the life of the Siamese twins, Chang and Eng; starting with a few basic known facts, he has woven a richly detailed and imagined story of these twins - the difficulties they endured and their satisfactions as well. He has pictured for the reader the wedding of the twins to two sisters and the happiness and the complexities with their relationships. Strauss interweaves their domestic lives and events with the earlier days of their childhood, their summons to the monarchy in Siam where they were held for months, and the release to the land of their childhood and their mother. This is followed by their trip to America where for many years they toured the country eventually ending up in North Carolina where they found their wives. Mr. Strauss has done a very fine job of taking us into their inner world - the emotions and thoughts of the twins; he also has managed to differentiate between the two men, their abilities, behavior, and distinctive character. I think this book is most interesting to read. Many issues connected with the lives of the twins are raised such as privacy and intimacy as well as the hardships and indignities of their " publicly exposed " lives. Mr. Strauss writes well with genuine feeling for his subjects. The reader feels the challenges and the development of these two men. He has invested their lives with an innate dignity so that the reader comes to a real appreciation for the difficulties these men had to experience and what they achieved as admirable human beings. I bought this book at Amazon.

The media could not be loaded. Livro em excelente estado de conservação.Chegou perfeitamente, apesar do pequeno atraso, totalmente compreensível.Recomendo.

Read this book years ago ,could never find another one until now,very good condition for just a few pounds,well worth the money you won't put it down

Muito fraco,

I ordered the book which was supposed to be new. It came yellowed with a musty smell. Glad I'm not giving it as a gift.

boring