具体描述
Amazon.com Narrated by Eng， one of a pair of conjoined twins， Chang and Eng is a daring novel that constantly threatens to lose its balance. It's also one that would be hard to believe were it not rigorously grounded in historical fact. Like the (literally) inseparable protagonists of Darin Strauss's debut， Chang and Eng Bunker were born in the early 1800s in a rainy village on the shores of the Mekong Delta. Achieving instant fame as the "Siamese double boy，" they toured freak shows throughout China， Europe， and North America. Eventually they settled in North Carolina (of all places)， married a pair of sisters， and fathered 21 children between them. This fictionalized version of their story is narrated by the stronger， more circumspect twin， Eng， who must continually urge Chang to restrain his tears， his burning sexual desires， and his fear of the King of Siam (who has promised to "kill the double-child， the bad omen"). From the beginning， Strauss masterfully delineates the brothers' differences. Yet it's the porous nature of their relationship that will fascinate readers even more. The twins， after all， must always sleep face to face， connected by a fleshy band and the knowledge of their shared monstrosity. The fact that they are neither "he" nor "we" allows the author myriad opportunities for wordplay and psychological riddles. Does Chang love his brother， or does he love himself? When he hates his brother， is it only a piece of himself he is hating? Might the connecting band be its own entity， a pet that the brothers must tend to and feed? When they were children， Eng recalls， the band was about two inches long， and Chang loved it. He called it Tzon， or ripe banana， and wailed if ever I mentioned severing it. It was more taut then， and would crackle like an old knee when we inched closer or farther apart (no one had any idea the thing would grow with us， and one day allow lateral positioning). I often fidgeted with a stretch of brown leathery skin--a hairy birthmark--midway across it， and also a little brown dot， a charming dinky island that lived， insolently， just free from the shoreline of the larger birthmark. The novel's agile prose is like a smooth， strong current， pulling the twins away from their awkward lives. To his great credit， Strauss spends very little time dwelling on Chang and Eng as monsters， and their freak-show existence surfaces only in short， painful flashbacks--a jeering interlude that the narrator would sooner forget. And Eng's voice is a compelling one， full of quips， insecurities， and jealousy. Indeed， at some moments he seems like a standard-issue Renaissance man， reading Shakespeare in the afternoon， dreaming about pretty women， recounting his extensive travels. Yet the tragic fact remains: no matter how many countries this cosmopolitan visits， he will never have a room to himself. --Emily White From Publishers Weekly In his stunning debut， Strauss fictionalizes the lives of famous conjoined brothers Chang and Eng Bunker， whose physical oddity prompted the term Siamese twins. With compelling characterizations and precise， powerful prose， this audacious work should appeal equally to fans of historical， psychological and literary fiction. Born in the Kingdom of Siam in 1811， the twins are joined together at the chest by a seven-inch-long ligament that contains a part of their stomach， the only organ they share. Apart from this band of flesh， they are completely separate individuals with different personalities and needs. Serious and reserved Eng narrates their story， which begins on their parents' boat on the Mekong River. They