A whim of nature

The saga of the brothers who gave rise to the term “Siamese twins” and, wherever they went, experienced fame and misery, hostility and war, but also the strength of love and friendship.

It all begins in 1811. News of the anomaly of twins Chang and Eng reaches King Rama II, who, fearing it was a harbinger of the end of the world, orders them to be separated or killed. Saved by their mother, they share a peaceful childhood until their lives are brutally devastated by the arrival of an epidemic.

Fatherless, the twin boys take on the responsibility of supporting their family. They are summoned by the new king, Rama III, and sent on a diplomatic mission as a wonder of their land. Prosperity is gradually rebuilt, but a new tragedy throws them into the web of the opportunistic merchant Robert Hunter.

In exchange for a few pounds, the young men embark on a journey across Europe, where they are welcomed by kings, nobles, and aristocrats, and exhibited as monsters in salons and performance halls before packed audiences. Throughout their long lives, they will experience not only exploitation, hostility, betrayal, injustice, and war, but also the insurmountable power of invisible bonds.

A Caprice of Nature is Mark Slouka's first novel published in Brazil.