The Girls

By Lori Lansens

In Lori Lansens’ astonishing second novel, readers come to know and love two of the most remarkable characters in Canadian fiction. Rose and Ruby are twenty-nine-year-old conjoined twins. Born during a tornado to a shocked teenaged mother in the hospital at Leaford, Ontario, they are raised by the nurse who helped usher them into the world. Aunt Lovey and her husband, Uncle Stash, are middle-aged and with no children of their own. They relocate from the town to the drafty old farmhouse in the country that has been in Lovey’s family for generations.

Joined to Ruby at the head, Rose’s face is pulled to one side, but she has full use of her limbs. Ruby has a beautiful face, but her body is tiny and she is unable to walk. She rests her legs on her sister’s hip, rather like a small child or a doll.

In spite of their situation, the girls lead surprisingly separate lives. Rose is bookish and a baseball fan. Ruby is fond of trash TV and has a passion for local history.

Rose has always wanted to be a writer, and as the novel opens, she begins to pen her autobiography. Here is how she begins:

I have never looked into my sister’s eyes. I have never bathed alone. I have never stood in the grass at night and raised my arms to a beguiling moon. I’ve never used an airplane bathroom. Or worn a hat. Or been kissed like that. I’ve never driven a car. Or slept through the night. Never a private talk. Or solo walk. I’ve never climbed a tree. Or faded into a crowd. So many things I’ve never done, but oh, how I’ve been loved. And, if such things were to be, I’d live a thousand lives as me, to be loved so exponentially.

Ruby, with her marvellous characteristic logic, points out that Rose’s autobiography will have to be Ruby’s as well — and how can she trust Rose to represent her story accurately? Soon, Ruby decides to chime in with chapters of her own.

The novel begins with Rose, but eventually moves to Ruby’s point of view and then switches back and forth. Because the girls face in slightly different directions, neither can see what the other is writing, and they don’t tell each other either. The reader is treated to sometimes overlapping stories told in two wonderfully distinct styles. Rose is given to introspection and secrecy. Ruby’s style is "tell-all" — frank and decidedly sweet.

We learn of their early years as the town "freaks" and of Lovey’s and Stash’s determination to give them as normal an upbringing as possible. But when we meet them, both Lovey and Stash are dead, the girls have moved back into town, and they’ve received some ominous news. They are on the verge of becoming the oldest surviving craniopagus (joined at the head) twins in history, but the question of whether they’ll live to celebrate their thirtieth birthday is suddenly impossible to answer.

In Rose and Ruby, Lori Lansens has created two precious characters, each distinct and loveable in their very different ways, and has given them a world in Leaford that rings absolutely true. The girls are unforgettable. The Girls is nothing short of a tour de force.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Feb 24, 2009
• ISBN: 9780307371546

Lori Lansens

Lori Lansens is the author of Rush Home Road, which was translated into eight languages and published in eleven countries, and The Girls, which was sold in thirteen territories and featured as a book club pick by Richard & Judy in the UK. She was born and raised in Chatham, Ontario, and now makes her home in Los Angeles with her husband and two children.

Reviews for The Girls

[howifeelaboutbooks · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This book captured me at the beginning: a conjoined twin writing her autobiography. Then the other twin chimes in - can you write an autobiography of yourself, leaving out your other, vital, half? So both girls are writing their autobiographies as they get close to being the oldest conjoined twins. The book is interesting, but dragged on forever. It took me a long time to finish, and I’m a quick reader. I got bored and wanted to stop reading about a third of the way in, but there was some suspense there that made me want to find out what happened. The ending didn’t make the whole experience of reading the book worth it. Interesting concept, but not that well executed.

[cindywho-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a fictional memoir of conjoined twins, sad and sweet. It is also the love story of their adoptive parents. Each twin writes her own part and part of the fascination is how two people joined at the head can still see events so differently.

