My Thoughts – ‘The Girls’ by Lori Lansens

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Synopsis:

In twenty-nine 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 town) attempt to lead a normal life, but can’t help being extraordinary.

Now almost thirty, Rose and Ruby are on the verge of becoming the oldest living craniopagus twins in history, but they are remarkable for a lot more than their unusual sisterly bond…..

About The Author:

Lori Lansens, was Canadian born and educated. Married to a Canadian, they now live, with their family, in the Santa Monica Mountains of California, where her husband works in the television industry of L.A.

Chatham, Ontario, Lori’s birthplace, is a small town near the American border with Detroit, Michigan, where she was strongly influenced in her early years, by her Catholic religious upbringing.

From early on she was inspired by Chatham’s unique history, which has become the backdrop for her first three novels.

It was a hunting ground for the neutral Indians,  a battleground for the War of 1812,  a terminus on the Underground Railroad where slaves from the southern United States sought freedom, and a hotspot for bootlegging during prohibition.

The history of her hometown plays a character in her first book, ‘Rush Home Road’, as the protagonist, Addy Shadd, is a descendant of fugitive slaves who settled in a fictional community called Rusholme, inspired by the village of Buxton, Ontario.

In her second novel, ‘The Girls’, the memoirs of conjoined twins, one of the sisters is obsessed with collecting the native artifacts turned up by the farmer’s plow each spring.

Her third novel, ‘The Wife’s Tale’, is the story of Mary Gooch, who leaves her safe existence in ‘Leaford’ when her husband disappears on the eve of their silver anniversary.

She studied advertising and business at college, which led to her first job in a classified advertising department. It was whilst in this position, that she met her husband and it was he, who encouraged Lori to take up writing, with a little successful screenplay writing and not quite so successful acting, along the way.

She is currently working on her new book.

Craniopagus Conjoined Twins:

Conjoined twins that are connected only at the cranium (head). They share bones of the skull and occasionally brain surface, but will have separate trunks, with four arms and four legs. About 2% of conjoined twins are craniopagus.

The craniopagus conjoined twins that most resemble Ruby and Rose, in Lori’s book, would be Ladan and Laleh Bijani, who sadly died whilst under going a separation attempt.

My Thoughts About The Book:

I found the book emotional and moving and for most of the time, forgot that I was reading a work of fiction and that Ruby and Rose were not real people.

The book takes the form of an autobiography, mainly written by Rose, but with additional chapters written less enthusiastically by Ruby.

Even writing down my thoughts about the book now, there is still the feeling that I am making reference to living, breathing personalities.

The story runs the whole gamut of emotions and feelings between Rose and Ruby, and between the girls and their adoptive parents.

Aunt Lovey and Uncle Stash gave the girls the strength, to learn to live together and separately, but never independently, showing them, and teaching them to show each other, the unassailable power of love.

Rose and Ruby have to learn from an early age that they will live their lives simultaneously as a ‘me’ and a ‘we’, bound to each other spiritually as well as physically, and having to accept the situation gracefully, even gratefully.

One body, with two separate minds, two distinct voices, beliefs, desires and outlooks, on their difficult circumstances.

Their story is almost a blend of tragedy and comedy, as the girls learn to deal with the issues of intimacy and privacy, with warmth and humour.

However, ‘hurt one and the other bleeds’, is the saying that comes to my mind, during one important event in their short lives.

Even as the end draws near, they are there for one another, fighting, until both have achieved their ‘mountain peaks’

” I return to the first chapter of this book, which I haven’t read since my last crisis of confidence. I might alter it now to read:

I have never looked into my sister’s eyes, but I’ve seen inside her soul.

I have never worn a hat, but I HAVE been kissed like THAT.

I have never raised both arms at once, but the moon beguiled me still.

Sleep is for suckers. I like the bus just fine.

And though I’ve never climbed a tree, I’ve scaled a mountain, and that’s a hell of a thing”

A brilliant book, in my opinion.

Rated 5 out 5