are soon the object of curiosity， condemned to death when they are six years old by Siam's superstitious King Rama， who then changes his mind and exploits them as freaks. An unscrupulous American promoter brings them to America in 1825. Eng reads Shakespeare， preaches temperance and， all his life， wishes desperately to be separated. Chang is outgoing and garrulous， drinks heavily (which angers Eng， who must also experience the effects of Chang's indulgence) and cannot see himself as less than two. As young boys， the first time the brothers see other children their own age， their philosophical differences are apparent: "'They are half formed!' Chang whispered. To me [Eng] they seemed liberated." The brothers find celebrity as a circus act (displayed in a cage) in the U.S. and abroad， become aware of the political tumult preceding the Civil War， and marry sisters in North Carolina and father 21 children between them--yet this dense fiction succeeds as far more than sensational expos?. The author gracefully confronts the complicated issues of race， gender， infidelity， and identity， as well as the notion of what is normal. Strauss's vivid imagination， assiduous research and instinctive empathy find expression in a vigorous， witty prose style that seduces the reader and delivers gold in a provocative story of two extraordinary men who wish only to be seen as ordinary. Agent， John Hodgman. (June) FYI: Strauss was featured in "A Budding Crop of First Fiction" (PW， Jan. 10). Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information， Inc. See all Editorial Reviews
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老实说，初读时，我曾对某些章节的跳跃性感到一丝困惑，仿佛作者在关键的转折点上故意设置了迷雾，让人只能凭借碎片化的线索去拼凑全貌。但正是这种“碎片化”的艺术处理，让整部作品呈现出一种后现代的质感，挑战着传统线性叙事的舒适区。它迫使读者必须主动参与到意义的建构过程中，而非被动地接受作者的引导。这种叙事策略的高风险在于，它可能会让部分追求流畅体验的读者感到挫败，但对于钟情于深度挖掘和解读的“侦探型”读者而言，无疑是一场智力上的盛宴。书中对特定历史时期社会结构和权力运作的剖析，显得尤为犀利和深刻，绝非泛泛而谈的表面功夫。作者似乎花了大量的时间在档案和史料中穿梭，才得以捕捉到那些细微的、被主流历史叙事所忽略的“权力之痒”。语言风格上，它时而散发出一种古典的庄重，时而又陡然转为一种极度口语化和私密的低语，这种音域的巨大跨度，犹如一首精心编排的交响乐，每一个音符的强弱变化都精确地服务于情感的累积与爆发。
评分这本书给我最大的启发在于它如何处理“边缘化”的叙事视角。它巧妙地避开了传统英雄主义的窠臼，转而聚焦于那些生活在系统边缘、被主流目光所遗忘或误读的群体。作者对这些边缘人物的细致观察和深刻同情，使得整部作品具备了一种强烈的社会责任感，但这责任感并非以说教的面目出现，而是内化在人物的生存困境和他们所做的每一个微小抗争之中。阅读过程中，我深刻感受到一种强烈的“在场感”，仿佛我不再是坐在舒适的沙发上，而是真正走进了那个充满冲突与矛盾的现实世界，去感受他们的呼吸和心跳。这种“他者化”的叙事，不仅拓宽了我们对世界的认知边界，更重要的是，它挑战了我们内心深处对于“正常”和“异类”的既有划分标准。最终留下的，是一种沉甸甸的思考：我们所定义的“我们”，究竟排除了多少同样拥有血肉和梦想的“他们”？这种关于身份认同和群体包容性的探讨，是本书最深远、最持久的价值所在。
评分这本书的结构设计，简直可以拿来做文学研究的范本。它并非简单的起承转合，更像是一个精密的万花筒，旋转之间，不同的侧面、不同的时间线索相互折射、交织。我尤其欣赏作者对“双重性”这一主题的反复咏叹，那种并存的、互相拉扯的力量，从开篇就如同一个潜流，贯穿始终，塑造了角色们在不同维度上的张力。这种对立统一的哲学思辨，被包裹在极其具象化的生活细节之中，使得宏大的主题没有显得空洞或说教。举个例子，书中对某一特定物品或某一特定地点的反复提及，并非简单的重复，而是每一次出现都携带了时间沉淀后的新含义，如同岩石上的苔藓，见证着岁月的侵蚀与累积。阅读体验中，我时常有种“错位感”，似乎时间并非单向流动，而是可以被反复审视和重新排序的。这种处理，极大地提升了文本的密度和回味无穷的余韵，让人在读完后，仍需花费大量心力去梳理那些被巧妙隐藏的线索和潜台词。
评分这本书的叙事节奏如同夏日的阵雨，时而磅礴，时而细腻得让人几乎察觉不到它的存在，但每一次降临都深刻地滋润着故事的土壤。我特别欣赏作者对环境氛围的描摹，那种身临其境的代入感着实令人赞叹。书中的每一个场景似乎都经过了精心的打磨，光影、气味、甚至背景中微弱的声响，都被捕捉得栩栩如生，构建了一个宏大而又错综复杂的时代背景。读者很容易在那些十九世纪的异域风情和尘土飞扬的街道上找到自己的落脚点，仿佛自己就是那个时代里一个不经意的旁观者。人物的内心挣扎，那种在传统与变革的夹缝中寻求自我定位的痛苦与渴望，被刻画得入木三分。作者似乎对人性的幽微之处有着近乎病态的洞察力，将角色们复杂的动机和深藏的秘密层层剥开，让读者在阅读的过程中，不得不时常停下来，反思自己的判断。这种叙事手法，高明之处在于，它没有急于给出答案或道德评判，而是将选择权完完全全地交给了沉浸其中的我们，让人在合上书页后，依旧久久不能从那种强烈的代入感中抽离出来，脑海中不断回放着那些令人心悸的画面和对命运无常的喟叹。
评分从纯粹的审美角度来看，作者的文字功力达到了令人咋舌的地步。它不是那种华丽堆砌辞藻的辞藻堆砌，而是一种极度精准、一击即中的精准。每一个形容词和动词的选择，都仿佛经过了千百次的称重，确保了它们在情感的杠杆上能发挥出最大的效力。书中描绘的那些充满异域风情或特定时代特征的场景，其画面感之强烈，甚至让我怀疑作者是否偷偷使用了某种记忆提取的技术。但更难能可贵的是，在如此精致的文笔之下，故事的核心情感——那种关于归属、关于界限的探索——却始终保持着一种近乎野蛮的原始力量。它没有被过度的文学化处理而磨损掉锐角。这种“优雅的残忍”，是许多作家穷尽一生也难以企及的境界。读到酣畅淋漓之处，我甚至会忍不住停下来，对着文字本身发出赞叹，仿佛在欣赏一幅雕刻得无比细腻的古老壁画，每一道刻痕都蕴含着创作者的生命力。
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