 
| Those Extraordinary Twins by Mark Twain Genre: Classic |
The twins were based on Siamese twins that Twain had seen in a side show. Two heads, four arms, one body, and two legs. It is hard to imagine how much of these characters were fiction vs. truth as one of the twins is dark complected with brown hair while the other is fair of hair and skin. It brings to question if Siamese twins must come from a single fertilized egg that doesn't split properly which would demand the twins be identical, or if two separate eggs could have been scrambled together somehow.
At any rate, this is quite an interesting story, however I would recommend reading The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson first. It may have just been the copy that I had but instead of retelling certain scenes, Twain merely referred back to certain chapters/scenes located within the original novel.
The twins are indeed extraordinary. Angelo has a very devout religious nature while Luigi is a bit bawdy. Angelo frequently gets ill while Luigi has a stronger constitution. Angelo never drinks while Luigi enjoys frequent libation. It is almost reminiscent of split personalities residing in one body.
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