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Feb 13, 2009

Nancy rated it:

I had a voyeuristic interest in reading this book, and was surprised that in reading it, I learned something about myself, or about people in general. Our privacy is precious. To not have it for a lifetime would be tragic. Perhaps the most interesting thing to me was how each brother allowed the other to remain an individual. For example, though Eng was vehemently against alcohol and even physically affected by Chang’s drinking, he didn’t put a stop to it though he was the bigger and stronger of More...

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Jan 18, 2012

Elaine rated it:

The brothers were born on 11 May, 1811 in Siam (now Thailand), in the province of Samutsongkram, to a Chinese fisherman (Ti-eye)[1] and a half-Chinese/half-Malay mother (Nok).[2] They were joined at the sternum by a small piece of cartilage. Their livers were fused but independently complete. Although 19th century medicine did not have the means to do so, modern surgical techniques would have easily allowed them to be separated today. In 1829, they were discovered in Siam by British merchant Ro More...

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Jul 07, 2011

Kimberly rated it:

I loved this book from the beginning to the end. It is so much better than I thought because the main character is so multifaceted. It really makes you think about so many things--how our obsessions with other people keep us going. Eng is overly fascinated/obsessed with another character (I won't say who) and it is really insightful how the author keeps it going and, in the process, shows us(the reader) how our obsessions reveal so much about who we are as human beings. We as readers get to know More...

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May 28, 2010

Julie rated it:

I was really excited and intrigued by the premise of this book, but I was disappointed. The story could have been great if Chang, Eng, or any of the characters had been even remotely sympathetic. The writing was decent, but the story itself was not at all compelling. I felt it lacked dimension and vibrancy and the bleakness made it a chore to read. Told from the Eng’s perspective, all he does is gripe and moan about his situation, regardless of their prosperity or hardship. He is constantl More...

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Dec 25, 2008

Luke Dani rated it:

Reminds me of Middlesex in the style of appropriation of a "freak" life--some dude treating real experience as a ready vehicle for metaphor. Chang and Eng--the sideshow-famous conjoined twins of the 19th century--are used as a (not very interesting or complex) commentary on intimacy. The story starts out ok, but by halfway through the novel I had no faith in the protagonist, Eng. On every page there is some mention of their "band" (the ligament that joins their bodies)--it's More...

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May 16, 2009

Istop4books rated it:

I just finished the book this morning and was very saddened by the lives of Chang and Eng. I went online and looked at a couple of websites with more factual information and found that the book followed their lives closely, although adding bits of what could have or might have happened to the storyline. In the end, Eng and Chang had a complicated relationship and wanted to be separated on the one hand, and on the other, they didn't. They needed to tour the world as a freak show in order to ma More...

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Mar 08, 2011

Rose rated it:

I began reading this book with a sort of uneasy feeling. The questions that jump to any normal persons mind about the daily habits of conjoined twins are distasteful. Mr. Strauss handled it with compassion and dignity.

Chang and Eng, especially Eng, became three dimensional people. I believe this was a first novel for the author but the language used was mature and often beautiful. The novel follows the original "Siamese" twins from thier birth in Siam to thier deaths in More...

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Dec 01, 2008

Kat rated it:

Darin Strauss's first book started with a bang, just like "more than it hurts you"--but after about 100 pages, I didn't really want to read it anymore.

It is arguable that the reason why I didn't like it says more about me than it does about the book: In his notes on the last page, Strauss writes that though based on skeleton facts (birth, locations inhabited, marriages, # of children, etc) of the real Siamese twins lives, the story comes out of his imagination and should n More...

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Jul 31, 2008

Alyce rated it:

This fictionalized account of the lives of the original "Siamese Twins" is an entertaining beach read. Strangely, I heard an author on NPR yesterday arguing against the influence of genetic determinants of behavior by citing fictionalized parts of the story as fact....

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Mar 06, 2010

Wanda rated it:

This is the fictionalized story of the two famous conjoined twins, Chang and Eng. It is narrated by Eng, who both loves and despises his brother. I kept going between giving this one or two stars, and decided that it was not as bad as some that I've read and given one star to, so two it was.
What did I like about this book? Frankly not much. I found not one single character to like or admire. Perhaps I did empathize with Eng at some point early on, but as the novel wore on, he became less a More...

