The Girls by Lori Lansens, £11.99

By Sophie Wilson  on Thursday 6 July 2006

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Heartwarming fictional autobiography

Think conjoined twins and you might think dodgy channel five documentary. Not so in this perfectly pitched fictional autobiography, the second novel from Canadian author Lansens. Joined at the head, as Ruby and Rose Darlen approach their 30th birthday and an uncertain future they look back at their lives, from birth during a tornado to a mother who signed her name 'Elizabeth Taylor', to a rural childhood in the care of their doting nurse Aunt Lovey. There are moving passages, comic moments and startling plot twists, such as when the local stud kisses Ruby but sleeps with Rose. On a trip to their uncle's village in Czechoslovakia, the girls are even taken for witches. Lansens skilfully ping-pongs between the two narrators — bookish Rose opts for a poetic account, while girlie Ruby focuses ruthlessly on hard facts — and pulls off an utterly heartwarming tale, without any traces of mawkishness. Anyone with a sister will relate to this.

*****

Review by Sophie Wilson

Release date: Thursday 6 July 2006

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This is the best book that I have ever read, I never wanted to put it down or their story to end.
Comment by Sarah Cooper on January 10 11:38

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