1. The Girls: A Novel by Lori Lansens
Let's Hear It For The Girls
Rarely has the experience of being a sister been so poignantly and
memorably captured as in Lori Lansenss triumphant novel. The Girls
celebrates lifes fundamental joys and trials as it presents Rose and Ruby,
sisters destined to live inseparably but blessed with distinct sensibilities
that enrich and complicate their shared experiences-of growing up, of
finding their way in the world, of saying good-bye.Readers who encounter
the girls will find it hard to resist falling under their spell.
I started this book with some trepidation, wondering how the author could
do justice to the topic of conjoined craniopagus twins without seeming
maudlin or trite. I was won over during the first chapter. This is a poignant
and lovely book about Rose and Ruby, twins conjoined since birth. The
chapters are written in the first person, as an autobiography, either by
Rose or by Ruby. Each has a different personality which stands out in
their writing and experiences.
The book begins "I have never looked into my sister's ey es. 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." With sensitivity, humor, love and genuine
concern, Ruby and Rose tell their life stories and the stories of those they
love. Born on the day of a great tornado, to a young single mother who
abandons them, the twins are adopted by Aunt Lovey and Uncle Stash.
They are raised on a family farm in Canada, not too far from Toronto or
Detroit. They are raised in an atmosphere of great love and support by two
wonderful and eccentric parents.
Rose is the writer. She is a book lover and has a personality that is both
literate and rational. She has done well in school an d takes learning
seriously. Rose is more of a dreamer and not as much a book person.
She loves archeology and has amassed a wealth of artifacts pertaining to
the Neutral Indians that she has found on her family's farm. Both girls
have these wonderful loving rituals that mean 'I love you' to each other.

2. Rose rubs Ruby's ear and makes sure her clubbed feet (which get cold
easily) are covered up at night by blankets. They also bicker and fight,
sometimes pinching each other.
We learn about their childhoods, teenaged years and adulthood. At the
time the book starts, Rose and Ruby at 29 years old, are the oldest living
craniopagus twins in history. We learn about the lives of Aunt Lovey and
uncle Stash. We travel with Rose and Ruby to Slovakia and to Tor onto.
We share their longings and histories. We are privy to their most intimate
feelings and desires. We meet their friends and relatives and see them
from Rose and Ruby's perspectives.
The book explores issues of individuation and autonomy for the twins,
along with their shared universe. It examines what it's like to be different in
a world where 'normal' prevails. With sensitivity and poignancy, we are
allowed into the twins' inner worlds to see these issues from their
perspectives.
The book is beautifully written with wonderful characterization. I was
struck by the tone of the book which is written by Rose and Ruby without
any self-pity, with a sense of acceptance and pride in who they are. Of
course, they yearn to have experienced things that others take for granted
and they get tired of stares and questions. However, they are 'the girls'
and would not trade their lives for any others. I have ordered Lori Lansens
first book and look forward to reading that novel soon.
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