Lori Lansens’ second novel The Girls is a fascinating look into the inner psychology of twin sisters. The unique thing about these particular siblings is that they also happen to be attached at the head (a real-life condition known as craniopagus twins).
Writer Rose and her beautiful twin Ruby share all their experiences together, whether they like it or not. Rose cradles the dwarfed Ruby’s body alongside her as the two girls grow up in small-town Leaford, Ontario, with their charming and realistically portrayed guardians Uncle Stash and Aunt Lovey.
As the story progresses, Lansens delves deep into the realities of sharing a body but not a mind. We enter the twins’ world and feel what they feel. And maybe not so surprisingly, it’s very much like our own thoughts and emotions.
Many twist and turns (including a sex scene!) follow the girls’ distinct perspectives, as the novel shifts between Rose’s more literary approach to her life and Ruby’s matter-of-fact retellings. As the two women approach their 30th birthday, we understand their regrets and wishes for an impossible future. There are things that will simply never happen because of their condition. But still, both characters find time to cultivate their own individual lives and care for each other in a way that is the very definition of unconditional love.
Lansens explores the protagonists in a humanistic and sensitive way. But as much as this is a story of love between sisters, it is also a book on writing. The craft of writing is shown through Rose’s challenges of how to portray her existence and what to leave behind on the printed page. If Rose wants to be remembered for her words, then what does she capture? How can she properly tell the story of her life, and what repercussions will her work have in the future?
A finely crafted and utterly remarkable work, The Girls puts Lansens on the map as another luminary of Canadian fiction. Give it to the conjoined twin of your heart this holiday season and share the love.
