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Chang and Eng
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Chang and Eng Paperback - 2001

by Darin Strauss

Now in paperback comes the brilliant reimagining of the remarkable lives of the original "Siamese Twins". Sweeping from the Far East and the court of the king of Siam to the shared intimacy of their lives in America, "Chang and Eng" rescues one of the 19th century's most fabled human oddities from the sideshow of history.


Summary

In this stunning novel, Darin Strauss combines fiction with astonishing fact to tell the story of history’s most famous twins. Born in Siam in 1811—on a squalid houseboat on the Mekong River—Chang and Eng Bunker were international celebrities before the age of twenty. Touring the world’s stages as a circus act, they settled in the American South just prior to the Civil War. They eventually married two sisters from North Carolina, fathering twenty-one children between them, and lived for more than six decades never more than seven inches apart, attached at the chest by a small band of skin and cartilage.

Woven from the fabric of fact, myth, and imagination, Strauss’s narrative gives poignant, articulate voice to these legendary brothers, and humanizes the freakish legend that grew up around them. Sweeping from the Far East and the court of the King of Siam to the shared intimacy of their lives in America, Chang and Eng rescues one of the nineteenth century’s most fabled human oddities from the sideshow of history, drawing from their extraordinary lives a novel of exceptional power and beauty.

From the publisher

This stunning novel combines fiction with astonishing fact to tell the story of history's most famous conjoined twins. Born in Siam in 1811--on a squalid houseboat on the Mekong River--Chang and Eng Bunker were international celebrities before the age of twenty. Touring the world's stages as a circus act, they settled in the American South just prior to the Civil War. They eventually married two sisters from North Carolina, fathering twenty-one children between them, and lived for more than six decades never more than seven inches apart, attached at the chest by a small band of skin and cartilage. Woven from the fabric of fact, myth, and imagination, Strauss's narrative gives poignant, articulate voice to these legendary brothers, and humanizes the freakish legend that grew up around them. Sweeping from the Far East and the court of the King of Siam to the shared intimacy of their lives in America, Chang and Eng rescues one of the nineteenth century's most fabled human oddities from the sideshow of history, drawing from their extraordinary lives a novel of exceptional power and beauty.

Details

  • Title Chang and Eng
  • Author Darin Strauss
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition Reissue
  • Pages 336
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Plume Books, New York, New York, U.S.A.
  • Date May 1, 2001
  • ISBN 9780452281097 / 0452281091
  • Weight 0.6 lbs (0.27 kg)
  • Dimensions 7.96 x 5.3 x 0.73 in (20.22 x 13.46 x 1.85 cm)
  • Ages 18 to UP years
  • Grade levels 13 - UP
  • Themes
    • Chronological Period: 19th Century
    • Ethnic Orientation: Asian - General
    • Ethnic Orientation: Asian - Chinese
    • Topical: Physically Challenged
  • Library of Congress subjects Biographical fiction, North Carolina
  • Library of Congress Catalog Number 990059198
  • Dewey Decimal Code FIC

Media reviews

“Stunning.”Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Richly imagined...a haunting and thoroughly entertaining parable of loyalty and love.” Los Angeles Times

Chang and Eng rocks with twisted passion, wickedly astute ruminations and a sly and powerful wit.” James Ellroy, author of The Black Dahlia and L.A. Confidential

Citations

  • Booklist, 04/01/2001, Page 1461
  • New York Times, 09/09/2001, Page 32

About the author

Darin Strauss is the award-winning author of the national and international bestseller Chang and Eng, as well as its screenplay for Disney Films and director Julie Taymor. His work has been translated into 14 languages, and he teaches at New York University and lives in Brooklyn, New York.
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Chang and Eng
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Chang and Eng

by Strauss, Darin

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Chang and Eng
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Chang and Eng : A Novel
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Chang and Eng : A Novel

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Chang and Eng

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Chang and Eng

by Darin Strauss

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ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
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