Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
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A novel about conjoined twins just doesn't sound all that appealing.
But Lori Lansens' The Girls isn't some freaky sideshow story. It's a tale of kindness, love and the odd things life throws at us, no matter our circumstances.
Rose and Ruby Darlen are connected at the head. They live in the town of Leaford, Ontario, and walk through life together.
Ruby's arm is forever around Rose's neck, her shortened legs wrapped around Rose's hips. Rose, in essence, carries Ruby everywhere.
They are stared at wherever they go. They need mirrors throughout their house to see each other's faces, and they battle a variety of health problems as well as the emotions of youth.
Luckily, the girls have Aunt Lovey, the nurse who takes them in when their teenage mother flees soon after giving birth, and Uncle Stash, Lovey's Slovak husband.
The backdrop of sisters who share an essential brain vein offers complications that give the story special meaning, but Lansens' writing is so haunting and filled with the ache of dreams unrealized, the characters seem just like everyone else.
Nearing 30 and about to break the record for the oldest living craniopagus (joined at the head) twins, Rose is compelled to write her life story. Ruby submits a few chapters, too.
The two voices could prove to be a cheesy gimmick -- she said, she said -- but not here. The difference in the personalities is delightful. One is much more no-nonsense than the other. One is interested in archaeology, the other in writing. The viewpoints are illuminating, not redundant.
An expectedly arduous trip to Uncle Stash's homeland isn't as compelling as some of the plain, day-to-day challenges of life. Simple experiences in The Girls -- riding in a car, taking the bus, reading to kids at the library -- always take on greater meaning.
One of the best parts of the book: a sex scene. It's hardly X-rated, but it is intriguing, thankfully leaving just enough to the imagination.
It raises all sorts of questions about girls who want to experience life and a boy who is willing to accommodate them. But to what end?
The delicate way Lansens handles that scene -- and all the other scenes with the twins -- is admirable. And heartbreaking. Make sure, by the end, you have plenty of tissues handy.
The Girls
By Lori Lansens
Little, Brown, 343 pp., $23.95
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