The Girls (novel)
Encyclopedia
The Girls is the second novel by Canadian
novelist and screenwriter
Lori Lansens
. It was first published in 2005 by Knopf Canada
It is the life story of a pair of conjoined twins
, Rose and Ruby Darlen, narrated by the twins themselves. Rose, a budding writer, also details key moments from the lives of their adoptive parents, Aunt Lovey and Uncle Stash.
The girls are joined at the head (craniopagus), with Rose carrying her physically weaker and smaller sister on her right hip. According to the description of the condition at the start of the book, the girls are estimated to share 100 veins as well as skull bones but while their cerebral tissues are meshed, they have distinctly separate brains, leading to differing personalities.
The book is set in the fictional small town of Leaford in Ontario
, Canada
with the Girls frequently travelling to nearby cities of Chatham
, Windsor
and London
. The Girls also accompany their Uncle Stash to his native Slovakia
.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
novelist and screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
Lori Lansens
Lori Lansens
Lori Lansens is a bestselling, internationally acclaimed novelist. Her first three books - "Rush Home Road", "The Girls", and "The Wife's Tale", have won acclaim throughout the world, and been translated into dozens of languages....
. It was first published in 2005 by Knopf Canada
It is the life story of a pair of conjoined twins
Conjoined twins
Conjoined twins are identical twins whose bodies are joined in utero. A rare phenomenon, the occurrence is estimated to range from 1 in 50,000 births to 1 in 100,000 births, with a somewhat higher incidence in Southwest Asia and Africa. Approximately half are stillborn, and a smaller fraction of...
, Rose and Ruby Darlen, narrated by the twins themselves. Rose, a budding writer, also details key moments from the lives of their adoptive parents, Aunt Lovey and Uncle Stash.
The girls are joined at the head (craniopagus), with Rose carrying her physically weaker and smaller sister on her right hip. According to the description of the condition at the start of the book, the girls are estimated to share 100 veins as well as skull bones but while their cerebral tissues are meshed, they have distinctly separate brains, leading to differing personalities.
The book is set in the fictional small town of Leaford in Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
with the Girls frequently travelling to nearby cities of Chatham
Chatham-Kent, Ontario
Chatham–Kent is a unitary authority in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Mostly rural, its centres of population are Blenheim, Chatham, Dresden, Ridgetown, Tilbury and Wallaceburg. Modern Chatham–Kent was created in 1998 by the merger of Kent County and its municipalities.- History :The former city of...
, Windsor
Windsor, Ontario
Windsor is the southernmost city in Canada and is located in Southwestern Ontario at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. It is within Essex County, Ontario, although administratively separated from the county government. Separated by the Detroit River, Windsor...
and London
London, Ontario
London is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, situated along the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. The city has a population of 352,395, and the metropolitan area has a population of 457,720, according to the 2006 Canadian census; the metro population in 2009 was estimated at 489,274. The city...
. The Girls also accompany their Uncle Stash to his native Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
.