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The Girls

By Lori Lansens

(28)

| eBook | 9781405512947

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Book Description

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 aeroplane bathroom. Or worn a hat. Or been kissed like that... So many things I've never done, but oh, how I've been loved. Continue

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 aeroplane bathroom. Or worn a hat. Or been kissed like that... 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 times as me, to be loved so exponentially'

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.

Critics

  • Twins' talk

    The Girls by Lori Lansens 345pp, Virago, £11.99. Rose and Ruby Darlen are 29, and the world's oldest surviving craniopagus twins. Emerging, joined at the head, during a freak tornado and abandoned by their terrified teenage mother, they have been bro ... (read full critics)

    guardian.co.uk published on Sat, 25 Sep 2010

  • My Sister and Me

    As great as the odds are against conjoined, or Siamese, twins being born, they must be greater still against two novels arriving in the same season — or three, if you count DBC Pierre’s “Ludmila’s Broken English,” published in May — that concern the ... (read full critics)

    nytimes published on Sat, 18 Sep 2010

5 Reviews

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  • 1 person find this helpful


    The protagonists and narrators of this amazing novel are Rose and Ruby Darlen. These two girls are not just twins but they are the oldest surviving con-joined twins They are approaching not just their thirtieth birthdays but also their impending deaths as Rose has been diagnosed with an aneurysm i ... (continue)


    The protagonists and narrators of this amazing novel are Rose and Ruby Darlen. These two girls are not just twins but they are the oldest surviving con-joined twins They are approaching not just their thirtieth birthdays but also their impending deaths as Rose has been diagnosed with an aneurysm in the brain, which will inevitably kill them both. It could be at any time in the immediate future, no one knows. The only definite fact is that they will not live to be old. The girls are dealing with dying in different ways, Rose wants to write about it but Ruby just wants to talk especially to her twin.
    It is the story of Ruby, Rose, Aunt Lovey, Uncle Stash, the Merkels and others as told mainly by Rose but sometimes by Ruby and is a very special tale of two sisters who may never have been able to look directly into each others eyes or climb a tree but in their short lifetime they certainly scaled a mountain.
    It is written in the style of a memoir and could so easily have been the true story of two sisters. Their birth, adoption by a nurse that delivered them, their relationships with each other and those around them as they tackle life experiences growing up in rural Canada. As conjoined twins it was certainly not the easiest of childhoods and was fascinating enough to make it interesting to read how these two girls, joined at the cranium coped with everything life threw at them. The descriptions of their physical appearance as well as the out pouring of feelings makes you feel that by the end of the book you have actually met these amazing girls.
    It was maybe a strange topic to base a novel round but Lori Lansens has made it work, unique as far as I know and worth reading. Although be warned it is particularly poignant in parts. In fact even though I finished reading this a few weeks ago it is still haunting me and I have to remind myself that this was fiction and not an autobiography. It certainly felt like that because of the way it was written with high moments when they were so hopeful, followed by dreadful lows of despair. A distressing but worthwhile read.

    For author information and a video please visit my original post at LindyLouMac's Book Reviews
    http://lindyloumacbookreviews.blogspot.com/2010/10/girl…

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    Lindyloumac said on Oct 6, 2010 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

  • 1 person find this helpful

    Can you imagine what life would be like if you were a conjoined twin?

    This story will give you a look into that unimaginable life.

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    Angie said on May 4, 2007 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

  • Surprise

    When I read the summary I never thought I would like this book, by the end I did not wanted it to finish, amazing story, believed it was true all way through.

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    Irene said on Oct 27, 2010 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

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