Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
Format: Bargain Price
Label: Back Bay Books
Manufacturer: Back Bay Books
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 368
Printing Date: April 10, 2007
Publishing house: Back Bay Books
Sale Popularity Level: 663549
Studio: Back Bay Books
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Product Description:
Meet Rose and RuAuthor name: sisters, best friends, confidantes, and conjoined twins.
Since their birth, Rose and Ruby Darlen have been known simply as 'the girls.' They make friends, fall in love, have jobs, love their parents, and follow their dreams. But the Darlens are special. Now nearing their 30th birthday, they are history's oldest craniopagus twins, joined at the head by a spot the size of a bread plate.
When Rose, the bookish sister, sets out to write her autobiography, it inevitably becomes the story of her short but extraordinary life with Ruby, the beautiful one. From their awkward very first steps--Ruby's arm curled around Rose's neck, her foreshortened legs wrapped around Rose's hips--to the friendships they gradually build for themselves in the small town of Leaford, this is the profoundly affecting chronicle of an incomparable life journey.
As Rose and Ruby's story builds to an unforgettable conclusion, Lansens aims at the heart of human experience--the hardship of loss and struggles for independence, and the fundamental joy of simply living a life. This is a breathtaking novel, one that no reader will soon forget, a heartrending story of love between sisters.
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Rated by buyers 
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Interesting and unusual topic for a novel, one that appealed to my own personal "twin" sensibilities. However, the book got a bit repetitive; and, definitely somewhat far-fetched as for each twin's ability to function as independently of the other as they purportedly did. Not a bad read...but, I would have trouble recommending it.
Rated by buyers 
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There are several chapters in "The Girls" that have become some of my favorite pieces of literature: the shockingly honest recount of Ruby writing about her sister wanting to give up her whole life altogether, then passing it off as a mere joke; Rose Darlen talking about who she imagined herself to be once Nick finally caved in and gave her a kiss.
This novel is not a feel-good piece but a depressing recount of two lives having lived conjoined together. We all wish we could look back on our own experiences with such a poetic nature. But then, that is why this is fiction and we live in reality. And Lori Lansens has a knack for her craft that is far more superior than most. You'd never even know you were reading two individual stories side-by-side, told by the same person. Each twin recalls the story of their lives with such different rhythms and paces, you'd have sworn it was two different people telling it!
The interesting nature of how everything unfolds makes the reader feel a bit like the crows in Baldoon County, skulking around and watching these young girls turn into imaginative women. I feel sad that it ended so abruptly, but cannot wait to share it with others. This is definitely a novel to repeat again and again.
Rated by buyers -
This is an extremely well-written, subtly emotional story. The author does an excellent job of establishing their individual personalities, their struggles, as well as a sisterly relationship which is tender at the core. I was also fascinated by the drama introduced halfway into the novel - one of those things where a casual curveball mention of two important facts leaves you thinking "whoa, did I miss something?" I love to read books that are unpredictable. Would totally recommend this book to anyone, and I am giving it as a Christmas present. BRAVA!
Rated by buyers -
I am an avid reader, and this is by far one of the best books I have ever written. The story, the author's style, the characters, everything is brilliant. I highly recommend it.
Rated by buyers -
Seldom have I been moved by a novel as much as by this one. Lori Lansens writes with a sparkling clarity and directness, not to mention tenderness. Her other gift is to have concocted such an unusual and ingenious premise for a story and to have seen it through from beginning to end with a breathtaking sure-footedness. Even so, it could well be argued that the craniopagus twins of the title serve mainly as a conduit for Lansen's true purpose, her exploration of the human condition as it applies to all of us. For indeed everything is here: joy, fear, wonderment, loyalty, devotion . . . and of course love and death.
My own sense of wonder is that, long since I finished the book, seldom a day passes that one or more of these vividly realised characters don't at some point enter my mind and in so doing touch on issues that are normally all too easy to simply rush past on the way to the usual worries of everyday life. If it wasn't for the cliché of the life-changing book I'd surely want to venture out and use it about this one.
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