The Girls

by: Lori Lansens

Published by: Back Bay Books

Reviewed by Janelle Martin

Rose and Ruby Darlen, like any sisters, can be each other’s best friend or worst enemy. Born during a tornado, “The Girls,” as they’ve been dubbed by their neighbors, share an unusual life. Craniopagus, (identical twins joined at the head, sharing a skull and blood supply), they were abandoned at birth and raised by Aunt Lovey (the nurse who attended their birth) and Uncle Stash.

Rose, whose face is distorted and limbs are no longer perfectly proportioned (from carrying her sister), has independent mobility–while Ruby is beautiful. Determined to beat the odds and provide her girls with a life of value, Aunt Lovey pushes them from infancy toward independence. Now 29 years old, The Girls have lived much longer than the doctors predicted and, with their 30th birthday approaching, Rose decides to write the story of her life, convincing the reluctant Ruby to do the same.

Told in the alternating voices of Rose and Ruby, Lori Lansens’ _The Girl_s is a haunting novel. The girls’ voices are unique and their viewpoints on events fascinating. Rose, as the aspiring writer, initially contributes the most, but as the novel progresses, Ruby relates more of her own memories.

The sisters can only see each other with a mirror and thus each writes her chapters in isolation. The most fascinating aspect of The Girls is the assumptions each makes about what the other had related and how that dictates what each in turn shares with the reader. What is most illuminating is what each chooses not to share. Rose portrays herself as the more reliable narrator, speaking to her readers in a serious, methodical tone while Ruby’s contributions are breezy. Their accounts of the same events often contradict and you are left to ferret out the truth.

In the end, it is the reader’s own assumptions and reflexive reaction of pity for The Girls that is destroyed. Rose and Ruby are so much more than objects of pity, but to discuss much more of this special novel would be to give away too many of its secrets that you should discover for yourself.

Armchair Interviews says: Haunting read, as you learn each girl’s point of view on their shared life.