[.ca] The Girls (ISBN 0676977960)

Amazon.ca:
In 29 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 Ontario town) are the world's oldest surviving craniopagus twins. In her astonishing second novel, Lori Lansens (author of Rush Home Road) ventures into the strange world of physical abnormality that Barbara Gowdy so chillingly explored in We So Seldom Look on Love. While some writers might be tempted to play up the grotesque aspects of life as a conjoined twin, Lansens treats her so-called freaks with sensitivity and respect. The result is an extraordinarily moving narrative about human connectedness that questions the very meaning of "normal." The Girls is a fictional autobiography of the Darlen twins, mostly told by Rose but with occasional chapters by Ruby. The stronger and more frustrated of the two, Rose longs to become a published writer but tends to conceal or distort disturbing incidents from their shared past. Ruby, by contrast, tells it like it is, but is much more accepting of their intertwined fate. (Ruby is also the prettier twin, and one of the most poignant and shocking scenes in the novel is Rose's account of her--or rather their--first sexual experience.) As Rose and Ruby describe their relatively sheltered childhood, rocky adolescence, and tentative experiments with love, the interplay between these two distinct voices heightens the dramatic tension of what's to come. The saddest part is saying good-bye--to "The Girls" and to this compassionately written novel. --Lisa Alward

Unbelievably believable!:
Lyrical, poetic prose opens this heartwarming and unique story of conjoined twins Rose and Ruby and the lives they led, both separately as two individuals with different likes and dislikes and together as sisters who must rely on each other solely for their very existence. Joined at the head, `The Girls'--as they are known as in their small Ontario town--are raised by loving adoptive parents Aunt Lovey and Uncle Stash, after their birth mother disappears shortly after giving birth. The conjoined twins are considered the pride of the town, not an oddity, and they rise above what most of us would think of as a handicap or disability and love each other unconditionally. The Girls is a diary told in two voices--Rose's and Ruby's. Rose encourages her sister to contribute to what will become their life story and although she does most of the writing, both characters come to life as they observe the lives of everyone they meet, sharing their innermost thoughts, hopes, fears and dreams with the reader. I found myself so connected to Rose and Ruby that I didn't want their story to end, and when it did, I was left with a bittersweet ache for more. The first paragraph reads like pure, sweet poetry that is sure to haunt any reader; it is what first grabbed me and pulled at my heart. The Girls opens like this: "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...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." Lori Lansens is an extraordinary Canadian author who paints a picture of rural Ontario farm life and two distinct lives with a magic wand of effortlessness, vividly colorful description and heartfelt compassion. At times you'll forget you're reading a novel because it reads with such clarity and believability. In fact, this novel is so full of realism, you may find yourself flipping to the author's photograph at the back of the book to see if she is a conjoined twin. Instead, you'll find her sitting alone at one end of a sofa, as if waiting for someone to join her. The Girls is a MUST READ for anyone who enjoys an emotional tale of love, loss and the challenges of life. Other books of comparable emotional impact: The Lovely Bones and Mothering Mother: A Daughter's Humorous and Heartbreaking Memoir. ~Cheryl Kaye Tardif, bestselling author of Whale Song, "a compelling story of love and family and the mysteries of the human heart."

Ordinary Extraordinariness:
I finished this book only moments ago, had to wipe the tears from my eyes. Seldom has a book had such a huge impact on my life. Rose and Ruby's (the girls) mother makes the observation that in every ordinary life is an extraordinary story ... this book itself proves the opposite is also true. Two people who are vastly different are also entirely similar. The books goes 'behind the stares' to see who it is that we look at ... and who is looking back at us. I became a wheelchair user a couple years ago and was surprised how much I changed in the eyes of others, how I had moved to a different land, crossed a border. This book speaks to living in the land I now inhabit. It does so with wit and grace. I am utterly in awe of this accomplishment.

LIFE IS WHAT ONE MAKES OF IT...:
This is a beautifully written story about conjoined twins named Rose and Ruby. Abandoned by their mother at birth, they are adopted by a kindly couple, Lovey and Stash Darlen. Lovey was one of the nurses present at the hospital when they were born. Conjoined at the head, Rose and Ruby have a symbiotic relationship. Yet, for all their symbiosis, they are two very different and unique individuals. When Rose, who has a penchant for writing, decides to write her memoir, Ruby decides to add her two cents and write some chapters herself. This book is the story of their lives. Written as two parallel stories, the author makes the voice of each twin distinct. Each of their narratives is redolent of the personality and world view of the twin writing the chapter. This is difficult to do, and the author succeeds brilliantly. This is certainly a book that will keep the reader turning the pages, At times heartbreakingly poignant, the book is infused with humor and wit, as well as a strong reminder that life is what one makes of it. Bravo!

Gave it a good shot and couldn't finish it:
My response is similar to that of the reader who thought the book had potential BUT... After initial enthusiasm for the novel, I frankly became quite bored with it. Told in two voices (which aren't always particularly distinct--hence the use of two different fonts), the book has an initially inviting conversational tone. However, as everyone knows, transcripts of conversations can be rather dull and repetitive--and that's what the book often feels like: a transcript which needed a good "editing out" of extraneous detail. For example, I got really tired of one of the characters repeatedly saying "back to the story". (This is my point: there are so many digressions, that the story--whatever it is--sort of gets lost.) I felt the author did not give enough attention to the structure of the narrative. The story is "all over the place", and the narrative doesn't unfold in carefully thought-out way. Information is revealed in a random and haphazard manner. These factors made me completely lose interest halfway through. I pushed myself along, hoping things would improve. At two-thirds of the way, I just gave up. While I quite agree that this is an interesting topic--one that makes one ponder--the novel's clumsiness--its lack of artistry--was distracting to me. Hence, I was not able to enter Rose and Ruby's world. In the end, I was quite disappointed with The Girls. Obviously, lots of people are enthusiastic about Lansen's novel and I respect that and the author's obvious sincerity in bringing different lives to the page. If you, the reader, aren't irked by stylistic and structural weaknesses, the book may interest you.

Surprising:
I picked this book up thinking as it was intended that it would be a light read. I will always carry the characters from this book within me. It is about friends, really true love, family and just life. The story is simply told but I could not put it down. This book will fundamentally change you.