The Foursome | Praise | Q&A/Interviews | Other Media
“Christina Baker Kline is a masterful storyteller with an extraordinary subject in The Foursome. Chang and Eng can literally never be apart, which means that their wives—Addie and her sister Sarah—are also held in an impossible proximity to each other. What a wonderful study of intimacy of all kinds, of love and tolerance, of growing together and growing apart. In short, of what it is to be human.” — Ann Napolitano, NYT bestselling author of Hello Beautiful
“The Foursome is a triumph of empathy and imagination, a wildly engaging, morally-complex story made even richer by Christina Baker Kline’s fascinating connection to the real-life story of Chang and Eng Bunker.” — Jess Walter, author of So Far Gone: A Novel
“Christina Baker Kline has taken the story of the famous 19th century Siamese twins Chang and Eng Bunker, and their wives the Yates sisters, and transformed this often sensationalized slice of history into a deeply felt, meticulously observed exploration of the mystery of marriage and family that portrays the ways in which good-hearted people can both reflect the prejudices of their era and question them in a community beset by a brutal civil war. I have loved all Kline’s books; this beautiful, thought-provoking novel is her best yet. A rare and courageous marvel.” — Alice Elliott Dark, author of Fellowship Point
“The Foursome is a breathtaking dive into identity, history and romantic love set against the backdrop of a country in turmoil. Chang and Eng Bunker are conjoined twins who marry Addie and Sallie and build their lives in pre-Civil War North Carolina. Emotional, often raw, the story of two families buffeted by physical impediments and societal constraints is told over decades that bring massive changes that upend their world. This novel is an unforgettable page turner replete with the author’s immersive style. The Foursome stands as the jewel in the crown of Christina Baker Kline’s dazzling career.” — Adriana Trigiani, bestselling author of The View From Lake Como
“When you start The Foursome, Christina Baker Kline’s magnificent new novel about the two sisters who married conjoined twins Chang and Eng, it feels, at first, like you’re stepping into a Diane Arbus photograph. But Kline, a master of alchemy, takes her reader on a journey full of awakenings. This is a story that goes deeply into the lives of two nineteenth-century Southern women, revealing the contradictions at the heart of all relationships — and of America itself. This book is both a feat of the imagination and a radical treatise on empathy.” — Caitlin Shetterly, author of Pete & Alice in Maine