[soubhikiewiet · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Somehow I liked this book even with its lack of plot. Written as a memoir, from the separate points of view of each of the twins, The Girls moved along well, and was at times funny and at times sad. I would have given it a higher rating if more had happened... I suppose that makes it more realistic, though. Most of our lives are pretty everyday hum-drum with interesting bits here and there.

[samqua · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved this story! I had no idea was it was about until I started reading it. It was funny and sad at times. The story of conjoined twins but really with separate lives within their story.

[sianpr · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

An insightful and touching novel.

[candacevan_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It took me a long time to read this novel. I was more than a bit skitterish getting into it, which says much about its power. I came to feel as though I really knew and cared about these two women, conjoined (crainiopagus) twins Rose and Ruby. Each was vividly drawn, along with those who peopled their world. I came to the end of the novel with tremendous sadness, feeling as though ending it deprived me of two dear friends. It's an excellent and worthwhile work of fiction.

[northern_light-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

this was an amazing read. I had to remind myself that it was fiction. It follows the ups and downs of life for Ruby and Rose who are conjoined twins. You really feel involved in their life and it certainly brought me to tears at the end.

[jjaylynny · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I didn't realize until I was well into this book that had I not had to read it for book club, I'd have picked it up and read it only because of its weird hook-- the novelty of a book about conjoined twins. I would have read it because of its... ickiness, for lack of a better word (and to try here to be honest). So, illuminating, then, to realize and be ashamed of my shallowness when I fell in love with Rose and Ruby, and realize unforgiveably late the wonder of these characters. A truly heartbreaking and wondrous novel. I wish these girls were real.

[bookconcierge · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A very good book about conjoined twins and the competing desire for independence and togetherness all at once.

[nancynova · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

story of 4 elderly Jewish sisters in failing health in Miami beach. Quick read

[klburnside · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

i loved this book from the first paragraph.

i picked it up at the library because it was on a display entitlted "books with young protagonists written for adults" along with to kill a mockingbird and a curious incident of the dog in the nighttime...

anyway, this book is a fictional autobiography written by conjoined twins, rose and ruby. the characters were quite beautiful and i loved the the different narrartive styles of each twin.

the book was kind of typical for the coming of age, finding the meaning of life genre, but i think the fact that the characters were not typical kept it interesting.

[sbenne3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

An interesting story from the perspective of conjoined twins - but more focused on relationships and challenges. A little long but worth the read.

[rdra1962 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I am very late to the Lori Lansens party. All my Canadian friends read this book last year, and I had only heard great feedback. I was reluctant to read it because it sounded sappy. I was curious, in a "look at the car-accident" way, to learn about the day-to-day challenges of conjoined twins. Those details are laid out for the reader, but more than that is the wonderful story of sisters, a family, and a small town.

The girls each have very distinct personalities, they venture out in the world and make a life in their town and, without giving away any spoilers, experience the joys and the heartbreak of growing up.

This is a beautiful, but never sappy story, told by a wonderful writer.

[donnacallea · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved this novel, written as the autobiography of Rose Darlen, a 29-year-old Canadian woman who was born in a small Ontario town (just across the border from Detroit) during a tornado, inoperably joined to the head of her twin, Ruby. Ruby writes some chapters, too. The girls' situation, as their adoptive mother Aunt Lovey terms it, is, indeed, rare and amazing and certainly very challenging. But not tragic. Not really. Rose and Ruby live lives that are, in many ways, full -- full of love and experiences and accomplishments. They have very distinct personalities and interests. Lansens' wonderfully written story made me think a lot about deformities and "situations" that seem almost impossible to contemplate. I found myself searching the internet for cases of conjoined twins, some of which were even stranger and harder to fathom than Rose and Ruby's situation. I felt sort of like a voyeur. But I couldn't help it. Rose and Ruby are characters who, I think, will stay with me. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know them, and I was sad to let them go.