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Jan 17, 2011

Cassy rated it:

I was perplexed by this book. The story is interesting and the imagery intense and beautiful, but I somehow find myself bored while reading from time to time. I wanted to continue reading, but wanted things to move faster. Alot of time is spent developing character differences between the two brothers, trying to convince the reader at every turn that the two men though conjoined, were in fact two very separate individuals. I'd recommend this book if you are curious about how living as a conjoine More...

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Sep 14, 2011

Erin rated it:

I really wanted to like this book and these characters-- the premise is fascinating and the story is obviously well-researched, but I never *felt* anything. I wanted to come to some understanding of how these two men and their wives lived their lives, but although I got detail I never got insight. One notable exception: when we learn the true cause of the brothers' house fire, the moment really resonates. Perhaps part of the problem is that there is just so much going on, so much in these men More...

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Dec 30, 2009

Amanda added it

Chang and Eng was a nice change from What a Girl Wants... because it was good.
Historical fiction - showing itself once again to be a favorite of mine. I like that the conversations are made up, that certain occurences in the novel are created by the author, but there is an undercurrent of fact throughout. And who doesn't love sideshow freaks? Of course, there was more to Chang and Eng than just the five-inch band that tied them together - Eng was the smart, silent one, Chang the ham who pl More...

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Sep 03, 2010

Shawna rated it:

I found the book to be slightly uneven and it seemed to me that large chunks of these twins fictionalized lives that would have been very entertaining were omitted in order to focus more heavily on the titilating aspect of their sex lives. There were some chapters when I really wished he'd move it along already and quit focusing on the tedium of married life. Perhaps because I was raised with a sister that has physical deformities I wasn't all that riveted by the strangeness of their condition More...

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Mar 13, 2010

Linda rated it:

The story of the Siamese twins joined at the chest by a 5-7 inch ligament. The non-fiction of this is that they did exist and married sisters and had a whopping 21 children. The rest of the story is fiction. The story is told by Eng - who hates being attached. The brothers are very different. Chang's wife and Eng have a small nuanced "affair" which ruins both of their lives. Chang drinks himself to death. Eng leads a tortured life with his longing for his brother's wife. Lots of petty More...

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Jul 07, 2009

Book Concierge rated it:

The writing is beautiful. The phrases and descriptions so evokative: "While the world is not a place of widespread kindness, a few oysters thrive in a sea of clams. Occasional grace exists. Mother, knowing my brother and me for more than one child, kept her calm." See what I mean?

But the subject matter here is disturbing. (Chang and Eng were the "original" Siamese twins and became world-wide celebrities.) The book is narrated by Eng, and we see envy, pettiness, l More...

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Sep 08, 2011

Georgette rated it:

Darin Strauss decided somebody needed to write a book about Chang and Eng, from the viewpoint of Eng. He did just that. The first pair of conjoined Siamese twins, while living a life as best as they could, you don't realize how psychologically scarring the medical condition was, and how vastly different they both were, until you read this book. He did a tremendous job with this book, no two ways about it. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to read a book on people overcoming the odds- be More...

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Oct 02, 2010

Jennifer rated it:

Incredible writing. I would have rated it higher if the story was more uplifting. It's a fascinating piece of historical fiction based upon the "original" Siamese twins, who traveled from Siam to North Carolina in the 1800's, and wound up witness to the Civil War. If you're a history buff you will love this - you get a real flavor for the Kingdom of Siam as well as the American South, with snippets of New York, London, and Boston, during a transformative era. Warning: does not paint a More...

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Aug 15, 2010

Jennifer rated it:

One evening while I was reading--and complaining about--Chang and Eng, my husband asked, "How can you write a bad book about conjoined twins who fathered 21 children between them?" It's a miracle, but Darin Strauss did it. The book was pretty boring due to Strauss's odd structural and stylistic choices. Why go back and forth between the twins' childhood and thier married life? Sometimes shifts like that add intreague to a book, but here it was pointless. Midway through the book I More...

