An Extrordinary Story: The Girls by Lori Lansens

A Brilliant Piece of Fiction About a Special Set of Twins.

Sep 7, 2008 Victoria Oldham

The Girls, Rose and Ruby Darlen are craniopagus twins; women attached at the head but no where else. This poignant story is written from their alternating points of view

In fact, The Girls (Virago 2007) is written first person throughout. Most chapters are written by Rose, with the occasional chapter by Ruby. What is most fascinating about this is the absolute believability of the characters. They leap from the page, making their conjoinment secondary to who they are, even as it defines who they are.

Love in The Girls

Because of their conjoinment, Rose and Ruby live isolated lives regarding relationships. While their town has gotten used to them for the most part, it is their connection that keeps them from having "normal" intimate relations. While they do exist throughout the book, it is fascinating to see the ways in which the girls develop relationships with people, both together and as individuals. Their frustration is tangible as they get older, going through typical teenage angst and the desire to fit in while never being able to attain that societal interaction. Love is clearly a difficult, complex issue, but one made all the more interesting by the love the twins have for one another.

Life and Death

Lansens delves into the issues of life and death with a light, humorous hand. The girls live knowing that their life is tenuous. The blood flowing through their combined skulls makes them inseparable in life. And strangely, as they face death together, it brings them closer than they have ever been. This also brings the reader into the most intimate feelings faced by people who have loved life so much, and leave it knowingly.

A quiet theme behind that of life and death is the ability to choose death. One of the twins must decide her fate should her twin die before her. Again, though, this is handled with humor rather than pity, courage rather than fear. The reader is brought to a kind of precipice- how can any judgment of this woman be made, when one can never be in her shoes?

Personality Development

The twins could not be more different, and this begs the question of how people develop interests and personality traits. Attached at the head, they still have individual interests, hobbies and work positions. Even as one of them quite literally carries the other through life, they share the essence of time. When one wants to go searching for Native American artifacts, the other is passive, and when one wants to work on the computer, the other sleeps.

It is a fascinating insight into the symbiotic nature of people who literally must do everything together. The story, told from first person point of view, allows the reader to watch the development of these interests, traits and passions right to the end. While raw and heart-wrenching, it is also the story of women who persevere and engender loyalty in every life they touch.

The Girls is a touching, intense and uplifting book that handles an unusual subject in such a way as to make the reader need to keep the pages turning. Lori Lansens has also written Rush Home Road, a Globe 100 Book of the Year. She was a successful screen writer before writing her two novels, and currently lives in Toronto.

The copyright of the article An Extrordinary Story: The Girls by Lori Lansens in Lifestyle/Pop Culture Books is owned by Victoria Oldham. Permission to republish An Extrordinary Story: The Girls by Lori Lansens in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

The Girls

Rush Home Road

Lori Lansens

Comments

Dec 16, 2008 8:06 PM

Guest :

i loved this book

Dec 21, 2008 6:04 AM

Guest :

This novel really opened my eyes to the perspectives of life Rose and Ruby had.

2 Comments