[judithdcollins · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

"Lori Lansens at her finest! An extraordinary story - with a blend of tragedy and comedy will demonstrate how to live life to the fullest no matter the challenges, capturing every moment! "

[ruthied-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Read this 2 yrs ago! I'd had it for ages, read the blurb and started to read. Loved it ! About a set of cranio-pagus ( joined at the head ) twins called Rose and Ruby. Rose writes most of their story first then Ruby gradually takes over as Rose' s health deteriorate s. Loved their Aunt Lovey . So practical and strong. Wish I either knew her or was her. Got me through a really traumatic time... and after having rewritten this review from my notes think I'm going to try and get it again.

[christineellei · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This completes my reading of Ms. Lansens books to date. I hope she has another one on the way soon. Rose and Ruby are conjoined twins born in Leaford, Ontario during “the tornado”. Their young unwed mother runs from the hospital and they are adopted by Aunt Lovey (the nurse who helped deliver them) and Uncle Stash (her down to earth slavic husband). Rose has always wanted to be a writer and decides that an autobiography of the sisters remarkable lives would be a good book. Rose chimes in that it cannot be an autobiography without her input … and this is the story. Told primarily from Rose’s point of view with snippets contributed by Ruby. Although (and I hesitate to even write this) it is my least favourite of Ms. Lansens books, it is definitely an excellent read and one I would recommend highly.

[librarybrandy · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Half friendship story, half family drama--because in this case it's the friendship and family dynamic between two sisters, who happen to be conjoined twins. Their respective personalities show through their writings (it's easy to tell, not just through the font changes, which character is talking at any point), and you really root for things to work out well for them. Heartfelt drama without being melodramatic.

[squeakychu · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The idea of a novel based on craniophagus twins (conjoined twins connected at the head) sounded fascinating. Fortunately, the book was as good as the idea of this story. Rose and Ruby are the twin sisters who narrate this story. Their combined tale is warm and realistic with its focus being love and respect for themselves and each other and living as normal a life as possible despite their situation. Somehow, I could see this as being one of those Oprah picks from her former book club. Anyway, the strength of the story comes from the fact that it shows the two girls so different that, in reading this book, one forgets at times that they are conjoined at all.

[lismb_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The girls are a set of conjointed twins at age 29/30 who remember their life and put it to pen and paper - or well, one to pen and paper and the other to her loved laptop. I kept forgetting that this is a fiction book while reading it. The stories are captivating. The girls seem so life-like with their thoughts and memories. Wonderful book.

[lit_chick_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Craniopagus twins, Rose and Ruby, are abandoned by their mother at birth and adopted by Lovey and Stash Darlensky. Raised in small town southern Ontario, the twins are known simply as The Girls. Their lives, simultaneously miraculous and unremarkable, are written about here in their own alternating voices. Rose, aspiring writer, observes:“I thought my story’s path would be a straight one. A simple one. After all, it is the true story of my life, to the point I have already lived it, and for which I know even the most incidental detail. But the story isn’t straight. Or simple. And I see now, as I begin to think of the next chapter, that even the truth can spin out of control. My story. Ruby’s story. The story of Aunt Lovey and Uncle Stash. The story of me, and we, and us, and them. The story of then. And the story of now. How can the story of me exist without all of it?”The Girls is a difficult novel for me to review. I found large chunks of the story simply did not hold my interest. And I disliked that the girls’ “story” was really a long series of random reminiscences – too much randomness, I thought. Still, Lansens is so authentic that I felt surprised when I realized the twins are fictional. And her writing is beautiful – so gifted. The sensory language in this next passage just captivated me. “I was thinking of when Ruby and I were children, sleeping under the entwined-hearts quilt in the old orange farmhouse on Rural Route One. I was thinking of the soft bed beneath the open window. The lowing of livestock. The stinking sweet air. The mice in the corner under out chair The crows in the field. The kittens wet born. And the world beyond the whispering corn.”Recommended for the beautiful writing, with the hope that other readers will find the story more gratifying.

