The Less You Know The Sounder You Sleep by Juliet Butler, Fourth Estate, £12.99
The Russian adage that provides the title to this book is an ironic reference to its contents: the story of Maria and Daria Krivoshlyapova (known as Dasha and Masha), conjoined twins who were born in Russia in 1950 and died in 2003. The author befriended them during the last 15 years of their life but she has chosen to write their biography in novel form. This is a mistake – it makes the narrative too raw, confusing and intrusive.
The girls were marked out for heartbreak from the beginning. Taken from their mother after birth, they spent their first six years in the Institute of Experimental Medicine in Moscow. Deprived of any semblance of normal life, they were constantly studied and experimented on – experiments that would now be considered a form of medical torture and abuse.
In 1956, they were removed to an Orthopaedics Institute, taught to walk and given an elementary education. In 1964, they were transferred to a special needs boarding school and then to a Home for Veterans of War and Labour for 20 years. By the time of their death they were the oldest living conjoined twins in the world.
The book tells us two things. The first is the sheer heartlessness and brutality of the Soviet division of people into “Defectives” and “Healthies”, with the first group hidden away in a society that refused to acknowledge their existence.
The second is how human nature can (eventually) triumph over the most appalling circumstances. Dasha, quiet, sensitive, empathetic and yearning for a separate existence, was, by a cruel trick of nature, forced to live conjoined to her sister, Masha, who was diagnosed as sociopathic – domineering, selfish and controlling. Yet before their tragic death they found peace, forgiveness and mutual acceptance.
Areas of Catholic Herald business are still recovering post-pandemic.
However, we are reaching out to the Catholic community and readership, that has been so loyal to the Catholic Herald. Please join us on our 135 year mission by supporting us.
We are raising £250,000 to safeguard the Herald as a world-leading voice in Catholic journalism and teaching.
We have been a bold and influential voice in the church since 1888, standing up for traditional Catholic culture and values. Please consider donating.