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Jul 13, 2010

Empress5150 rated it:

Since I was the one who suggested this book for my book club, I REALLY wanted to like it. Also, ever since I was a child, I have had an odd fascination with "freaks". Yes, I was drawn to the freak shows at state fairs (never did see anything overly freaky, or legitimately freaky, anyway). Finally, my step mom's book club read this and, according to her, it generated a goodly degree of interest, debate and discussion.

I must say, I was disappointed in how Strauss tackled t More...

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May 25, 2008

Susan rated it:

While reading this book, i thought it was a very mind-compelling novel. Well, there are two siamese twins in the book, named Eng and Chang. What i find interesting about this book was that the two twins were conjoined together..and i wondered how did they live their lives being stuck together all the time. Well i learned from this book that even though they are stuck together, Eng is the brother that is smarter than his brother Chang, because he constantly thinks of ways for them live happily. H More...

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Mar 05, 2011

Vikki rated it:

it may not be a fair criticism, but i think i would've liked this book more if it had been a biography rather than a novel. i read it because i was curious about the twins, but this story is fiction, which i knew going in, and the fact that it was fiction diminished my enjoyment. there was very little to redeem the lives of these men, which were doomed to loneliness and frustration by both their condition and their personalities, and unfortunately, i didn't feel like strauss' prose lifted me muc More...

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Jul 01, 2009

Holly rated it:

This book appealed to a really weird part of me that wonders what it would be like to live within inches of someone my entire life. I don't think I could've handled it half as well as those brothers did.

The best part of the book was when Eng thought he was getting away with his antics with Adelaide when Chang was asleep, but really Chang knew.

This was mostly a disturbing book but good and interesting at the same time.

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Jan 06, 2012

Emily rated it:

This is a fascinating story. I've heard a bit about the co-joined twins, Chang and Eng, but didn't know much. Darin Strauss did a good job getting me interested in them! However, much as I liked the story itself, I didn't like the writing. I honestly thought it might have been translated from another language it was written so strange. It also jumped around in time frames which made the story a little hard to follow along with, and it would have been better to be told straight all the way throug More...

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Mar 11, 2009

Karen rated it:

This book was good in a voyeuristic sort of way...
I am uncomfortable with the fictionalization of historic figures sometimes because of the misinformation that is communicated. For example, in this book Eng becomes drunk when Chang drinks. It is well known that the twins did not share a circulatory system, so my understanding from what I have read elsewhere is that Eng was unaffected by Chang's alcohol intake.

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May 04, 2011

Alice rated it:

I loved this book. Such an unusual story, such beautiful writing. I initially thought what a grotesque subject, why read this book. But it is not an exploitation of the physical abnormality of its subjects. It is an examination of the nature of family, love, loneliness, secrets. I highly recommend it. Thank you to the Valley Cottage Library for selecting this for its fiction book club so that I was able to read it.

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Oct 07, 2007

Silver rated it:

The most interesting parts of the famous siamese twins' lives seemed foreshortened, like the time in the king of Siam's court and especially their days with Barnum, which is barely mentioned for context. And while much of the characterization was fascinating, letting you think about the wierd intimacies these brothers must share as no one else would, ultimately I found it too melancholy. The voice of Chang, although finding redemption in the very end, could see nothing good or interesting in his More...

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Jun 19, 2009

A rated it:

An interesting read that I read in Feb -- a fictionalized story based on the true story of conjoined twins that traveled with the circus and even got married and had lots of kids. It's a strange story about two very different men attached for life... and death. By the way, I also read a fictionalized account of two conjoined girls called "The Girls" -- but I can't find it on any lists anywhere....

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Aug 11, 2009

Marvin rated it:

Another book that didn't finish as strong as it started. The writing was strong & the characterization even stronger, giving distinctive characters to the Siamese Twins, while showing what they share. But early on in the book, the twins seem to learn from their difficult experiences; later in the book, they just seem weighed down by them, & it gets harder & harder to care about them.

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Nov 28, 2008

Steve rated it:

A sweet and sad book abou a very strange historical circumstance. Change and Eng were real Siamese twins who were brought to America, married two sisters, had lots of kids, and died after six decades. This imaginative recreation of their lives mkes for good reading and pondering about life in 19th century America, how we amused ourselves and how pwople lived/

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