God's Fool
God's Fool
Regular price
Checking stock...
Regular price
Checking stock...
Summary
"God's Fool" is a story of the lives of the Siamese twins Chang and Eng who were attached at the chest. To the West they were freaks, to the East they were either evidence of God's glory or proof of his wrath. This novel follows their path from Thailand to Europe, and then on to the USA.
The feel-good place to buy books
- Free shipping in the US over $15
- Supporting authors with AuthorSHARE
- 100% recyclable packaging
- Proud to be a B Corp – A Business for good
- Sell-back with World of Books - Sell your Books
God's Fool by Mark Slouka
Born attached at the chest, Chang and Eng were considered a marvel, an omen, a prophecy, an act of God. To the West they were freaks, to the East they were either evidence of God's glory or proof of his wrath. In this powerful novel, Mark Slouka brilliantly captures their inner lives and powerfully recounts their amazing lives. As children they were presented to the Thai Royal Court as a curiosity, then as men they set sail for Europe. There they entertained Kings and counsellors in salons and drawing rooms, from Brussels to Pamplona. Inevitably the culture that lifted them cast them down. Penniless, they moved from flop house to flop house until they were discovered by the inimitable Phineas T. Barnum. Shipped off to the United States with dwarves and two headed calves, midgets and twelve fingered flute players, they toured the country before settling as slave owners in North Carolina. In a sort of pastoral idyll, Chang and Eng married a pair of sisters and fathered twenty children, before the spectre of the Civil War threatened their peace and their way of life. God's Fool is an astonishing, powerful and beautiful novel that vibrantly captures both a changing world and a unique relationship. Sweeping and intimate, arnbitious and unusual, Mark Slouka's debut novel is a dazzling achievement.
Mark Slouka is a graduate of Columbia and currently teaches there. His first collection of stories Lost Lake, included the award-winning The Woodcarver's Tale. He lives in New York with his wife and children. This is his first novel.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781405000338 |
| ISBN 10 | 1405000333 |
| Title | God's Fool |
| Author | Mark Slouka |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Pan Macmillan |
| Year published | 2002-08-23 |
| Number of pages | 288 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |