“The Foursome” by Christina Baker Kline
By Lesley Unger, Library Director
Can you imagine marrying conjoined twins, sharing a home, a marriage bed, and a life lived under constant public curiosity? Now, place that marriage in 1848, in the tightly bound social world of the American South, where expectations around class, gender, and propriety shaped every decision. That’s the world Christina Baker Kline brings vividly to life in “The Foursome.”
Inspired by the true story of Chang and Eng Bunker, the world-famous conjoined twins from Siam, Kline follows their intertwined lives with North Carolina sisters Adelaide and Sarah Yates, women to whom she is distantly related. That family connection gives the novel an intimate pulse, allowing her to portray the sisters not as historical footnotes but as complicated, hopeful, frustrated, and resilient people. Through shifting perspectives and rich historical detail, the book explores how four individuals build a life together under extraordinary circumstances, while navigating public scrutiny, private longing, and a country inching toward civil war.
“The Foursome”is a grippingly human story, full of moments that make you rethink what love, choice, and family can look like. Join the conversation in person: Christina Baker Kline will be at the Nasson Little Theater for a multimedia discussion of her book on July 8 at 5:30 pm, held in partnership with Goodall Library and sponsored by the Nasson Alumni Association. Please register here.
Editor’s Note: This is the first in a series of book reviews that will be supplied by staff of the Springvale Public Library.
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