[kyliemole · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Different, frustrating, well written

[niecierpek · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Canadian lit at its best. A fictitious autobiography of two craniopagus conjoined twins written in two distinct voices, poignant, comic and very humane. Great storytelling.

[thistle2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Bought this thinking it was a non fiction and had to keep reminding myself through out. Author has obviously researched conjoined twins and written well. Worth a read.

[porch_reader · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I had read the dust jacket and knew that this was the story of Rose and Ruby Darlen, conjoined twins who are joined at the head. Most of the book is written by Rose, who tells the story of their lives chronologically. However, she insists that Ruby write a few chapters. Ruby writes just like she is talking to her readers and often provides insights that Rose is unwilling to devulge. The two sisters have strikingly distinct voices. While Rose writes in smooth prose, Ruby tells it like it is. For example, in describing her approach to writing, Ruby says:"This isn't even technically my book, but if it got turned down because my part is so shittily written, then I would feel really bad." Rose and Ruby don't write a book about being conjoined twins. Instead, they write about their lives. They help us understand Aunt Lovey and Uncle Stash, their adopted parents, and make us love them as much as they do. They create a vivid portrait of their lives in a small town, and help us see them as two distinct sisters, who in the end I came to see less as conjoined twins and more as just "The Girls."

[phebj · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a book I don’t think I’d ever have considered reading if not for Bonnie’s (brenzi’s) recent review. It’s a novel told in the form of an “autobiography” of two girls joined side by side at the head (craniopagus twins). The girls, Rose and Ruby, are approaching their 30th birthday, a milestone that will make them the oldest surviving craniopagus twins on record which you realize means they’re nearing the end of their lives. Rose is the literary twin who wants to write the autobiography. (“I want this collection of words to transform themselves into visions of Ruby and me. I want to be remembered like long-ago friends.”) Ruby has to be pressured to write her sections and is often pretty blunt in her observations. (“Not everyone can relate to being joined at the head, but anyone can relate to dying.”) Lansens writing is lyrical and this book grabbed me right away. My favorite thing about it was how the twins’ extraordinary situation made ordinary things seem special and how Lansens’ depiction of the twins made them seem just like everyone else. “The strangest thing about strange things is that they’re only strange when you hear about them or imagine them or think about them later, but never when you’re living them.”Rose and Ruby are very different people but the fact that they’re conjoined forces them to work together and they generally succeed in living in harmony. Their different personalities reminded me of the yin and yang symbol. Rose often reflects on the flow of life--“We drove the road along the river, the one that curves and loops and seems to flow back into itself, the way I do my sister, and life does death.”The only thing that didn’t ring true to me was the chapter on the sisters’ trip to Slovakia, the home of their adoptive father. This trip didn’t seem like it would have been physically possible for them and the events that took place there took me out of the story. Otherwise, this was a fantastic read and one I’d highly recommend. I’ll definitely be looking for more of Lori Lansens’ books.

[milda8tx · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Never would've picked up this chick-litty-looking book on my own, much less one about conjoined twins... but I braved it based on a recommendation. This book was so good, sisters. Looking for others by this author.

[bellettres · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wonderful book about conjoined twins. It's a story about what it means to be sisters, what it means to be a family, and what it means to be human. Lori Lansens writes beautifully. I loved it.

[saab0993 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

so far from reading its a very good book it has love sadeness excitiment all in one

[mazda502001 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was just such a tender, funny, touching and lovely read. I enjoyed it immensely - the girls' story as just wonderful.Back Cover Blurb:In twenty-nine years, Rose Darlen has never spent a moment apart from her twin sister Ruby. She has never gone for a solitary walk or had a private conversation. Yet, in all that time, she has never once looked into Ruby's eyes. Joined at the head, 'The Girls' (as they are known in their small town) attempt to lead a normal life, but can't help being extraordinary. Now almost thirty, Rose and Ruby are on the verge of becoming the oldest living craniopagus twins in history, but they are remarkable for a lot more than their unusual sisterly bond.