The Foursome
Christina Baker Kline dips into her own family history for The Foursome, a compelling novel based on the true story of two North Carolina sisters who married the world-famous conjoined twins Chang and Eng Bunker.
The story begins with their unconventional courtship, and it’s told by the older sister, Sallie. It’s her younger sister, Adelaide, who is the driving force in the decision to marry the twins, however. Adelaide is bolder than Sallie and drawn to the unconventional life that—on so many levels—marriage to Chang and Sallie’s marriage to Eng will bring. Once the marriages take place, living in a foursome proves rewarding and challenging. The novel follows the ebb and flow of relationships between the brothers and sisters, as married couples and as siblings, as they try out different ways to make their marriages work. For a time, all four cohabit on a shared farmstead. Then they live 40 miles apart with the brothers alternating between the two homes—one week with Sallie and her children, the next with Adelaide and hers. It’s emotionally complex, with all four struggling for privacy and their own individuality.
Beyond the foursome, the story also brings awareness of the world these characters inhabit. This is the South in the 19th century, and the four do not see eye to eye on the issues of the day, including slavery and the cause of the South in the Civil War. Overall, a thoughtful exploration of extraordinary lives during extraordinary times.
